USF football recruiting notebook: Bulls making moves on 2025 prospects, in the hunt for big-time local recruits

So much of what USF is doing when it comes to finishing out the 2025 class is happening behind the scenes and will be made public when the time is right.

Cornerback, linebacker, wide receiver, running back and defensive line are positions to keep an eye on. Linebacker is probably the biggest need right now for the Bulls, while they certainly are looking to add another cornerback (or possibly two) to the fold. We’ll see where things go from here on the D-line.

As far as the receiver spot goes, USF has three committed and would still be over the moon to add Cantonment (Fla.) Tate’s Christian Neptune, who also holds offers from Mississippi State, Stanford and others. USF looks to be in a good spot with him, but only time will tell if its able to land him.

And of course, holding off other programs for its own commits is a priority for USF. And it’s something to monitor at the cornerback spot.

As we’ve previously reported, Alabama, North Carolina and Notre Dame are pushing for Greenville (Ga.) High athlete and Bulls’ pledge Antavious Richardson. He’s being recruited by other schools as a wide receiver, safety and/or an “athlete.” He’s down on the USF commit list at cornerback.

The Bulls were already looking at adding another cornerback to go with Richardson and Miami Northwestern’s Tywan Cox. But if Richardson is to flip, they may go after two more. And the Bulls added two names to their target board this week.

The new offers went out to Opelousas (La.) High’s Landon Hammons and Havana (Fla.) Gadsden County’s Christian Barrett. Hammons is a three-star prospect with offers from the likes of Georgia Tech, Arizona State, Arkansas and others, while Barrett has been more under the radar to this point. Western Kentucky, South Alabama and Massachusetts are among his Barrett’s other offers.

USF has two major recruiting weekends on the horizon. Dozens of key prospects will be in Tampa for the Miami game next weekend, and there will be official visitors for the weekend of the Memphis game in October.

Local 2026 CBs liking USF early

While the staff is putting the finishing touches on their 2025 class, they’re also getting early work done for the 2026 cycle.

Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day’s DJ Williams, the No. 330 overall prospect and No. 50 wide receiver according to the 2026 On3 Industry Ranking, is one of the top juniors in the area. While he’s listed as a wideout, the Bulls are recruiting him as a cornerback.

Williams made the trip to Raymond James Stadium Aug. 31 to see the Bulls blow out Bethune Cookman 48-0.

“It was a a very great game for USF,” Williams said. “They had a great uptempo scheme. It was really keeping the [BC] defense on their toes, and it kept them from being able to sub in guys and stop USF. I’d say that USF played an all-around great game.

“I had great conversations with coach DVD [Damarcus Van Dyke], and I even got a chance to talk to Coach [Alex] Golesh. Afterwards, I got to FaceTime the coaches and talk more ball with them and what I saw.”

Williams adds that he talks to the USF staff on a near daily basis.

“I love that they’re taking an a new culture with Coach Golesh, and they’re firing on all cylinders,” Williams said. “You can really see just how much the guys love Coach Golesh, and they’re really bought in to what he’s trying to accomplish.”

Miami, Florida State, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Michigan are among the schools with offers out to Williams.

Tarpon Springs (Fla.) High’s CJ Cresser is another local cornerback prospect to watch, and he was in the stadium to see the Bulls’ season opening triumph. Virginia Tech, Indiana, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Missouri and USF are among the schools with scholarship offers out to the 6-1, 171-pounder.

“The USF game was great,” Cresser said. “It was a great experience, and USF has a great fan base overall. I definitely had a lot of time to talk to the USF staff; there wasn’t a time you didn’t see me communicating with them.”

Cresser adds that he’s talking to the Bulls just about every week.

“USF is well beyond active in my recruitment,” he stated. “They check on me every week to see if I’m fine and just to have a conversation. I like that USF is close to home, the coaches are well experienced and the campus is very calm.”