Full story. Even lower than the No. 22 by coaches poll.

Since UC is knocking in the door of the national title game, here are the sites over the next few years. Full release below from the College Football Playoff:

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Special teams to start – Punter Mason Fletcher working with the ones

• Cornerback Justin Harris downed punt at 1 yard line
• WR Nick Mardner downed punt at 1 yard line

Highlights/Standouts:

Linebacker Ty Van Fossen – 40 plus yard scoop and score touchdown

WR Nick Mardner – 30+ yard jump ball touchdown catch. The Hawaii transfer has put on 20 pounds since joining the Bearcats

Jaquon Sheppard’s vocal leadership on the sidelines

Freshman Tyler Gillison with a sack

Safety Ethan Wright – rush sack for loss of 7

RB Korey Kinner’s workload. He will be a steady back with Montgomery and McClelland

Kicker Ryan Coe 1 for 4 on field goals

Defensive line Jabari Taylor tip interception

Walk-on WR Ashton Koller with three catches, including a 30 yard go route in traffic

Both QB’s ability to avoid pressure and get the ball out of their hand

Defense has depth a linebacker and cornerback. Coach Fickell acknowledged that they could have 13-14 rotating starters.

Ivan Pace JR's presence and his impact will be seen week 1


Offensive drive summaries:

Drive #1 – Ben Bryant

• Out route to Josh Whyle for 5 yards
• Deep route broken up by JaQuon Sheppard
• Nick Mardner dropped pass across the middle. Right through his hands.
• Tip interception by DL Jabari Taylor

Drive # 1 – Evan Prater

• Batted pass at the line of scrimmage
• Read option pass to Myles Montgomery for a first down
• Throw away resulting in internal grounding
• Pass break up by Arquon Bush
• Alludes the rush and throws the ball away

Drive # 2 – Ben Bryant

• 5 Yard scramble
• Touch sack by Jaquon Sheppard
• Incomplete to Josh Whyle
• 3 and out

Drive #2 – Evan Prater

• Prater 2 yard rush
• Scramble to right side – throw away
• Incomplete to Josh Whyle
• Three and out

Drive # 3 – Evan Prater

• Incomplete miss throw
• Dropped pass by Josh Whyle
• 5 yard scramble
• Three and out

Drive #3 – Ben Bryant

• 30+ yard grab by Lenny Taylor
• 8 yard Ben Bryant rush
• Two straight defensive pass interfences in the endzone
• Fickell brings out the kicking unit.
• Ryan Coe 20-yard Field Goal – NO GOOD

Drive #4 – Ben Bryant

• 1st down strike to Tyler Scott
• 3-yard rush by Charles McChelland
• Scrambles out of pock to throw the ball away
• 3-yard pass to Tre Tucker
• Ryan Coe 37-yard field goal – NO GOOD

Prater #4

Ryan Montgomery 35-yard rushing touchdown

Prater #5

• Korey Kinner 5-yard rush
• Overthrow to Whyle on a run-pass option
• 5-yard rush by Ryan Montgomery
• First down pass for 13 yards to Josh Whyle
• Pass break up by Bryon Threats
• Ryan Coe 35-yard field goal – NO GOOD

Bryant #5

• Throw away
• 4-yard rush by Myles Montgomery
• Missed Jadon Thompson in the endzone
• Korey Kinner rush for 3-yards
• Kore Kiner 13-yard touchdown reception

Bryant #6

• 5-yard rush by Charles McClelland
• Touchdown pass to Tyler Scott

Prater #6

• Prater 8 yard rush
• Touchdown pass to Jadon Thompson

Bryant #7

• Sack by Ethan Wright
• 5 yards to Tyler Scott
• Ivan Pace pass break up on Nick Mardner
• 45-yard field goal by Ryan Coe – NO GOOD

DJ Moore ‘24 QB dropped a top 5: UCF, Tennessee, VT, Cincy, and Louisville.

Tennessee seems like the leader based on his quotes and Louisville seems to be in last.

He plans on visiting Cincy soon. Gino is huge reason for his Cincinnati interest.

