The Hawaii Bowl was expected to feature two of the most productive receivers in the country who are school record setters when South Florida (6-6) meets San Jose State (7-5) in the Christmas Eve matchup at 8 p.m. ET.
While South Florida’s Sean Atkins will play his final game during a career that included late brilliance in the past two seasons, San Jose State head coach Ken Niumatalolo announced before his team departed for Hawaii that consensus All-American Nick Nash won’t play in order to begin preparing for the NFL Draft.
“Nick is not going to play and is getting ready for the next level,” Niumatalolo said.
It would have been a matchup between two sixth-year players who took some time before achieving stardom.
That’s because Atkins began his career as a walk-on and Nash was a quarterback during his first three seasons at SJSU.
Sean Atkins’ Journey At USF
Even when Atkins earned a spot on the Bulls, it took quite a while for him to make his mark at USF. In his first three seasons, he caught a total of 10 passes.
During his fourth season, the 5-foot-10, 186-pound Atkins caught just 19 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns.
When head coach Alex Golesh took over as head coach before the 2023 season, Atkins’ career turned around.
That first season for Golesh, Atkins had 92 receptions for 1,054 yards and seven touchdowns. He became the first player in school history to top 1,000 receiving yards, and the seven touchdowns is the second most for a single season for the Bulls.
This year, while his statistics are down, Atkins still had 68 receptions for 677 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 10.2 yards on 25 punt returns.
Atkins is already the USF career leader in receptions with 189 for a school that debuted its football program in 1997.
With 2,063 career receiving yards, Atkins needs 74 yards against San Jose State to become USF’s all-time leader in that category. He enters the game with 2,063 receiving yards. The all-time leader is Andre Davis, who had 2,136 in a career that spanned from 2011-14.
Atkins has at least one reception in 30 straight games and can tie Davis’ career mark of 31 with a catch against San Jose State.
He has 12 career touchdown receptions, which is fifth on the school’s all-time list.
With 92 and 68 receptions during the past two years, Atkins owns the top two single-season reception marks in school history.
Something that could boost Atkins’ performance is the potential return of dual-threat quarterback Byrum Brown, who has been sidelined since suffering an injury during the fifth game of the season against Tulane. Bryce Archie took over for Brown and has thrown for 1,679 yards, nine touchdowns, and nine interceptions.
When asked during a recent press conference if Brown could play in the Hawaii Bowl, Golesh said, “I hope so. He practiced. He is as healthy as he has been since the Tulane game. I would hope so.”
Atkins wouldn’t tip his hand whether Brown will see action, but when asked how he has looked in practice, Atkins responded, “Byrum always looks great. He’s getting more confident in everything. I feel I have been taking reps with all the quarterbacks, so we don’t really know what is going on.”
Another factor to look at in this game is that SJSU has lost cornerbacks DJ Harvey and Michael Dansby to the transfer portal. Harvey had four interceptions and six pass breakups, while Dansby had two INTs and seven pass breakups.
Nick Nash’s Absence
The 6-3, 195-pound Nash was named to several first-team All-American teams and was among three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award for the nation’s top FBS receiver (regardless of position). The award eventually went to Heisman winner Travis Hunter of Colorado, while Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan joined Nash as the other finalist.
Through the regular season, Nash was the FBS leader in receptions (104), receiving yards (1,382), and receiving touchdowns (16).
Even without Nash, SJSU has a formidable target in redshirt senior Justin Lockhart, who has 52 receptions for 973 yards and five touchdowns. The 6-3, 196-pound Lockhart was a second-team All-Mountain West selection this season.
He will get a chance to step into the spotlight against a USF defense that allowed 279.1 passing yards per game and 21 passing touchdowns this season.
