Stampeding Through the 2025 USF Football Roster: #51 OL Zane Herring
The final offensive lineman in our countdown might be the Bulls' most important one.
PLAYER: Zane Herring
POSITION: Offensive lineman (guard)
YEAR: Redshirt senior
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6'5", 315 lbs.
HOW DID HE GET HERE? Herring went to Madison County High School near Tallahassee, where he was rated a mid-three star recruit and earned offers from a handful of power conference schools, including Florida State, Tennessee, and Nebraska. He stayed local and committed to the Noles, enrolling in 2020, but he couldn’t break into the starting lineup in his three years there. His best season with FSU was his last one in 2022, where he appeared in 11 games as a backup right guard.
He entered the transfer portal after the 2022 season and committed to USF in April 2023. He became a key piece of USF’s offensive line almost immediately, starting 12 games for the Bulls at right guard and getting named Honorable Mention All-AAC.
HOW WAS HIS 2024 SEASON? Herring was intended to be a locked-in starter on the offensive line, but he unfortunately spent a good bit of the season battling injuries. He missed the opener against Bethune-Cookman recovering from an injury he sustained in the Boca Raton Bowl in 2023, then suffered a knee injury midseason and missed a few games down the stretch. But when he was healthy, he was starting, and his presence undoubtedly helped the offensive line in big late-season wins against Charlotte and Tulsa. He ended up appearing in eight of the Bulls’ 13 games, starting each of them.
WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT IN 2025? The popular story surrounding USF’s offensive line goes that Alex Golesh arrived in 2022 to find only six remaining offensive linemen on scholarship. He hit the portal hard for reinforcements, many of whom have turned out to be critical players in the Bulls’ resurgence the past couple years. Herring may be the biggest piece of the bunch. Golesh was very clear in 2023 about how important Herring was to the line, and it stands to reason that as long as he’s healthy, he’ll be starting against Boise State in August. It would be very poetic if Herring, who took a chance on USF’s famously depleted offensive line, spent his final season of eligibility as part of the unit that finally took the Bulls to the next level.