The Cincinnati Bearcat football program was effectively distributed on the last day of July at Nippert Stadium. Coach Scott Satterfield’s second UC team had three sessions at Nippert Stadium before the end of the week and the Bearcat buses headed to Camp Higher Ground in West Harrison, Indiana, for a hot August meet-and-greet football.
The Bearcats have been heading to the solitude of the woods since the Rick Minter years, where they eat, drink, sleep and play among voluminous buffets in a coffee shop you wish you could find near the interstate.
While there will be plenty of stories from camp in the coming weeks, here are some reactions/overreactions to the UC “acclimatization work” at The Nipp.
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There are a good amount of duplicate numbers you should know about
With 47 new scholarship players, there are new numbers to learn every season. If you’re scoring at home, Louisville transfer safety Josh Minkins Jr. and Florida Atlantic transfer receiver Tony Johnson share No. 0; Indiana transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby and “The Godfather” Dontay Corleone share second place; receiver Evan Prater and Ohio State transfer safety Kye Stokes share the third spot; safety DJ Taylor and freshman quarterback Samaj Jones share fifth place; Southern Utah transfer defensive back Trevon Gola-Callard and Ohio State transfer running back Evan Pryor share No. 6; Grambling State transfer running back Chance Williams and West Virginia transfer linebacker Jared Bartlett share the number 7, Idaho transfer cornerback Ormanie Arnold and leading receiver Xzavier Henderson share the number 8; receiver Aaron Turner and freshman “star” Jiquan Sanks share the No. 9 spot; Chattanooga transfer receiver Jamoi Mayes and Virginia Tech transfer safety Derrick Canteen share the No. 10 spot; Central Arkansas transfer linebacker Jake Golday and Ohio State transfer tight end Joe Royer share the No. 11 spot; Quarterback Brady Lichtenberg and Kentucky transfer corner Jordan Robinson share No. 16 and running back Corey Kiner and corner Kalen Carroll share No. 21.
two. Luke Kandra and Dontay Corleone are their best-known players and lead the team in creating pre-season lists
On Thursday, newlywed 6-foot-3, 323-pound Kandra added the Wuerffel Trophy watch list for community service to his preseason accolades. He was also named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, the Outland Trophy list, a preseason Walter Camp Second Team All-American, and preseason All-Big 12 teams as voted on by Big 12 media and Athlon publications and Phil Steele. Pro Football Focus has him ranked as the top returning guard in 2024.
“It’s really an honor to receive this recognition, but being with the guys, being with my family, it’s really the best part,” Kandra said. “Having them humiliate me is really funny. It’s easier and a lot more fun to be back home.”
Corleone is on the Outland Trophy list, the Bronko Nagurski Award list and the preseason All-Big 12 teams selected by the media, Athlon and Phil Steele.
Kandra will spend what would have been her honeymoon in the forest of Camp Higher Ground. Corleone hopes to be cleared to play while he recovers from blood clots in his lungs in June. So far, he has practiced and participated in individual drills, but has not been involved in offense versus defense situations.
Former Michigan State transfer Jalen Hunt appears ready to fill in for “The Godfather” if he needs to miss games. Satterfield repeatedly mentioned Hunt’s improvement during spring work.
“He’s up to the task,” Satterfield said. “He’ll be great to be able to get in there. Hopefully Dontay will be able to get back in. It’s a good 1-2 punch to spin and there aren’t a lot of takedowns. Hunt isn’t as big but adds more quickness. That’s a good combination to have with those guys on the nose (tackle).”
3. Eastern Michigan transfer Mikah Coleman is out for the season
Satterfield made it public shortly before practice during the week that the 6-foot-2, 255-pound redshirt junior had suffered a leg injury in June. Coleman, from Reynoldsburg, was a projected starter and would have shared late reps with redshirt senior Eric Phillips and Wisconsin transfer Darian Varner.
Still in good spirits, Coleman wore boots but was selling an exercise bike this week. The advantage of the COVID-19 “extra year” is that he will have two years of eligibility upon his return.
4. Redshirt junior linebacker Jake Golday is quite an example
Defensive coordinator Tyson Veidt noticed that UC’s linebackers were “worn out” late in the year from being on the field so much. Jack Dingle and Jonathan Thompson return and the Bearcats added West Virginia’s Jared Bartlett, who played in 50 games over four years with 134 tackles and 21 tackles for loss.
Looking for depth in the offseason, they found the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Golday from Central Arkansas, where he had 82 tackles, 3.5 sacks and a pair of fumble recoveries. UC general manager Zach Grant called him “the best linebacker in the portal.” Satterfield said he resembles his teammate Dingle in size and speed.
