BY: Joey Johnston Athletics Senior Writer GOUSFBULLS.COM
The constellation of former USF wide receivers includes Marquez Valdes-Scantling (a two-time Super Bowl champion), Andre Davis, Tyre McCants, Rodney Adams, Carlton Mitchell, Xavier Weaver and Dontavia Bogan, plus old-school standouts such as Hugh Smith, DeAndrew Rubin and Huey Whittaker.
And, of course, there’s Sean Atkins, the former walk-on who left as USF’s all-time leader in catches and receiving yards.
“This program has had a few (great receivers),” head coach Alex Golesh said.
Keshaun Singleton, who changed his number to 11 for the 2025 season, might be USF’s latest star.
There’s the fascination with his physical skills: Singleton (6-foot-3, 212 pounds) wears 14 1/2-size shoes and 3XXXL-size gloves (“big old paws … you love to see it,” offensive coordinator Joel Gordon said).
Quarterback Bryce Archie referred to Singleton as a “baby Calvin Johnson.” While Singleton didn’t have a Megatron-like impact on the Bulls last season, he showed enough flashes to generate some offseason excitement.
Singleton, who has gained more than 30 pounds after arriving at USF in 2023 from Lawrenceville, Ga., missed all of his first season due to ankle surgery. But at midseason in 2024, he became an offensive mainstay, finishing with 26 receptions for 408 yards (15.7-yard average) and three touchdowns (all coming in the season’s final seven games).
He formally introduced himself against UAB with four catches for 105 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown. He had seven receptions for 110 yards and another score at Rice. But his single-best moment occurred in the Hawaii Bowl victory against San Jose. On USF’s final fourth-quarter drive, Singleton made an acrobatic 17-yard catch on third-and-10 with 20 seconds to play, setting up John Cannon’s 41-yard game-tying field goal (USF prevailed in a five-overtime instant classic).
Catches like that helped Lindy’s Sports College Football National 2025 Preview name Singleton for “best hands” in the American Athletic Conference and a second-team preseason all-conference selection.
Singleton said he knows there will be heightened expectations, but none are bigger than the expectations he has for himself.
“I want to be one of the best (receivers in the nation),” Singleton said. “But I’m just trying to put my head down, keep working hard every day, keep working on my craft, catch a lot of balls from a lot of directions. Because no matter how good you are, you can always get better.
“I know a lot more people know my name now, but I’m not worried about that. I’m actually grateful for it. I’ll be walking around the campus and somebody will say, ‘Hey, keep it going.’ That feels good, but this is a competitive game, so you’ve got to keep working. You can’t stand still. You’ve got to keep improving your game.”
Singleton said he’s shooting for a 1,000-yard season, but also knows there’s enough young returning talent to keep the defenses guessing. USF coaches are high on Joshua Porter and JeyQuan Smith, among others. Veteran Jaden Alexis is healthy, while transfers such as Chas Nimrod (Tennessee) and Mudia Reuben (Stanford) are expected to fill key roles. Reuben selected USF over the likes of North Carolina and West Virginia.
“We definitely have talent in our room,” Singleton said.
Gordon said Archie and Byrum Brown should have plenty of talented targets. Singleton remains one of USF’s most intriguing players.
“Keshaun, toward the middle or end of last year, gave us snippets of how good he can be,” Gordon said. “The really cool thing for him is I don’t think he understands how good he can be. As long as he’s willing to work and learn, he’s going to be as good as he wants to be.
“So, it’s a matter of him just maturing, being the same guy every single day mentally and physically, bringing the same competitive juices every single day, all of that. He has been exciting to have out there, like a completely different guy than the Keshaun Singleton that began fall camp (in 2024). He just keeps improving.”
Singleton said he feels more responsibility for production and leadership.
“I want our quarterbacks to know if they throw it my way, I’m going to come down with it,” Singleton said. “Once I got going last season, it became easier for me. It felt like the game was slowing down
“I’m trying to learn as much as I can. It’s more than just catching balls. It’s running (precise) routes and blocking and knowing what the defense is doing. I want to do all the things that good players do. I want to be that guy.”
