With new coaches in place, FAU and USF fortify their rosters with South Florida talent
On Dec. 2, the FAU Owls hired Tom Herman as its football coach.
Two days later, the USF Bulls hired Alex Golesh.
On Wednesday, both men announced their first recruits in their new posts.
So far, the Owls have the better effort with 16 recruits and a class ranked 78th in the nation by 247Sports.com. The Bulls’ class of 11 freshmen is ranked 86th nationally, but the Bulls also have added five transfers.
Herman, 47, won a national title in 2014 as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator. Perhaps not coincidentally, 10 of his first 16 recruits play offense, including Sanford Seminole quarterback Luke Rucker and a pair of St. Thomas Aquinas running backs, Xavier Terrell and Gemari Sands.
“We do need a couple of pieces in the transfer portal,” said Herman, who was previously the head coach at Houston and at Texas. “I don’t want to be ‘Transfer U.’ But we need immediate help in certain areas.”
Here’s a closer look at the FAU and USF classes as well as those of being built at Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman, although both of those programs will sign most of their recruits in the February signing period:
▪ FAU: As a head coach, Herman led Houston to a two-year record of 22-4, including 14-0 at home and victories over three top-10 teams (Florida State, Oklahoma and Louisville).
Herman led Texas to four straight bowl berths and the Longhorns’ first 10-win season since 2009.
Now with the Owls, Herman has added a pair of tight ends in this class (Zeke Moore and Fin Jones) and two wide receivers (Arthur Jenkins and Jabari Smith).
On defense, the Owls signed a pair of 6-foot-3 safeties: Booker T. Washington’s Fabian Scott and Gulliver Prep’s Antonio Smith.
BTW coach Tim “Ice” Harris said Scott played cornerback for him. Scott missed this past spring due to a shoulder injury, but he impressed once he got healthy.
“He’s smart,” Harris said. “He’s a big and physical corner who can play man or zone and can move to safety as needed.”
▪ USF: Golesh, a 38-year-old native of Moscow, served as offensive coordinator at UCF in 2020 and at Tennessee the past two seasons.
This is his first shot as a head coach.
Golesh’s early moves including adding those transfers who could provide immediate help, especially Oklahoma cornerback Kendall Dennis, Florida defensive end Lloyd Summerall and Maryland tight end Weston Wolff. All three had minor roles on their previous teams, and Summerall and Dennis were teammates at Lakeland High.
Overall, the Bulls signed 10 offensive players, five on defense and a long-snapper from Cardinal Gibbons, Trey Dubuc. Six of the Bulls signees are from the Tampa Bay area.
▪ Florida A&M: Rattlers coach Willie Simmons signed running back Kelvin Dean; wide receiver/kick returner Jamari Gassett; offensive lineman Ashton Grable; defensive lineman Cherif Seye; defensive backs Deco Wilson and Jalen Glaze; athlete Levontai Summersett (North Fort Myers) and punter Trey Wilhoit.
Glaze, a Tallahassee native, is a transfer from the University of Minnesota, where he played 23 games over the past three years.
The Rattlers are coming off a successful year, going 9-2, including a 41-20 victory over rival Bethune-Cookman. FAMU lost its first two games – including a 56-24 decision at North Carolina – before finishing the season with nine straight victories.
▪ Bethune-Cookman: The Wildcats announced no signees, but 247Sports said they added Penn transfer Jaydon Hodge, a safety from Ocala.
The Wildcats finished 2-9 for the second straight season, and they haven’t had a winning campaign since going 7-4 in 2019.