How will USF football do in 2022? Here’s a preview of the Bulls season.

After South Florida hired Jeff Scott from Clemson’s staff in late 2019, there was optimism surrounding the Bulls’ football program.

But the rebuilding process hasn’t generated many victories. In two seasons, USF won a combined three games under the new head coach.

Charlie Strong, who was the Bulls’ coach for the three season prior to Scott’s arrival, won 21 games in his tenure and left Tampa with a winning record.

Turning the corner this season is paramount for a program that reached its height as the No. 2-ranked team in the country in 2007.

And there is a reason for some optimism for a program that has won one American Athletic Conference game under Scott.

That reason is an influx of transfers, including former Baylor quarterback Gerry Bohanon. In August, Bohanon was selected as the Bulls’ starting quarterback for the season. He beat out Timmy McClain, who subsequently to the University of Central Florida.

Bohanon’s leadership got Scott’s attention one day at practice.

“It was a little bit sloppy, the guys were trying to get going, and Gerry called the whole team up,” Scott said, according to the Lakeland Ledger. “He told everybody this isn’t how we practice. If we’re gonna turn this thing around, we’ve got to practice a lot better then this.

“And the best part about it ... everybody listened, they nodded their heads,” Scott recalled. “When we went to break down, we had one of our best practices. I looked at one of our coaches and said, ‘I’ve been here 2½ years and I’ve never seen anything like this.’”

Last season, Bohanon started 12 of Baylor’s 14 games, missing the regular-season finale and Big 12 Championship game due to a hamstring injury. He had 18 touchdown passes against seven interceptions while tallying 2,200 passing yards and 323 rushing yards.

Bohanon also guided Baylor to a Sugar Bowl victory over Ole Miss.

He and his offense got a lot of help from their defense; Baylor had the 10th-best scoring defense in the country.

But USF ranked 117th in that category. The Bulls allowed more than 30 points on eight occasions in 2021. To improve the defense, USF turned to the transfer portal.

Five defensive linemen came via the portal: Clyde Pinder (North Carolina), James Ash (Wake Forest), Rashad Cheney (Minnesota), Derrell Bailey Jr. (Virginia Tech) and Nick Bags (Temple).

Antonio Grier and Dwayne Boyles provide experience on defense as returning linebackers. And the secondary is considered a talented and deep group.

How long it takes the new arrivals to gel could determine how improved this defense will be in 2022. It’s a pivotal season for Scott, who became an elite recruiter during his longtime stay as an assistant at Clemson.

Multiple national college football publications have picked the Bulls to finish toward the bottom of the AAC again. The nonconference schedule features an opener at home against BYU (ranked 25th entering the season), a trip to Gainesville to face the Florida Gators on Sept. 17 and a road game versus Louisville a week later.

USF also has to travel to Cincinnati to face a Bearcats team that made the College Football Playoff one year ago. Other trouble spots on the schedule include playing at No. 24 Houston and home against rival UCF (the Knights have beaten the Bulls the last five seasons).

For USF to begin turning things around, Bohanon’s leadership, experience and playmaking must shine through and the defensive unit built by transfers has to gel quickly.

This story was originally published September 2, 2022 at 1:21 PM.

Jason Dill

Bradenton Herald

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Jason Dill is a sports reporter for the Bradenton Herald. He’s won Florida Press Club awards since joining in 2010. He currently covers restaurant, development and other business stories for the Herald.