UC’s “Catapult” vests measure running in terms of miles per hour and Golday is one of several Bearcats who can reach 35 miles per hour. This equates to a sub-4.5 40-yard dash.
“He’s a freakishly athletic guy,” Bartlett said. “He runs 22 miles per hour, jumps almost 40 inches vertically. He’s a freak and I think he’ll be a great addition to the defense.”
5. Don’t worry about tight ends
UC lost starter Chamon Metayer and Payten Singletary to the portal. Metayer made a stop in Colorado before heading to Arizona. Satterfield has repeatedly said that Elder product Joe Royer could be one of the best tight ends in the country, and they added some familiarity when they added 6-foot-2, 240-pound Francis Sherman, who had played at Louisville before playing last year. in Arkansas. Then there’s Joey Beljan, injured last season but with a solid reputation at Western Kentucky, where GM Zach Grant was before heading to Ohio State in 2022, and then here last season.
Satterfield calls the tight ends UC’s “most improved room” and offensive coordinator Brad Glenn agrees.
“Having so many guys that can do multiple things is a huge advantage for us,” Glenn said. “We struggled in the red zone last year. Having those guys as viable options in the red zone will be a huge help in that department.”
6. Slot receivers are plentiful
Aaron Turner returns after 11 receptions last year, while Barry Jackson Jr. only had four but showed a lot of flash. UTEP transfer Tyrin Smith is slippery and had a number of receptions for the Miners, and post-spring addition Jamoi Mayes looked sharp and was a go-to receiver in Chattanooga. He transferred to the Bearcats after one spring at UAB.
“He’s trying to learn everything this summer and he made some plays (Wednesday),” Satterfield said. “He’s got broad shoulders. He was 206 when he weighed in (5’10”). He’s got a very good frame, with very soft hands and a willing blocker on the outside.”
7. There’s still a Fickell on the field
Former coach Luke Fickell’s oldest son, Landon, was an offensive lineman at Moeller and on the UC roster. However, injury problems caused him to be medically disqualified. Visibly thinner, Landon Fickell is now a student assistant for the Bearcats and never left Cincinnati for Wisconsin.
8. Carter Brown has the distance
Junior kicker Carter Brown was 15 of 19 on field goals last season and made all 30 of his PATs. He previously kicked for Arizona State, so he missed just seven field goals in two seasons and no extra points. Brown kicked a 54-yarder against Oklahoma last season and Thursday had more than enough distance in his kicking progression that ended with a 55-yarder. UC’s all-time record is 58 yards, set nearly 30 years ago by Jon Bacon at Miami’s Yager Stadium. Brown and the Bearcats will be there hoping to regain the Victory Bell lost last season, in part due to the blocking of their last field goal attempt.
9. Fletchers always have their distance
Mason Fletcher in his final season is healthy and back as the Bearcats’ punter and starter. Despite injuries, he averaged 43.0 yards per kick last season after being a Ray Guy Award finalist in 2022 with an average of 46.2. The Fletcher family likes Cincinnati so much that his younger brother, Max, transferred from Arkansas and is now UC’s punter in waiting as a redshirt prospect despite averaging 46.5 yards rushing last season for the Razorbacks. Returning to James Smith, this gives the Bearcats a decade of Australian punters.
Satterfield is a fan of the “timeout” he saw from Max earlier in the week.
“He beat his brother today,” Satterfield said Wednesday. “We have two really good ones. I’m excited about those guys. We talked about what we wanted in our special teams meeting, a 4.45 hang time and a 45-yard punt. The first punt he (Max) threw was a 4, 45 They’re incredible, really good punters. It’s good to have two guys who can really do it.
10. Bearcats are bigger, stronger and faster
GM Grant and Satterfield agreed that last year’s team didn’t look like the other Big 12 teams. Off-season work with Director of Football Performance Niko Palazeti was intensified and the recruitment department went out looking for “guys”.
UC in terms of speed only had one or two players who could exceed 22 miles per hour running in 2023. That number is currently 11. One of the fastest caught a pair of touchdowns on Thursday and is just a freshman. Kale Woodburn is just 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, but he can get behind the defense and outrun them. Fellow Georgia freshman Dakrai Anderson is another burner
Corey Kiner may not be as fast as new running backs Evan Pryor, Chance Williams and others, but he is definitely faster and has surpassed 21 miles per hour. He counts the 1,047-yard rusher as one of those eager to go full steam ahead at Higher Ground.
“Everyone can look good in shorts,” Kiner said. “We’ll see how it goes next week with some shoulder pads.”
This article originally appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer: 10 Points to Ponder as UC Bearcat Football Heads to Camp Higher Ground
