Welcome to our series chronicling the 2026 USF Recruiting Class where we cover every single recruit who signed with the Bulls during Early Signing Day! Let’s welcome S CJ Cresser Jr to the Bulls!
S CJ Cresser Jr (Lakeland – Lakeland, FL)
Committed to the Bulls on April 6th, 2025, Cresser was one of two safeties committed to 2026 recruiting class and is currently enrolled at USF after joining the program in January. Via 247Sports.com, Cresser received offers from Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Maryland, Missouri, and more during his recruitment.
Brooksville 👉 Tampa Bay
Welcome to the Bay, @CJCressser! pic.twitter.com/ZabXEJOX9p
— USF Football (@USFFootball) December 3, 2025
Run the Tape:
Call Cresser “The Finisher.” Prototype strong safety who was asked to “finish” plays whether against the run or pass. Sound tackler who cleans up plays in open space. Not overly aggressive where he lets the play get behind him but dissects the play as the last line of defense. Looked the part of a safety that you want to send on a blitz to disrupt plays in the backfield. Lined up all across the defense in high school and proved to be a tackling machine no matter where he ended up.
Mike’s Take:
When I first turned on the tape for Cresser, I got a lot of former Bull Mac Harris coming out of high school when he primarily played safety for The Villages-type vibes from the Lakeland safety. Cresser is a tackling machine, and his tape shows someone who made an impact no matter where he lined up on defense. He would go from playing in the box to being the single-high safety for the Dreadnaughts his senior season and I see him in a similar role at USF where he would primarily function as the strong safety. Keep an eye out for Cresser early on at USF with a secondary group that leaned heavily on the transfer portal to recoup former players who moved on to greener pastures.
Welcome to the Bulls CJ!
by Mike Cusimano
Journalist & Recruiting Analyst, SoFloBulls.com | Twitter:@micCusi