Hey all, as Tim pointed out in another thread, the portal opened today with more than 1,000 players nationwide in it. And as expected, there's a few UC guys in there. Every network has a specialty (On3 is NIL, 247 is the composite and crystal ball) and Rivals' has gone all in on the transfer portal. Here's the UC guys who have been confirmed in it as of earlier tonight. I'll add more when notified:

Ja'Quan Sheppard, cornerback
Ryan Coe, kicker
Jake Renfro, center
JQ Hardaway, cornerback
Jovanni Bermudez, wide receiver
Luther Richesson, quarterback

He visited UC Dec. 9, but will stick with Louisville.

I already posted an INsider about Ty Perkins, but wanted to share the full story, with all his quotes:

I know Kerry Coombs has worked hard to keep this one in the fold and the fact that UC is still in Amare Snowden's top 5 is almost all because Coombs is coming back on staff:

A dead period starts tomorrow (Monday, December 19) until early January, and after listening to Coach Satterfield yesterday during the bowl game, it sounded as if they were hosting five recruit for official visits. Any idea who those five were?

*The early signing period starts Wednesday, December 21 and extends through Friday, December 23.

Hey all, I don't like straying too far off topic of the Bearcats, but I'm just so pumped after today. I'm a DIE-HARD Bengals fan. My wife and I even went to the Super Bowl in February. And I'm ecstatic after the comeback today. WHOOOOOO DEEEEEYYY!!

Hey guys, just got word that three-star commit Roan Davy officially visited NC State this weekend. I'd heard rumblings, but it's been confirmed. I'll reach out and try to do a story on him:
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The 2022 season ended with a bit of a thud as the Bearcats were totally outmatched in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.

A tip of the cap to Louisville, which had an excellent game plan despite having only three position coaches on the staff. They attacked the UC quarterbacks and controlled the line of scrimmage all day. If UC was going to score, it was going to be through the air, and Cincinnati managed to do that only once thanks to a couple of miraculous pitch and catches from Prater to Wyatt Fischer In the 2nd quarter.

As I look back at the season, one thing stands out. Despite having several all-league offensive linemen returning, the overall play from that group was substandard. When Gino added Mike Cummings to the staff in the off-season to tutor the offensive front, I thought it was a great addition, but it just didn’t work. Maybe in time it would have, but the Bearcats struggled at the offensive LOS all season.

Louisville’s offense changed the game after the Cards learned they were able to create gaping running lanes attacking the UC defense’s left side late in the 1st quarter, and the Bearcats were never in the game after halftime.

Although I know some fans are worried about hiring a head coach that was probably sitting on Louisville’s hot seat, seeing the disparity in size, athleticism and depth yesterday makes me think Coach Satterfield might have a better grasp on what the UC program needs as it heads into the toughest league in which it has ever competed.

It will be interesting to see who the new staff can ink to letters of intent on Wednesday, but the bigger challenge will be who the staff can lure out of the transfer portal. Those additions will decide just how competitive Bearcat football will be next season.

As a guy that has followed UC football for decades, I often wondered how great it would be if a UC team could win 9 games. Because of that, I can’t be too disappointed about this season, but it’s very possible tougher days lie ahead. Regardless, I’m still excited about Bearcat football next season and seeing an entirely new group of schools coming to Nippert Stadium. It should be fun.

Good win today for UC, as it moves closer towards conference play:

Tough game in Boston. But at least some of the younger guys, including Evan Prater, got some game experience:

Clark is down to Louisville, Cincy, and Miami. OV this weekend with the Cards. Update on Rivals:

Breakdown from the Louisville side, Rivals' site covering U of L, to give you some details on the Cardinals:

Story from Clint Cosgrove below, though I also included Gregory's tweet from his in-home visit this week with UC coaches:
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Hey all, I talked last night with three-star WR commit Ty Perkins. He's another commit who reaffirmed that decision this week with UC.
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I think it says a lot that Perkins recommitted despite UC not having a wide receivers coach at the moment. Perkins seemed pretty set on the Bearcats unless he REALLY didn't get along with the new hire. He told me about growing up a fan of the Bengals and Reds and going to Cincinnati a lot as a kid. He loves the city, the campus and the program itself.

Last weekend was Perkins' official visit. And like I mentioned in the Tengesdahl story, Perkins, Brady Drogosh and Tengesadahl all officially visited and decided they would stay and told the coaches the news over dinner on Saturday. He also talked with the coaches who are on the staff, specifically Pete Thomas, Nic Cardwell and Da'Rail Sims. I think Perkins isn't even sure how the staff will use him, but they told him it will be a balanced offense and they showed him what they did at Louisville, some examples on film. That seems to have been enough for Perkins.

Perkins told me he's graduating this weekend and will be moving in at UC three weeks from Saturday, to enroll for the spring semester. So he'll obviously take part in spring practice. Perkins told me he's about 185 pounds now and wants to get to about 195.

Most of the commits have been pretty coy with who they're still recruiting for UC in the 2023 class. But Perkins did tell me they're working on multiple Louisville commits. So we'll see. A few notable ones are Adonijah Green and Rayquan Adkins.

