One of the biggest mistakes Tommy Tuberville made during his time in Cincinnati was not prioritizing the recruitment of the Cincinnati area. I firmly believe it is ten times harder to succeed at UC if you don’t prioritize the Queen City area. There’s plenty of good talent locally, and that talent has grown up seeing very good football played at Nippert Stadium.
UC football has really succeeded since 2006, and that means every local kid in high school has viewed the Bearcat program as a winner. That wasn’t always the case, but Nippert Stadium has basically sold out for two straight seasons, and locals have seen the home school achieve something no one else had accomplished when UC made the CFP last season as a member of the G5. Heading into a P5 league next season and having the playoffs soon expanded to 12 teams means the Bearcats have a very clear path to the playoffs every year. All that should only help.
Here’s the problem as I see it. Scott Satterfield has never really recruited this area, or at least, he hasn’t recruited it very well. Former UC coach Tim Hinton (one-time ace recruiter) once told me that people outside this area don’t understand that recruiting Cincy is unlike anywhere else. Hinton would know because he spent a lot of time in Ohio as a high school coach and then recruited this area for Wilmington, Ohio, UC, Notre Dame and Ohio State. When asked what makes recruiting Cincinnati so difficult, it’s hard to get a clear, concise answer, but Hinton swore to me that Tubs was doing it wrong. He suggested local high school coaches need someone they know and trust. They need to see those coaches at their schools often, and they want their players to get local attention. I personally know in my decade of covering recruiting here that Cincinnati high school coaches will even go to bat to promote a Cincinnati kid at another school.
I remember when Coach Coombs moved from Colerain to UC. One of his first goals was to visit every Cincinnati area high school. Keeping Kerry Coombs at UC might be one of Satterfield’s most important recruiting jobs. It also would be a good idea to recruit Walt Stewart as well. A person close to Walt told me several years ago that he really wanted to return to Cincinnati, and Walt won‘t want to leave after being here for only one year. But the availability of the coaching assignments might play a big role in getting either or both. Reports are Louisville’s Bryan Brown (DC) will be joining UC, and he also coaches cornerbacks, and DL coach Mark Ivey appears to have done a good job with the Cards’ defensive front and might be Brown’s choice to assume the same job at UC. However, with staffs now being permitted to have ten assistant coaches, staffs have some flexibility on position assignments.
UC football has really succeeded since 2006, and that means every local kid in high school has viewed the Bearcat program as a winner. That wasn’t always the case, but Nippert Stadium has basically sold out for two straight seasons, and locals have seen the home school achieve something no one else had accomplished when UC made the CFP last season as a member of the G5. Heading into a P5 league next season and having the playoffs soon expanded to 12 teams means the Bearcats have a very clear path to the playoffs every year. All that should only help.
Here’s the problem as I see it. Scott Satterfield has never really recruited this area, or at least, he hasn’t recruited it very well. Former UC coach Tim Hinton (one-time ace recruiter) once told me that people outside this area don’t understand that recruiting Cincy is unlike anywhere else. Hinton would know because he spent a lot of time in Ohio as a high school coach and then recruited this area for Wilmington, Ohio, UC, Notre Dame and Ohio State. When asked what makes recruiting Cincinnati so difficult, it’s hard to get a clear, concise answer, but Hinton swore to me that Tubs was doing it wrong. He suggested local high school coaches need someone they know and trust. They need to see those coaches at their schools often, and they want their players to get local attention. I personally know in my decade of covering recruiting here that Cincinnati high school coaches will even go to bat to promote a Cincinnati kid at another school.
I remember when Coach Coombs moved from Colerain to UC. One of his first goals was to visit every Cincinnati area high school. Keeping Kerry Coombs at UC might be one of Satterfield’s most important recruiting jobs. It also would be a good idea to recruit Walt Stewart as well. A person close to Walt told me several years ago that he really wanted to return to Cincinnati, and Walt won‘t want to leave after being here for only one year. But the availability of the coaching assignments might play a big role in getting either or both. Reports are Louisville’s Bryan Brown (DC) will be joining UC, and he also coaches cornerbacks, and DL coach Mark Ivey appears to have done a good job with the Cards’ defensive front and might be Brown’s choice to assume the same job at UC. However, with staffs now being permitted to have ten assistant coaches, staffs have some flexibility on position assignments.
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