Cool piece here that the Falcons posted to their Twitter page:
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Big shout out to Zach Libby from our Michigan site, who was at Roseville HS's practice yesterday. Piece here on Bearcats stud commit Amare Snowden and the relationships that got him to UC:

Hey all, just following up my previous INsider with the full story on Cineas. Not a top option at the moment for UC, but could become one. Has an 'offer' that as far as I know is committable, but the staff isn't pushing right now. One of those guys that could really come into play into the spring.

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Hey guys, I caught up with one of UC's higher priority targets in the 2024 class, four-star cornerback Kenny Woseley. He's up to 22 offers. And they're some big ones, like Florida, Georgia, Penn State, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
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Woseley visited UC June 21. He's been in contact with the staff for a while, but that was his first in-person visit. And the very first thing he told me was pretty telling: "It was a nine-hour ride, but it was worth the ride." Woseley likes to talk a lot anyway, but he really went on for a while about the Bearcats. He told me he loves that Kerry Coombs is on staff now. Woseley is very well aware of the success Coombs has had, plus how good Sauce Gardner and Coby Bryant played and how high they were drafted.

Woseley's primary recruiter, however, is assistant coach Colin Hitschler. And that relationship is tight, too. "That's my guy for sure," Woseley told me. He said Hitschler has come to Philly three times and he's made it a point to see him each time.

The school I see as the one in the driver's seat is Penn State, probably not a shocker. Woseley said he's been four or five times over the last two years, the last one being June 25 for a 7-on-7 tournament. He likes the coaches and the relationships he has there, the closeness of everything on campus and the academic standing of the university. Woseley isn't sure what he wants to major in, but he's thinking business and marketing.

As far as visits, Woselesy said he's eyeing the West Virginia at Pitt game on Sept. 1. He told me he likes that coach Pat Narduzzi is a defensive coach and likes his track record with producing Jim Thorpe award winners. Woseley also mentioned Michigan and UC as places he'd like to get to.

The next step is a top 12, which should be released in a few weeks. The Bearcats should safely make that list. Right now, I think they're in a good spot, but again. Penn State should be viewed as the favorite here.

Full story coming.

Release from UC:
"The Cincinnati athletics department is inviting guests to attend a free showing of "Little Giants" at Nippert Stadium on Sunday, August 14.

Gates open at 5:30 p.m. with the screening of Little Giants beginning at 6 p.m. Admission to the event is free and event parking will be available at Woodside Garage for $5. Concessions will be available for purchase starting at 5:30 p.m.

Seating for the event will be available on the field and in the stands. Guests are encouraged to bring blankets and pillows, but lawn chairs will not be permitted on the field."

Good story here from our man Sam Kiwatkowski on Drogosh's off-season and his thoughts headed into his senior season:

While it is clearly too early to tell, the Cincinnati Bearcats' defense is starting to take shape. In fact, I think the defense will carry the team throughout the season. Despite losing several playmakers to the NFL, the 2022 defense has been flying around, making players throughout the early stages of Fall Camp.

Here our my thoughts on where the Bearcats stand in their defensive depth.

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Defensive depth Chart

Cornerback Arquon Bush

Cornerback Ja’Quan Sheppard

Safety Ja’Von Hicks

Safety Bryon Threats

Linebacker Ty Van Fossen

Middle backer Wil Huber

Strongside Backer DeShawn Pace

Weak side Backer Jaheim Thomas

Defensive line Jabari Taylor

Nose Jowon Briggs

Defensive line Malik Vann

Other notable names that will get quality mins:

Linebacker Ivan Pace JR

Defensive line Noah Potter

Linebacker Ty Van Fossen

Nickelback Sammy Anderson

Defensive end Eric Phillips

Defensive end Rob Jackson

Safety Ethan Wright

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Guys, I caught up with one of UC's offers in the 2024 class, three-star WR John Cineas. He's up to 10 offers now, most notably from UC and Auburn.
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Cineas has not been to UC yet, but he told me he's very interested. He talks regularly, maybe not a weekly basis because of NCAA limitations for the recruiting class, but a lot with assistant coach Mike Brown. That also happens to be Cineas' lead recruiter here. Cineas told me he likes what Brown teaches and how he does it. He also thinks Brown tells is straight, which he appreciates.

