It’s safe to say Alex Golesh won’t receive a Christmas card from Jason Candle this year.
The former Toledo assistant worked alongside Candle from 2009 to 2011. And he’s flipped three University of Toledo commitments to South Florida in the past week.
Tight end Tayte Crable, linebacker Gavin Leach, and cornerback Gavin Jenkins — all three-star recruits — de-committed from the Rockets and pledged their allegiance to South Florida.
Crable, the son of former Michigan All-American Shawn Crable, committed to Toledo in August, telling the Akron Beacon Journal, “It reminded me of home. When I was there and I was waking up in the hotel during my official visit, it wasn't like, ‘Where am I at?’ It was more like I felt like, ‘I can get out of the hotel, get in my own car, and drive around like I knew the place.' That was a big deal for me choosing Toledo, and obviously their record and what they do in the MAC speaks for itself.”
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Akron Hoban standout posted a de-commitment statement on X, thanking UT’s coaches for “believing in my ability to play the game I love at the next level,” and then announcing that he would attend South Florida.
Leach, an Indiana native, committed to UT in April. But the Bulls never backed off, offering Leach in late September and hosting him for an official visit in October. He flipped soon after Crable’s decision.
ESPN ranks Leach as the nation’s No. 62 linebacker.
Jenkins, who attends high school 2½ hours from South Florida’s Tampa campus, visited USF over the weekend and committed on Monday.
“The relationship I have with [cornerbacks coach DeMarcus Van Dyke] and coach Golesh made me feel right where I needed to be to stay in Florida,” Jenkins told Bulls Insider, USF’s Rivals.com website.
South Florida’s robust name, image, and likeness resources are the biggest impediment for the Rockets.
Golesh was Toledo’s running backs coach and recruiting coordinator in 2009 and the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator in 2010 and 2011. He followed Tim Beckman to Illinois, and then reunited with Matt Campbell at Iowa State from 2016 to 2019.
Golesh was the offensive coordinator under Josh Heupel at Central Florida and Tennessee before getting the South Florida job in 2023. He is 11-10 overall.
247Sports ranks UT’s 2025 recruiting class 83rd in the country and second in the Mid-American Conference, behind Miami.
First Published November 13, 2024, 3:51 p.m.
