Game Balls: Top performers from USF’s 34-7 upset win over No. 25 Boise State

The South Florida Bulls upset the No. 25 Boise State Broncos 34-7 on Thursday night to open the 2025 season with a marquee win for head coach Alex Golesh. BullsInsider.com hands out game balls to a few of USF’s top performers (in no particular order).

DC Todd Orlando

Hats off to Orlando and his defense — the Bulls stifled Boise State all night. The Broncos’ lone touchdown drive started at the USF 38 yard-line. USF forced two turnovers and two turnovers on downs. The USF defense was aggressive and flying around all over the field.

CB Jonas Duclonas

The Wisconsin transfer and Naples, Fla. native flashed on several occasions, especially early in the game. All four of his tackles were solo efforts, while adding a tackle for loss, a pass breakup and key forced fumble when Boise State was inside the red zone. He’s an absolute dog.

QB Byrum Brown

What a night for the Bulls’ star signal-caller. It wasn’t pretty for him early on, but Brown didn’t turn the ball over on the night and had his highlight moments. Brown’s bomb to Chas Nimrod for 55 yards was a beauty, and he followed that up with a 15-yard score to give USF a 24-7 lead in the third quarter. Brown isn’t always the most consistent passer, but he carried the Bulls’ offense on this night.

WR Chas Nimrod

Speed. Speed. More speed. Playmaker. The former Tennessee wideout caught three passes for 96 yards on five targets. He was listed as an “or” on the depth chart, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him emerge as a key starter moving forward.

QB Locklan Hewlett

Who could have seen this coming? The true freshman from St. Augustine, Fla. lined up at punter on fourth and 6 from the Boise State 45 and threw a touchdown pass down the right sideline to Keshaun Singleton. USF took the 17-7 lead on this trick play, which was crucial. What a special moment for Hewlett in his college debut.

WR Keshaun Singleton

Singleton was a threat throughout the game. He caught all five of his targets, going for 93 yards and the score on the long ball from Hewlett. The redshirt sophomore from the Peach State is in store for a big season after a solid 2024 campaign.

LB Jhalyn Shuler

Really, the entire front seven deserved a game ball. Shuler was everywhere on the night and recorded 12 stops, a tackle for loss and a pass break up.