Interim coach Patrick aims to lead USF to 10th win

With massive changes and a new head coach headed to Tampa, long-time assistant coach Kevin Patrick has been tasked with leading the team in the Cure Bowl next week against Old Dominion. Patrick spoke with the media after bowl practice on Thursday.

The task is clear for Patrick: win the bowl game.

“The big thing, and you know I appreciate the staff that’s still here. A lot of guys want to be here and a lot of young women want to be here. We’ve done a heck of a job of working through this and really working to win this bowl game,” Patrick said, “The opportunity to get a 10th win for the third time in the history of this program is just remarkable. I’m excited for these guys, and I think they’ll do a hell of a job with it. They are working hard, and our coaches are really working hard.”

On the offensive side of things, the Bulls still have running backs coach Micah James and tight ends coach Jack Taylor. The majority of the defensive staff remains around Patrick, led by defensive coordinator Todd Orlando.

“They’ve been doing this for a long time and the staff that’s still here is still a lot of meat of the program,” Patrick said of the adjustments post-Alex Golesh leaving for Auburn. “A lot of times their names are not in the press and not a lot of people know them, from the Jack to Micah and again. T. O. is a pro. But this is the meat of our staff. It’s really one of the biggest reasons why this program has continued to rise in the last three years. I’m excited for a lot of these young coaches who are getting a heck of an opportunity.”

Among those helping coach the bowl game is quarterback Byrum Brown. Brown will not play in the bowl game, and it remains unclear if he will play his final season in Tampa or not. The starting quarterback will help coach the offense in the bowl game.

“Everybody knows the deal with Byrum from the release,” Patrick said. “I know this, I’m a Bull and man I bleed green and gold, and I’ve never seen anything different from him. He’s always been a genuine young man. He’s always been bought in. He’s one of the biggest and best workers we’ve got. I have not seen a change in him from day to day since last Sunday. To this time right now. He’s been out there coaching. He’s been working with these guys. And, you know, again, his experience that he’s had is he’s been, you know, giving that back to his players. And it goes back just to the love these guys have for each other. He loves them, and he’s been working his tail off. I mean, it’s really not any different than he’s been all year.

It is all hands on deck after Golesh’s departure, with much of the offensive staff and support staff now residing in Auburn, Alabama.

Taylor will call plays for the game with input from James, according to Patrick.

“Jack’s going to be our play caller. I mean, he’s going to work hand in hand with Micah, and he’s been in this offense for quite some time. And, again, it goes back to kind of like what I was saying earlier,” Patrick added. “People see Golesh and Joel Gordon, but a lot of the hard work is done by people on the back end. I’ve spent a lot of time listening to how they communicate and how they do things and we really haven’t missed a beat.”

Gaston Moore’s last hurrah

Seven months ago, quarterback Gaston Moore retired from college football after playing at Tennessee and moving on with his life. After Bryce Archie was drafted in the MLB draft, Golesh called up his former backup quarterback from Tennessee and offered him one last ride.

Moore came out of retirement and served as Brown’s backup all season. Now he will get to start for the Bulls in his final collegiate game.

“Our confidence in Gas Pipe (Moore’s nickname) is high,” Patrick said. “He’s a very talented guy and I can hear Byrum and him working together.”

Given Moore’s experience, Patrick doesn’t expect his team to fall off offensively in the bowl game.

“He’s been in the system six years, coming from Tennessee. He’s played some valuable reps there and again, throughout the year, he’s got some mop-up duty,” he said. “You go watch out at practice, and you talk to our defensive staff and the defensive backfield, I mean, the guy’s got an arm on him. He’s confident, and the guys are confident around him.”

Moore played in 14 games during his career at Tennessee and seven games this season for the Bulls as a graduate transfer.

The scramble for signing day

The timing of Golesh’s departure to Auburn led to a feeding frenzy on the Bulls’ 2026 class, which was one of the best in the G6 prior to the staff change. Patrick said the staff did a good job of securing 17 of those commitments on signing day without much of a recruiting staff or a head coach being announced.

Since that time, Brian Hartline has been named the head coach as well, rounding things out as they adjust to the future.

“Just a short time ago, we lost our head coach. He did a lot of great things for this program. We lost a lot of coaches. But when you look back, in really less than 36 hours after our head coach and really half of our staff left, a big part of our offensive staff left, and our recruiting department has left. They found a new head coach (Brian Hartline) and did a great job of that, but I couldn’t be more proud of the people who stayed here through the transition and to finish out our recruiting year.”