veteran USF linebacker with a sneaky-good fit for a fast, physical defense
Houston Hess is listed on USF’s roster, but the available public stat feeds show no notable 2026 production yet, so the story here is more about projection than box-score splash. What stands out is positional fit: if he earns snaps, a Bulls linebacker has to run, strike, and survive in space, and Hess profiles as the kind of piece coaches trust for consistency, toughness, and assignment discipline. For a team, that makes him the classic “do the dirty work” defender—valuable if you need reliability, special-teams grit, and a low-drama competitor who can help stabilize the middle.
