Athlon Sports recently announced the 2023 Preseason American Athletic All-Conference Team, with five players from the South Florida football program being honored. Donovan Jennings (Tampa), an offensive tackle who returned after an injury that ended his career in three games in 2022, won the Second Team Offensive Award for the second year in a row. DJ Gordon (Plant City), a linebacker who started nine games in 2022, was named third-team defenseman. Florida-transferred running back Naikuan Wright (Opa-Locka) made it to the offense of the fourth team, while returning defensive end Jason Bourne (Miami) and defensive back Amaris Brown (Tampa) were admitted to the Fourth Team defense.
The Bulls will kick off the 2023 season at Western Kentucky on September 2nd, before returning to Raymond James Stadium to face Florida A&M on September 9th and Alabama on September 16th. The team will play against Rice at home in the American Athletic Conference on September 23rd. USF will bring back three of its main starters back to the offense starting in 2022, including Donovan Jennings, who started four games in 2023 before suffering a season-ending injury. The new season tickets for the 2023 USF football season at Raymond James Stadium are on sale now.
The USF Football program first began in 1997 and concluded its 26th season in 2022, while completing construction of a new $22 million indoor performance facility. The team has had 15 winning seasons, 16 All-American selections, 32 All-Conference first-team selections, and has drafted 30 players in the NFL Draft. USF has appeared in 10 bowl games, with a 6-4 record in those games. In the 2016 and 2017 seasons, the Bulls had 10-win streaks, followed by a show-record 11-2 record in 2016, finishing both seasons in the top 25. The team has been ranked for 20 consecutive weeks, a program record.