Bulls class ranked the second-highest outside the autonomous four conferences by Rivals
TAMPA, FLA., DEC. 4, 2024 – Head coach Alex Golesh and the South Florida Football staff announced the addition of 25 new Bulls in a 2025 Signing Class that for the second-straight year was ranked near the top of the American Athletic Conference as the NCAA Early Signing Period began Wednesday.
For the second-straight year, USF’s 2025 Class was ranked among the very best among all programs outside the autonomous four conferences by Rivals, 247Sports and On3. As of the late afternoon on Wednesday, Rivals ranked the Bulls class second in The American and second among all programs outside of the autonomous four conferences, one year after posting the top class in both, and ahead of eight autonomous conference programs.
On Wednesday, USF announced the addition of 23 high school student-athletes, one junior college transfer and one Australian punter. The NCAA transfer portal, from which the Bulls are expected to add several players, opens on Dec. 9.
“This is the first class where we have had two full years to recruit and go through two full years of a cycle, so we’re really happy,” Golesh said. “I think last year’s class proved to be what people talked about it being – which was the top Group of Five class in the country and a top 50 class. I think this one when it is all said and done, is going to end up being in the same exact vein.
“I think what we have done through the last year is narrowed in on the guys that we feel like can come in and make an impact certainly right away, but guys that fit totally what we are trying to build here, fit what the school is, fit what we are looking for in football players – which is really tough, really smart, really competitive guys that play for elite high school programs, that play for elite high school coaches, that know how to work and know how to help build.”
In the Class of 2025, the Bulls added players from eight states and Washington, D.C., as well as from Canada and Australia. Ten signees hail from the state of Florida, five from Georgia, two from Ohio and one each from Texas, Mississippi, Maryland, Indiana and Rhode Island.
On offense, USF added 11 players, including quarterback Locklan Hewlett (6-1, 175/St. Augustine, Fla.) who has thrown for more than 5,000 yards and 47 touchdowns while leading St. Augustine High School to back-to-back Florida Class 3S state championship game appearances.
The Bulls added five offensive linemen. Among those is 6-5, 310-pound Coffeyville CC transfer Khalil Walker, the lone junior college member of the class, and Tampa native Gerrick Gordon Jr. (6-4, 290/Reddick, Fla.), a late flip to the Bulls class. Collin Bellomy (6-7, 270/Powder Springs, Ga.), Khalil Collins (6-1, 288/Moultrie, Ga.) and Caleb Harris (6-4, 260/Miami, Fla.) also join the Bulls’ offensive line.
USF added a pair of tight ends in Tayte Crable (6-5, 215/Massillon, Ohio) and Brandon Kubay (6-3, 225/Manitoba, Canada), and a pair of running backs in Chase Garnett (5-9, 202/Fort Worth, Texas), who ran for more than 3,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in his final two seasons playing for a state championship winning team, and Tray Kinkle (5-11, 185/Holly Springs, Miss.), who ran for 1,325 yards and 13 touchdowns in his final year and won a Mississippi state 100-meter championship in track.
The Bulls also added three receivers in Jeremiah Koger (6-3, 190/Baltimore, Md.), whose St. Frances Academy team earned a No. 1 ranking in Maryland and No. 8 nationally, Kory Pettigrew (6-1, 180/Kathleen, Ga.), whose Perry High School team won a Georgia state championship, and Christian Neptune (5-11, 180/Cantonment, Fla.), who tallied more than 1,700 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in his career.
On defense, USF added three defensive linemen, including Eli Jones (6-3, 245/Venice, Fla.), who has tallied 108 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss, three sacks in his senior year, Brooks Williams Jr. (6-6, 220/Port Saint Lucie, Fla.), who had 57 tackles and five sacks as a senior, and Marcus Williams (6-2, 275/Valdosta, Ga.), who logged 93 tackles, 29.0 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks as a senior.
Three linebackers also joined the Bulls. DeAngelo Bowden (6-0, 215/Washington, D.C.), who led his league in sacks, and Gavin Leach (6-2, 205/Newburgh, Ind.), who posted 100 tackles and 10 tackles for loss in nine games his senior season, and Christian Smith (6-3, 230/Marietta, Ga.), who posted 58 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four sacks, and four forced fumbles as a senior.
The Bulls added five players in the secondary, including Jermichael Gillis (6-1, 170/Lakeland, Fla.), who was a big part of back-to-back state championship teams for the Lakeland High School and helped lead the Dreadnaughts to a No. 2 ranking in Florida and back to the 2024 state semifinals. He was joined by Jeremiah Jones (6-0, 185/Riverview, Fla.), who had a program-record five interceptions as a senior, Gavin Jenkins (6-2, 170/Lake Butler, Fla.), a two-way player at cornerback and wide receiver at Union County High School, Herlin Perry Jr. (5-11, 165/East Providence, R. I.), and Jabari Smith (5-11, 155/Orlando, Fla.), a two-way player at Wekiva High School who posted 218 tackles and 828 all-purpose yards on his career.
The Bulls also continued their string of Australian punters, adding 6-2, 195-pound Luke Goater from Melbourne, Australia. The 24-year-old played in multiple Australian Rules Football leagues and was developed as a punter by ProKick Australia.
USF is expected to welcome as many as three quarters of the early signing class to join the team as early enrollees in January, and as many as eight are expected to join the team in bowl practices ahead of USF’s 12th bowl game appearance in the Hawai‘i Bowl on Dec. 24 in Honolulu, Hawai‘i.
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