USF brings in 2 quarterbacks amidst busy first week of the transfer portal
The portal is open and the Bulls have been busy.
The first five days of the transfer portal have been a whirlwind for new South Florida coach Brian Hartline and the Bulls.
USF saw 30 players initially enter the transfer portal, including 11 who followed former head coach Alex Golesh to Auburn.
Among those departing were star quarterback Byrum Brown, top receivers Keshaun Singleton and Jeremiah Koger, lead running back Nykahi Davenport and defensive standouts Jarvis Lee and Fred Gaskin.
As the dust has settled, Hartline and his staff have responded by assembling one of the strongest transfer classes in the Group of Five. The Bulls have landed commitments from 27 players (editors note: as of Friday, Jan 9 at 1:00 pm eastern), giving USF the nation’s 26th-ranked transfer class, according to 247Sports. The next-highest class in the American Conference belongs to Temple at No. 58.
Seventeen of USF’s commits transferred from Power Four programs, including two quarterbacks.
With Brown, Locklan Hewlett and Marcelis Tate transferring and Gaston Moore graduating, USF briefly had just one scholarship quarterback on their 2026 roster.
That changed Tuesday when former Florida State and Mississippi State quarterback Luke Kromenhoek committed to the Bulls. A four-star recruit and the No. 30 overall prospect in the 2024 class, Kromenhoek began 2024 as Florida State’s third-string quarterback but appeared in six games and started the Seminoles’ final two contests. He later transferred to Mississippi State, where he appeared in three games during the 2025 season as a backup to freshman phenom KaMario Taylor.
USF added another quarterback Wednesday with the commitment of former Mississippi State and LSU quarterback Michael Van Buren. A four-star recruit from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Van Buren started Mississippi State’s final eight games of the 2024 season and was named SEC Freshman of the Week after throwing for 306 yards and three touchdowns against Georgia on Oct. 12. He finished the year with 1,886 passing yards and 16 total touchdowns.
Van Buren transferred to LSU last offseason and started the Tigers’ final five games after Garrett Nussmeier suffered an abdominal injury. He threw for 838 yards and six touchdowns while leading LSU to a 2-3 record, capped by a strong performance in the Texas Bowl, where he passed for 267 yards and three touchdowns without a turnover in a 38-35 loss to Houston.
Van Buren and Kromenhoek are expected to compete for the starting job in 2026. The winner would become the Bulls’ first quarterback transfer from the SEC to start since Blake Barnett in 2018.
USF also secured returns from several key skill players, as wide receivers Mudia Reuben and Joshua Porter, tight end Wyatt Sullivan and running back Alvon Isaac announced plans to return for the 2026 season.
The chaos is expected to continue until the portal closes Jan. 16. However, Brian Hartline and his staff have already done an impressive job of adding a wealth of talented players through the transfer portal.
2026 incoming transfer list
- S A’mon Lane-Ganus (Auburn)
- LB C.J. Hicks (Ohio State)
- OL Michael Wooten (Arizona)
- EDGE Shamar Meikle (Oregon State)
- LB Grayson “Pup” Howard (Florida)
- DL Asani Redwood (West Virginia)
- OL Ethan Green (Cincinnati)
- S Israel Boyce (West Virginia)
- DT Zay Hardy (South Carolina)
- WR Jaron Glover (Mississippi State)
- WR Arhmad Branch (Purdue)
- CB Teddy Foster (Florida)
- DB Ayden Jackson (Georgia Southern)
- S Malcolm Ziglar (North Carolina)
- OL Caleb Cook (Georgia Southern)
- LB Sam Robinson (Rutgers)
- DT Terry Simmons Jr. (Duke)
- QB Luke Kromenhoek (Mississippi State)
- OL Kahari Finley (Michigan State)
- QB Michael Van Buren (LSU)
- RB Jason Collins Jr. (Morgan State)
- RB D.J. Crowther (Dartmouth)
- WR Kenny Odom (UTEP)
- WR Bryson Rodgers (Ohio State)