Optimism Reigns as Brian Hartline Era Begins at 2026 American Conference Kickoff

The hallways of the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront were filled with optimism and crazy-looking mascots Thursday and Friday.

I mean, seriously, why are there so many mascots in the American Conference that look like they’re straight out of a nightmare?

More importantly, this week’s American Conference Kickoff marked the starting point of Brian Hartline’s first season as head coach of the Bulls.

Hartline, linebacker Grayson “Pup” Howard and tight end Wyatt Sullivan represented USF at the event.

The Bulls will enter fall camp with more questions than answers. USF returns just four starters from last year’s squad and welcomes 51 transfer players in 2026.

The Bulls also will display a much different offensive style than last season. USF will deploy a pro-style offense, a stark contrast from the lightning-fast veer-and-shoot attack under Alex Golesh over the past three seasons.

USF will be led by offensive coordinator Tim Beck, who brings 36 years of collegiate coaching experience. Beck has served as an offensive coordinator at Nebraska, Ohio State, Texas and NC State before spending the past three seasons as head coach at Coastal Carolina. Hartline joined Ohio State’s staff as an assistant coach one season after Beck departed to become the primary playcaller at Texas.

Even so, Hartline said his familiarity with Beck’s offensive scheme and terminology was a major reason he decided to hire Beck as offensive coordinator.

“He’s got the background of the DNA of what we ran at Ohio State,” Hartline said.

Hartline also noted that his brother, Mike, USF’s quarterbacks coach, worked with Beck at Ohio State.

While Hartline is known for the laundry list of star-studded receivers he helped produce at Ohio State, he has also consistently developed tight ends. Tight ends Max Klare and Will Kacmarek were both selected on Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft, and several other tight ends have been drafted during Hartline’s time in Columbus.

Sullivan took notice of Hartline’s track record with tight ends when deciding to return to the Bulls.

“I’m very aware of tight ends,” Sullivan said. “When an offensive coordinator has called plays to get two tight ends drafted, it’s really a no-brainer to stay in this offense.”

One of the biggest questions surrounding Hartline’s Bulls is who will lead the offense on the field. Quarterbacks Michael Van Buren and Luke Kromenhoek will battle throughout fall camp for the starting job.

“The job description is to be a great leader, communicate well in the huddle, get us in and out of plays and make checks at the line of scrimmage and then, when asked to throw the football, throw it consistently on target and make the routine play routinely. And those guys can do that. What we’re waiting to see is who can do that the most consistently over time,” Hartline said about the competition.

The Bulls also will have a new-look defense led by former East Carolina defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge. Last season under Aldridge, the Pirates led the American in seven defensive categories, including scoring defense.

Howard said Aldridge was a major reason he transferred to USF and promised a ferocious Bulls defense in 2026.

“He had a great plan for me, and he’s proven in this conference,” Howard said. “[USF fans] can expect a relentless, hard-working, high-effort, violent defensive team.”

The theme that remained constant throughout the two days of media buzz words was Hartline’s intention to build a firm foundation in Year 1.

“In the end, we want to do a great job of maximizing your time at South Florida and college football so you can be the best version of yourself both on the field and off the field. If we can get that accomplished, we’re going to give you the best chance of being successful on the field and off the field,” Hartline said during his closing news conference. “Creating the standards of excellence and understanding it’s not what you do, but how you do it.”

With fall camp rapidly approaching, the time for talk is almost over, and we’ll soon find out which teams are going to put their money where their mouth is.

But for now, there’s nothing but optimism from players, coaches and, yes, even the mascots about how the Hartline era will unfold at USF.

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