Oddly, Cineas didn't talk much about Auburn. And honestly, I'm not sure how firm that offer is. We'll know soon when coaches can start talking to that 2024 class more on Sept. 1. It's obvious that Cineas hopes he can get offers from Georgia, Florida State and even Alabama. He's visited the first two a ton. But at least right now, I don't think he's up to that caliber. There's intrigue and each of those has stayed in contact, but they wanna see him this fall.

Visit-wise, expect Cineas back at Georgia, as well as Alabama. If he doesn't blow up, partly from a growth spurt, I think UC and others are waiting for him to come to the realization that Bama and Georgia probably aren;t options. But right now, it's mostly just staying in contact and trying to get Cineas up for a game this fall.

Full story coming.

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Guys, I know I just had an INsider and a story on Thompson and his top five, but that's sparked some other info that's come to light. After that story was published, I had a few sources reach out to me with some new information.
Login to view embedded media As y'all know, Thompson is one of the only targets left on the board for UC in the 2023 and definitely is the biggest. He officially visited June 10 and the staff and recruits I've talked to feel very good about the Bearcats' chances of landing him. I know Khamari Anderson has told me he continues to work on him and I think Anderson being at UC does make a difference.

I've been talking with sources at three schools, who are both telling me what's going on from their perspective: Penn State, Michigan State and Ohio State.

The Spartans have long been in the picture because Thompson's former coach at Cass Tech, Thomas Wilcher, is on the staff there. And because of that, Michigan State has long thought to have been the favorite. I had a source at Penn State tell me, however, that they heard he's no longer a take for the Spartans, so I did a little digging.

My source at Michigan State has told me "It's a little up in the air at the moment," but that it's likely a no, but not a definitive no. So there's a lot of moving parts as far as the Spartans are concerned. Partly, it's the commitments they've received, from two big-time DEs, Andrew DePaepe and Bai Jobe. The Jobe commitment was two weeks ago and that's the one that's in large part caused Thompson's standing with the team to change. But because of the relationship between Thompson and Wilcher, it's fluid. It sounds like there's been an understanding between Wilcher and Thompson that Thompson would still visit Michigan State over the coming weeks, despite him canceling his official visit there last month. I'm told it's a similar situation to another recent commit for the Spartans, Cole Dellinger. MSU really didn't need another lineman, but felt he was too good to let him leave the state, if he wanted to commit and he did.

With Penn State, it sounds like Thompson has told the staff (hasn't confirmed with me) that he's gonna visit for the team's BBQ next weekend (July 29). In part because the Lions' staff also believes he's not a take for Michigan State, Penn State believes Thompson will commit there when he visits. I'm told the staff there is extremely confident. It's enough to expect some FutureCasts on Rivals from our site covering Penn State to put in some picks for the Nittany Lions in the next few days. So expect those to come.

As far as Ohio State, yes he technically has an offer. That came on June 1 when he camped there. But I'm told it likely is not a committable offer at this point. It seems the Buckeyes staff still wants to watch him further this fall. So if Thompson wants to commit next month as he's saying, it would seem Ohio State is off the table.

This brings us down to UC, Penn State and Pittsburgh as the likely three Thompson legitimately has to choose from. Again, Pitt seems like the darkhorse here. Not ruling out, but doesn't seem to be a front-runner. So it's between UC and Penn State. Sources within the Bearcats' staff tell me they still want Thompson and that the offer is absolutely committable. But they've also got eyes on his visit to Penn State next weekend. If he makes it out of that and hasn't committed to the Nittany Lions in the few days after, I think UC has an excellent chance still. But that's a big 'if' from what I now understand.

We'll of course be thoroughly monitoring this, but plenty to keep in mind here. Again, all eyes will be on next weekend, if he does in fact visit Penn State and if he does commit on that visit.

