> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bayareaexaminer.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Breaking Down the Bulls’ Offense Heading Into 2026 - URL: https://www.bayareaexaminer.com/breaking-down-the-bulls-offense-heading/ - Published: 2026-08-26T13:02:38.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-26T13:02:38.000Z - Description: What can we expect from USF’s offense in 2026? - Author: Collin Sherwin - Tags: #Migrated-1792597384348, #Import 2026-10-21 15:44 On Monday, junior quarterback Michael Van Buren was named USF’s starting quarterback for its season opener against FIU on Sept. 5. The announcement was the final domino that needed to fall before we could start projecting what this offense could look like in 2026. Bulls fans grew accustomed to a high-flying offense during Alex Golesh’s three-year tenure as head coach. During Golesh’s time in Tampa, the Bulls averaged more than 35 points and 450 yards per game. Last season, USF ranked fifth in the FBS, scoring 40.5 points per game. The USF offense will look far different under Hartline and his staff. Instead of rapid pace and getting play calls off comical signs on the sideline, the Bulls will frequently be huddling up before plays and using the majority of the play clock. Let’s dig deeper into what this Bulls offense will look like in 2026. ### The Tim Beck question When Hartline accepted the USF head coaching position, one of the biggest questions he faced was who would call the plays. Hartline came off his first year as a full-time playcaller in 2025 with Ohio State. However, he elected to hire a full-time playcaller, citing that he wanted to focus on being an overall leader of the entire team. The playcaller he hired was Tim Beck. Beck spent the last three seasons as Coastal Carolina’s head coach, posting a 20-18 record. He was fired last season following a 6-6 campaign. Beck wasn’t the primary playcaller during his tenure as the Chanticleers’ head man. Before that, Beck spent three seasons with NC State as the team’s offensive coordinator and primary playcaller. The Wolfpack averaged 29.2 points per game during Beck’s tenure. The positive on Beck’s resume is his ability to bring multiple quarterbacks to high levels of success. Beck helped quarterback Taylor Martinez set more than 40 school records at Nebraska from 2010-13\. With Beck recently promoted to playcaller, Martinez posted 2,871 passing yards, 1,019 rushing yards and 33 total touchdowns en route to a first-team All-Big Ten selection. Then, as a playcaller from 2017-19, Beck helped Sam Ehlinger post multiple seasons of more than 3,200 passing yards and 450 rushing yards. Then with the Wolfpack, Devin Leary had an elite 2021 season, posting 3,433 passing yards, 35 passing touchdowns and just five interceptions. Leary broke Philip Rivers’ school record for most passing touchdowns in a season. However, in Beck’s last stint with NC State, his rushing offenses struggled. The Wolfpack ranked outside of the top 100 in the FBS in rushing yards in each of his three seasons with the team. Beck spent time at Ohio State as a co-offensive coordinator in 2015 and 2016, right before Hartline became a coach with the Buckeyes. However, Beck never became the primary playcaller at Ohio State and faced heavy backlash. At Texas, Beck was demoted from the playcalling duties after the 2019 season, leading him to go to NC State. Beck has coached at nine different colleges since 1990\. Only once has he stayed at one place for more than three years, and that was his tenure at Nebraska from 2008-14. That begs the question: Is Beck’s track record encouraging or discouraging? How will Beck’s offense look at USF? Those questions will only be able to be answered on the field. ### What level can Michael Van Buren reach? It’s an encouraging sign for Bulls fans to see that Van Buren has secured the starting spot a little under two weeks before the season starts. Van Buren was the favorite to win the job by many once the dust settled from the transfer portal. However, his up-and-down play in the spring opened the door for Luke Kromenhoek to claw back into the picture. Hartline said Van Buren’s full body of work during camp was better than Kromenhoek’s. He also mentioned that Van Buren was putting the ball in the right spots in the Bulls’ most recent scrimmage. He started 12 games over the course of his freshman season at Mississippi State and sophomore season at LSU. He posted 2,896 passing yards, 117 rushing yards, 25 total touchdowns and nine interceptions in his first two seasons. Van Buren’s style of play changed from 2024 to 2025\. With the Bulldogs in 2024, he posted 13.5 yards per completion, but he only completed 54.7% of his passes. Last year with LSU, Van Buren averaged 10.7 yards per completion but completed 62.3% of his passes. It will be the first time in Van Buren’s career that he is the full-time starter to begin a season. He has shown flashes of elite play. Last season, Van Buren had 267 passing yards and three touchdowns in the Texas Bowl. In 2024, Van Buren was the SEC Freshman of the Week for his 306 passing yards and three touchdowns on the road against Georgia. Now Van Buren will have the chance to show