Full story coming
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Per release from UC, he'll be making just under $3 million per season, with two seasons added:

The University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees approved a contract extension through the 2028-29 season for men's basketball coach Wes Miller on Wednesday.

The extension adds two years to his current contract and increases his average annual salary to $2.95 million per year, keeping one of the best young coaches in the country in Cincinnati for the next six years.

"We have the right coach to lead us into the Big 12 in Wes Miller," Cunningham said. "This new contract extension provides further stability and increases investment into our men's basketball program, which will set us up for success in the best league in America. Wes is one of the best young coaches in the country. He is building something special here at Cincinnati. We share his commitment to winning and look forward to competing for championships in the coming years."

Miller's 209 wins are the most of any coach in the nation by their 40th birthday, besting Rick Pitino (200) and Shaka Smart (195), among others. Last season, he became the first UC coach to start his tenure 5-0 with a 71-51 win over No. 14 Illinois. That fall semester also marked the team's highest-ever GPA. Miller, a national champion as a player at North Carolina, has galvanized the alumni and recruiting bases while leading enhancements in all areas of player development.

"I am very grateful for President Pinto, John Cunningham and the University of Cincinnati for their investment in our program's future," Miller said. "We feel we are scratching the surface of our program's potential, especially in such a pivotal time. I want to highlight our young men for their tireless work ethic and motivation to represent our community. There is nothing I want more than for us to get Cincinnati basketball back to where it belongs: as a national power."

Hey guys, I just added the post game presser on here with the recap. This one was never really close. Good motivation builder

Quite the awards sweep for Ivan Pace Jr. Release from UC sums up his awards haul this season:


University of Cincinnati senior linebacker Ivan Pace, Jr. collected All-America honors from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) on Wednesday giving him First Team accolades from all five NCAA-recognized All-America organizations. He is now the first-ever unanimous All-American in the 135-year history of Cincinnati football.

He joins Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner (2021), Kevin Huber (2007, 2008) and Jonathan Ruffin (2000) as the only Bearcats to earn consensus All-America status.

In addition to his AFCA honor on Wednesday, Pace Jr. was named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press, Walter Camp Foundation, FWAA and Sporting News.

The Cincinnati native and Colerain High School product was a finalist for the Bednarik and Butkus Awards and was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Pace Jr. capped the 2022 season by ranking as the nation's highest-graded linebacker (93.1) according to Pro Football Focus.

He tallied 120 tackles to go along with 19.5 TFLs and 9.0 sacks in 2022, while leading a defense that ranked fifth nationally in yards per play allowed (4.52).

His 19.5 TFLs rank third in the nation, while his 120 stops are the 10th-most in the country and his nine sacks sit 14th.

Pace Jr. will the lead the Bearcats at Saturday’s Wasabi Fenway Bowl. Cincinnati will look to win 10 games for just the 10th time in school history against Louisville at 11 a.m. on ESPN.



Pace Jr. 2022 Honors
Unanimous All-American (first in school history)
Consensus All-American (fourth player, fifth selection in school history)
AFCA First Team All-American
AP First Team All-American
Sporting News First Team All-American
FWAA First Team All-American
Walter Camp First Team All-American
CBS Sports First Team All-American
PFF First Team All-American
AAC Defensive Player of the Year
All-AAC First Team
Butkus Award Finalist
Bednarik Award Finalist
PFF's Defensive Player of the Year
PFF's Linebacker of the Year

Green is down to Louisville and Cincinnati. Update on Rivals:

Following up my INsider earlier. Full story on Tengesdahl, which is a big win for the Bearcats.

Throughout the past week or more, the new UC staff has been reaching out to nearly every recruit currently committed to Louisville. They already flipped Jayden Davis. One more I'm told to keep an eye on is four-star OL Luke Burgess. The previous UC staff worked on him, but what piqued my attention is this tweet below just a few minutes ago. Not sure what to make of it, knowing UC is involved now.
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Hey all, I'm just now getting the chance to post, but I talked last night with three-star OL Evan Tengesdahl. He's been committed for more than a year now and reaffirmed that decision over the weekend.
Login to view embedded media Tengesdahl didn't get super specific, but said he did open up his recruitment two weeks ago when Luke Fickell left. So I'm not sure what schools reached out. But Tengesdahl officially visited UC last weekend and he said over dinner on Saturday night is when he, Brady Drogosh and Ty Perkins all told the new staff they were staying on board with their commits.

Specifically, Tengesdahl said he loves the new coaches' emphasis on family. He said he likes that the assistant coaches all have dinners and gatherings at their houses, with their families. And with coach Nic Cardwell, what sold Tengesdahl is his personality. Tengesdahl told me he likes the interactions there and what Cardwell told him he could do to get to the NFL. Not sure the specifics, as Tengesdahl didn't say, but he liked what he heard.

Tengesdahl will still be signing his letter of intent a week from today. He's set to graduate this month and will enroll at UC next month, to participate in spring practice.

I asked Tengesdahl who he was working on to come with him. Like Jayden Davis, he didn't get specific. But the one thing Tengesdahl said is that he and the staff are working on more guys currently committed to Louisville, who committed to the coaches now at UC. So we'll see what that entails.

Full story coming.