{"id":249892,"date":"2026-04-28T17:17:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T17:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/249892\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T17:17:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T17:17:37","slug":"transfers-show-promise-during-usf-spring-game-the-crows-nest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/249892\/","title":{"rendered":"Transfers show promise during USF Spring Game\u00a0 \u2013 The Crow’s Nest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Transfer quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. During the USF Football 2026 Spring Game\u00a0<\/p>\n

Photo by Alex Felski\u00a0<\/p>\n

By Dominic Feo\u00a0<\/p>\n

Students and fans of the University of South Florida football team gathered at Corbett Stadium on April 19 to watch the team\u2019s first\u00a0spring Game under new head coach Brian Hartline.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The audience of 3,878 is now the largest Bulls crowd to watch the team\u2019s newest transfers find their footing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Transfer quarterbacks Luke\u00a0Kromenoek\u00a0[Florida State] and Michael Van Buren Jr. [Louisiana State University] continued their battle for the starting spot next September. Both passers were able to find open receivers, but Van Buren Jr. separated himself by using his legs to gain yards when plays broke down.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Transfer quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. during the USF Football 2026 Spring Game. Photo by Alex Felski\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be a quarterback battle for a while,\u201d Hartline said about competition at the position. \u201cThat being said, they\u2019re both doing a great job.\u00a0I think the most encouraging part\u00a0is that\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0encouraging each other. So,\u00a0as far as today went,\u00a0I think the ball\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0put in jeopardy too often.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

No position group made more plays however, than the revamped running back room. Aside from Alvon Isaac and Chase Garnett,\u00a0freshman\u00a0Connor Matthews and transfers Jason Collins Jr. and D.J. Crowther broke off big runs throughout the day.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first score of the game was a long run from Collins Jr., who squeezed through defenders before sprinting up the left sideline. This will be Collins Jr.\u2019s first year in the FBS, following three years at Morgan State.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Jason Collins Jr. running to the endzone\u00a0during the USF Football 2026 Spring Game. Photo by Irena Mesa\u00a0| The Crow\u2019s Nest<\/p>\n

Several Bulls defenders stood out, including corner Jair Murphy, who caught a diving interception in the endzone. Murphy was more of a playmaker on special teams last season, blocking two punts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The aggressive play from Murphy is exactly what new defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge wants from his squad. Coaching Eastern Carolina University\u2019s defense last season, the Pirates let up the second least yards in the American Conference.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cI like what I see so far,\u201d defensive end Michael Williams II said. \u201cSince [Aldridge] got here, he has been on me,\u00a0and he has been on all of us. Honestly, since he got here, I can say that our defense has improved tremendously.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Corner back Masiyah Limehouse also looked disruptive, breaking up passes throughout the day. Limehouse joins the Bulls this offseason after committing last May.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Head coach Brian Hartline during the USF Football 2026 Spring Game. Photo by Irena Mesa\u00a0| The Crow\u2019s Nest<\/p>\n

Until opening day kickoff against Florida International University on Sept. 5, USF will focus on recruiting the first high school class of Hartline\u2019s USF tenure.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t Post Views: 42 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\"More<\/a>
Written by: Dominic Feo<\/a> on April 28, 2026.
Last revised by: Julia Ferrara<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Transfer quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. During the USF Football 2026 Spring Game\u00a0 Photo by Alex Felski\u00a0 By…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-249892","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-st-pete","9":"tag-st-pete-headlines","10":"tag-st-pete-news","11":"tag-st-petersburg","12":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","13":"tag-st-petersburg-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}