Caught up with the rising 2024 OL recently, who talked about his camp and offer from Cincinnati

- Jarrett Hensley, as you know, is playing with with Team USA East Coast in Barcelona this month. This move wasn't out of the blue. Coach Miller has some connections with the Team USA staff and made it a point to get Hensley involved. The word is Hensley wants more real game experience and this was the perfect opportunity for him. Coming off a productive workout season, Hensley might be ready to make a jump to a Cincinnati's premier scorers. His skill set, mixed with a 6-foot-8 frame has the chance to be an issue for AAC opponents.

- David Dejulius - David is getting a change of scenery and training outside of the state; this is the case for others as the semester does not start until late August. The Cincinnati team will go as far as Dejulius can take them.

- Smith League - Cincinnati's Jeremiah Davenport, Kalu Ezikpe, and Landers Nolley II have all been getting work in at Cincinnati's pro-am league, The Smith League. The trio have been playing along side former Bearcats Mamadou Diarra and Coreontae DeBerry. Local prep commit Rayvon Griffith also played. I will try to make it out to the league's final four this weekend.

There was a lot of interchangeable parts at Cincinnati's opening practice. Both QB's Ben Byrant and Evan Prater shared reps with first and second teams.

However, from what I could gather, this would be Cincinnati's starting offensive unit if gameday was tomorrow:

QB - Ben Bryant
RB - Charles McClelland
WR - Tre Tucker
WR - Tyler Scott
TE - Lenny Taylor
TE - Josh Whyle
OL - James Tunstall
OL - Jeremy Cooper
OL - Joe Huber
OL - Dylan O'Quinn
OL - Jake Renfro

A lot will change. Different sets will bring different personnel, but this seemed to be the 11 guys finishing practice with the 1's.

I mean, these are some sharp digs.
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The 2022 Bearcats dusted off the cobwebs and made their way to Sheakley Athletic Complex to officially kick off the 2022 football season. Here are some sights and thoughts from day 1:

- Offensive line -

- Fickell praised the importance of the offensive line and the boys up front on both sides of the ball. This team will go as far as their OL/DL can take them. Look for Jake Renfro, Dylan O'Quinn, James Tunstall, Jeremey Cooper, among other, to be big factors on the offensive front.

- Quarterbacks -

Both Evan Prater and Ben Bryant took reps with the 1's and 2's. Each quarterback carrying the same workload. When Coach Fickell mentions a QB battle, there is in fact a QB battle. Some would give the early edge to Ben Bryant, but Prater looks the part and seems focused heading into an important camp. Here are some hits from 7-on-7, and full team drills:

- Prater likes to use his feet. If he wasn't checking it down, he was looking to scramble. Obviously, with no contact, it's hard to get a read on his true abilities. However, Prater could be dangerous running the ball and keeping defenses on their toes.

- Bryant is steady in the pocket; with the ability to make throws outside of the pocket. He had several good throws down the field. On several occasions, he was also able to allude pressure and get the ball out of his hands. If gameday was tomorrow, I would have to think Ben Byrant would be the Cincinnati starter.

- Wide Receivers -

Tre Tucker and Tyler Scott are two sure-fire guys that will make an impact in the receiving game. They showcased their quick feet and firm hands in day 1 of practice. Two lesser-known players in Will Pauling and Chris Scott could be ready to make a leap into the offense this season. Scott was being a vocal leader throughout practice as he helps the younger players learn the ropes. Pauling's natural talent and speed are going to make it hard for him to stay off the field.


- Tight Ends -

Tight end could arguably be Cincinnati's best position room. Josh Whyle is a seasoned veteran. Coming off an offseason recovery, Whyle was finally back in action. His traits scream NFL tight-end. At 250-pounds, a stellar year could put Whyle atop some NFL team's TE board. Whyle should be targeted more now that he's at full speed.