that he can put together a complete season of winning football as a starting quarterback. He is 3-9 as a starter in his career. ### A deep and dangerous running back room While they haven’t been the ones stealing the headlines this offseason, the USF running back room is poised to be one of the team’s best units. The transfer duo of Dartmouth’s D.J. Crowther and Morgan State’s Jason Collins Jr. will likely be the top two backs for the Bulls. Crowther had a breakout season with Dartmouth last year, carrying the ball for 929 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. He also recorded 120 receiving yards. Last season, Crowther averaged 4.9 yards per carry. Collins Jr. missed five games last season due to an injury. However, he’s posted 1,009 rushing yards in his 18 games in his Morgan State career. In 2024, when he was healthy, Collins Jr. rushed for 5.4 yards per carry in his freshman season. USF also returns redshirt sophomore running back Alvon Isaac and redshirt freshman Chase Garnett. Isaac appeared in all 13 games last season, posting 350 rushing yards and 141 receiving yards. Garnett only saw action in two games last year, but one of those games was when he was inserted into the North Texas game and rushed for 74 yards on six carries. Garnett also impressed in the spring game in April. On Tuesday, Crowther said that it will be a “running back by committee.” The room will be heavily relied on in 2026. ### Which pass catchers emerge? Hartline is always going to be heavily linked with wide receivers. The list of NFL draft picks he helped mentor at Ohio State is long and impressive. That has created a lot of buzz around the Bulls’ wide receiver room in 2026\. However, who Van Buren’s primary targets will be in 2026 is still a question. USF returns multiple players who could be key contributors, like senior Jaden Alexis, graduate Mudia Reuben, junior JeyQuan Smith and junior Joshua Porter. They also brought in transfers junior Arhmad Branch, senior Jaron Glover, senior Kenny Odom, junior Bryson Rodgers, senior Cameron Seldon and senior Armani Winfield. Reuben is a player who is garnering some buzz as one of USF’s top targets. He had 495 receiving yards last season, and he had 325 of them in the Bulls’ final three regular-season games. The highest-profile transfer receiver that USF brought in was Rodgers. He came over with Hartline from Ohio State. Rodgers was a four-star recruit out of Wiregrass Ranch High School. He only recorded 11 catches for 125 yards in his three seasons with the Buckeyes. But Rodgers could blossom into a go-to receiver with increased playing time. The most proven receiver that USF brought in through the portal is UTEP transfer Kenny Odom. He was a second-team All-Conference USA performer in the last two seasons with the Miners. He has 108 catches and 1,323 receiving yards over the course of the past two seasons. However, the roles for any of USF’s receivers are unclear to this point. USF is also poised to get its tight ends more involved in the passing game this season. Senior Wyatt Sullivan is the clear top dog in the room. Sullivan had 18 catches for 176 yards last season with the Bulls. He has stated that he returned because of his confidence in the new USF coaching staff and how they were going to use him in their offense. The other names that will emerge in the room are yet to be seen. ### Is USF’s biggest strength in the trenches? During the Golesh tenure, USF fans grew accustomed to undersized offensive lines that could keep up with the tempo of his offense. With the offense slowing down and moving to a pro style, the Bulls have been able to beef up in the trenches. The Bulls brought in a plethora of transfers up front. Seniors Ethan Green and Michael Wooten came over from Power Four schools in Cincinnati and Arizona. Coastal Carolina transfer Julius Tate and Georgia Southern transfer Caleb Cook made All-Sun Belt teams last season. USF also brought back guard Thomas Schrader, who started all 13 games for the Bulls last year. Fourteen offensive linemen are listed as over 300 pounds. The buzz around camp has been about how impressive the Bulls’ offensive line has been. The Bulls will have both quality starters and quality backups up front this season. Outlook on USF’s offense We won’t truly be able to know what this offense looks like until they play multiple games against conference opponents. However, with what we know, the offense projects to be one that heavily relies on its rushing attack. The running back room and offensive line look to be strong and will likely be the strength of the offense. The ceiling of the USF offense hinges mainly on Van Buren’s play. If he can turn his flashes into consistency, the Bulls offense will be able to hit another level. If Van Buren is average or below average, this offense could lack explosiveness. It’s also worth remembering Beck’s track record and how his tenures have ended. Beck will have to put together a much more effective rushing offense than he did at NC State to succeed with the offense. I’m cautiously optimistic that the Bulls will be able to rank inside the top five in the American Conference in most major offensive stats and inside the top 50 in the FBS.