TAMPA, Fla. — USF football opened fall camp with a roster that looks almost entirely different from what it did a year ago. The Bulls added 62 new players, and when coaches and support staff are factored in, 112 new faces are across the program heading into the season.
First-year head coach Brian Hartline isn't caught up in the excitement of opening day, though. He is already thinking ahead.
"Everyone's all excited, and everything's new and shiny," he said with a grin. "I'm looking forward to day nine, ten, eleven, and twelve — when it's really hard. We're glad to be back on the field."
Hartline said many of the players arrived at USF as individuals, and it will take adversity to turn them into a team.
"As we put them through tough environments, we start to forge together a little bit, and come together a little bit," he said after Wednesday's workout. "When things get hard, that's when good bonds are formed. Try to make sure we create as much of those as possible."
Offensive lineman Caleb Cook is one of those new faces. Cook transferred from Georgia Southern and said he knew USF was the right fit as soon as he spoke with the coaching staff.
"Everybody on this coaching staff was put together meticulously, for one reason. That's to win," the graduate student said enthusiastically. "That's exactly the mindset we had ever since I got here, and it's going to be like that for the whole rest of the season."
For Cook, this is his sixth - and final- opening day of fall camp, and he has embraced a leadership role because of it.
"I just try to do my best to not only make sure I'm successful, but make sure the team's successful," he explained. "In order to make sure the team's successful, you gotta touch who you can touch. The main people I can touch are the people in my room. Hopefully, I keep growing as a leader, and I can just bring them along."
The Bulls have 30 days until the regular season begins. USF opens at home against FIU. Kickoff is set for 7pm at Raymond James Stadium.
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