Head coach Alex Golesh and the South Florida Football staff announced the addition of two more Bulls, a pair of defenders, to USF’s 2025 Signing Class on Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA Late Signing Period. The Bulls 2025 Class, which for the second-straight year was ranked among the top two classes outside of the autonomous four conferences, now numbers 27 members.
USF also welcomed 13 new additions through the NCAA Transfer Portal and has 28 early enrollees on campus this spring, 15 from the 2025 Signing Class and 13 transfers, that will compete in winter conditioning and spring practices. The Bulls open the first of 15 spring practices on March 25 and the annual Spring Game has been set for Saturday, April 26 at Corbett Stadium on the USF campus.
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 the NCAA Late Period opened Wednesday, all three recruiting services ranked the Bulls class second in The American and second among all programs outside of the autonomous four conferences, one year after the Bulls posted the top class in both. 247Sport ranked the Bulls class ahead of seven autonomous conference programs while Rivals had it ahead of six.
“We capped off this period here with 40 additions to the team, which is a lot,” Golesh said. “I feel like this was the first class where we had a full two years to start evaluations, start developing relationships, and be able to put it together. You look at the class – 21 from the state of Florida, eight from the state of Georgia. That’s really where you want to be. That’s the great thing about this job is you don’t have to go very far, you just have to be able to evaluate at an elite level and build relationships.”
Defensive back Dorian Mallary Jr. (5-11, 170/Fort Myers, Fla.), an athletic two-way player that that also threw for more than 3,000 yards and ran for more than 700 as a quarterback, and defensive lineman Richard Scott III (6-4, 245/Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), who helped lead St. Thomas Aquinas High School to its sixth-straight state title in 2024, are the Bulls newest defensive additions, bringing their 2025 Class signees on the defensive side to 13. The Bulls 2025 Class has 13 signees on the offensive side and USF also added one specialist, all in the early period.
The Bulls also added 13 players through the NCAA Transfer Portal, which opened on Dec. 9. Among them were five on offense, five on defense and three specialists, all of which are currently on campus.
Through the portal, USF added a pair of offensive linemen in Connor McLaughlin (6-7, 295, Sr./Stanford), a Tampa native and Jesuit High School graduate, and Thomas Shrader (6-5, 305, Jr./Appalachian State) and a tight end in Wyatt Sullivan (6-4, 245, Jr./FAU). The Bulls also added running back Cartevious Norton (5-11, 225, Sr./Charlotte), who ras run for 1,180 yards and 12 touchdowns in three collegiate seasons, and wide receiver Chas Nimrod (6-2, 185, Jr./Tennessee), who played in 23 games for Tennessee and caught 29 passes for 315 yards.
Portal additions on defense include three defensive linemen in Dre Butler (6-5, 280, Gr./Charlotte), a former No. 1 junior college recruit who has played in 40 games and recorded 91 tackles in five Division 1 seasons, Josh Celiscar (6-3, 292, Sr./Texas A&M), who brings 156 career tackles and comes to USF from Texas A&M but previously was a team captain and played four seasons at UCF, and Jacob Merrifield (6-2, 285, Gr./FAU), who played in 33 games for FAU. The Bulls also added two defensive backs in Jonas Duclona (5-11, 190, So./Wisconsin), who played in 16 games in two seasons with Wisconsin, and Boogsie Silvera (5-11, 191, Jr./McNeese State), who logged 153 tackles for McNeese State.
USF also added three specialists from the portal in kicker Adam Zouagui (5-11, 175, Jr./Davidson), punter Chase Leon (6-5, 201, So./Lamar) and long snapper Turner McLaughlin (6-1, 220, So./Tennessee Tech).
During the NCAA Early Signing Period in December, USF announced the addition of 25 new Bulls, 23 high school student-athletes, one junior college transfer and one Australian punter.
