‘No doubt in my mind’ Alex Golesh will succeed at USF: Josh Heupel

If some USF football fans remain unconvinced about new Bulls coach Alex Golesh, consider the vote of confidence he received Sunday from someone who knows him and his new team well.

“There’s no doubt in my mind he’s going to do a great job of leading that program,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said.

Heupel has a lot of familiarity with USF after spending three years coaching against the Bulls at UCF (where he went 28-8). That means he understand the landscape of the state and the American Athletic Conference.

He has also spent the last three seasons working with Golesh. Heupel hired him away from Iowa State to be his co-offensive coordinator at UCF in 2020, then took him to Tennessee with him when he took over the Volunteers. Together, they led one of the best offenses in the nation.

“He’s smart,” Heupel said. “He’s competitive. Offensively what he came in and learned while we were at UCF, then transitioned up here to Tennessee. He has a great ability to communicate and relate to student-athletes. He’s relentless as a recruiter.”

Heupel made his comments Sunday during a Zoom session with reporters about his No. 6 Volunteers’ acceptance to the Orange Bowl. Tennessee will have to face No. 10 Clemson without Golesh. Heupel said Tennessee hadn’t yet figured out how they’ll replace him immediately on the recruiting trail or in game preparation, but it’s a problem the team is happy to embrace.

“Certainly losing Alex is something that we’re excited about,” Heupel said. “I think it speaks to the growth inside of our program. When I say that, just that the success that we’re having on the field, the style of play, the culture that we have inside of our building. For him to have an opportunity to go run his own program is one that I and the staff are excited for him to have that opportunity.”

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