Whyle might be the better known of the two, but TE Lenny Taylor is poised for a good year. Taylor made a few tough grabs in day one of practice. His 6-5, 255-pound frame gives the ability to put his hand in the dirt as a blocker. However, I think Taylor is going to be a bigger threat in the passing game this season. Expect him to make a jump from his 2021 stat line of 4 touchdowns and 260 yards

Younger players like TE Payton Singletary and TE Caleb Schmitz also showed strong signs of ability in today's opening practice. The redshirt sophomore Singletary could be one of the next great tight ends at Cincinnati.

- Transfers -

WR Nick Mardner, Hawaii, - looks like an elite basketball prospect. He was working as punt gunner and working in with the 1's and 2's. He has put on 25 pounds since coming onboard this past semester. The Bearcats should have some tall, lengthy targets with him and Blue Smith in the fold. It will be interesting to see how they progress towards the Season.

RB Korey Kinner, LSU, - was not feature much in Day 1 of Fall Camp. However, his sheer size and physical build make it hard for him to go unnoticed. I believe Kinner will play his way into reps as the season progresses. Like Mardner, Kinner's physical traits will turn heads when you see him on the field.

LB Ivan Pace Jr, Miami OH, - Right off the bat, he reminds you of former UC linebacker Nick Temple who played in the early 2010's. He has a good center of gravity with deceptive speed. He had a bull rush play where he met the running back clear in the backfield. I think it's safe to say Pace will be a vital role to another great Cincinnati defense.

- Defense -

As expected, the Cincinnati defense was flying around the ball all throughout the day. With a wealth of talent gone to the NFL, I would not sleep on Cincinnati's defense ability to be stellar once again. LB DeShawn Pace picked off a Prater pass during practice while his brother Ivan had a pick 6. Redshirt freshman Malik Rainey added an interception of his own. Another redshirt freshman, defensive lineman Jah-Mal Williams broke through the offensive line several times to disrupt play. He may me a name to watch going forward. Also, Rob Jackson, a redshirt freshman, was getting hands on coaching from Coach Fickell. The 6-5, 280-pounder might be a problem for opposing offenses. I would look for Williams and Jackson to be staples on the defensive line before their time at UC is done.

- Special teams -

Look for Tre Turner, Will Pauling, and even Ryan Montgomery to get reps in the punt/kick return game. Tre Turner looked to be running the lead. Australian punter Mason Fletcher's punting style makes it hard for returners to dial in on his punts.

Recap -

As are most early intersquad practices, the defense seemed to have the high ground as they rolled through the start of camp. Keep it locked with Bearcat Report as we enter Camp Higher Ground. The team officially starts their stay in Indiana tomorrow, with a practice at 9 AM.

Hey guys, following up my INsider, on Beasley. Very early here but good sign at this point that he camped at UC and wants to get back for a game. He talked about possibly Indiana, but not set yet.

Tough draw for UC, which gets Arizona to open in Maui. Will face Ohio State or San Diego State on day two:
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Another pre-season watch list for UC and Pace. Bednarik goes to best defensive player at the FBS level:
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Guys, as you probably know, five-star guard Isaiah Collier officially visited Michigan over the weekend. Oure friends at Maize & Blue Review caught up with him and his parents afterward for some updates. Full story is below, but here are a few takeaways:

*Alabama is no longer in the running. So there's a top four of UC, Michigan, USC and UCLA

**On his top four:
"I will say those four because the relationships I’ve built with the coaching staffs over the time they have recruited me. I will also say the education and definitely the playing style, along with how they are developing players is major for me."

***On decision timeline:
"I’m not 100% sure right now. I'm really weighing my options and looking into all the things we have done. I hope to see them play a little bit before deciding. I know they are playing overseas this summer and I’m hoping to look at film from that. Just see things like that."

****Just a note from the story, according to Davis Moseley, who wrote the story, Collier's brother lives in the Los Angeles area, which led to wide speculation that USC and UCLA were the favorites. But he writes not to sleep on Michigan or UC. He's now used all five of his official visits, with the one at UC in February.

Hey all, I alluded to this before I was a guest on the show, but wanted to provide the clip for anyone who missed it. The guys on 1620 The Zone in Omaha, Nebraska had me on the show Friday to talk about the Bearcats: