With Diamond Head as the backdrop for Friday’s news conference, the opposing head coaches — South Florida’s Alex Golesh and San Jose State’s Kenny Niumatalolo — addressed college football’s changing landscape.
The free agency of the NCAA transfer portal. The consolidation of power conferences. The ginormous name, image and likeness payouts.
“It’s different,” Niumatalolo said. “We’re all adjusting.”
But none of that appeared to dilute USF receiver Sean Atkins’ unabashed enthusiasm for playing in the Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl at the Ching Complex.
“Whenever you start out from the bottom, you appreciate everything,” said Atkins, who joined the Bulls as a 5-foot-10, 165-pound walk-on five years ago and worked as a food runner to cover his school and living expenses.
Ahead of boarding the 91⁄2-hour flight from Tampa on Wednesday morning, Atkins checked the maps app on his phone, reaffirming the Bulls would be heading to a paradise “literally in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.”
After the news conference, Atkins posed for pictures, changing his hand motions from the Bulls’ horn sign to the hang-loose gesture.
“‘Double shakas,” Atkins said. “I just learned this today. I’m grateful to be here.”
Two weeks ago, the Bulls sent a recon group to Hawaii to plan the logistics of the bowl trip. Including staff and boosters, USF’s travel party of 400 arrived on three non-stop flights on Wednesday. The arrival was timed to coincide with the usual leadup to a game. Thursday was considered a “Monday,” Friday was a “Tuesday” and so forth, leading to Tuesday’s game-day “Saturday.”
Niumatalolo also was appreciative of the homecoming. Niumatalolo was a star quarterback at Radford High who went on to play and coach at the University of Hawaii, eventually becoming Navy’s head coach for 15 seasons through 2022. Although he was hired as the Spartans’ head coach in January, he still owns a Manoa house that is walking distance from the Ching Complex.
Aside from a playoff berth, Niumatalolo said, “if there’s any bowl I could have picked, this would be No. 1. When we found out that we were coming, the entire program was ecstatic to be able to come back.” The Spartans played Coastal Carolina in last year’s Hawaii Bowl.
“The air’s different here,” Niumatalolo added. “As soon as you get off the plane, you just feel like, ‘I’m home.’ It’s just a different place. … I don’t take it for granted. We’re very humbled to be here, very grateful to be here. There couldn’t have been a better bowl to come to.”
Niumatalolo, who succeeded Arizona-bound Brent Brennan, added 49 players to the 2024 roster. The Spartans had the toughest Mountain West schedule, playing Boise State, UNLV and Colorado State. They also played Pac-12 holdovers Washington State and Oregon State on the road. The Spartans’ 7-5 record is best among California FBS teams.
After the regular-season finale, leading receiver Nick Nash opted to skip the Hawaii Bowl to prepare for the Hula Bowl, and quarterback Emmett Brown and cornerbacks DJ Harvey and Michael Dansby entered the portal. Brown is on the travel roster, but Harvey is headed to USC and Dansby committed to Arizona.
The Spartans have rallied behind Niumatalolo’s “one-sauce team” declaration, a reference to the Spartans’ no-frills approach. On Thursday “night, Coach was wearing a T-shirt saying, ‘the one-sauce team,’” defensive lineman Marist Talavou said. “It best suits the kind of team we are. It’s one sauce. That’s all you get. It describes the culture and where we come from, San Jose. As you can see, we may not have much, but what we have is the family culture that Coach Ken has established.”
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SOUTH FLORIDA vs. SAN JOSE STATE
>> Tuesday, 3 p.m.
>> Ching Complex, UH-Manoa
