It’s been 9 long months since we last saw our Bearcats hit the Gridiron in a season that many would call disastrous. Year 1 under Head Coach Scott Satterfield failed to enchant the hearts of many Bearcat fans, leaving few with a sense of optimism for the future. However, many of our former coaches have gone on to have some success after a dissapointing season. Benedict Fickell went 4-8 in his first season with the ‘Cats and could have gone 1-11 without some lucky bounces. Total cheeseball Butch Jones went 4-8 in his first season before ripping off two consecutive 9 win seasons. Hell even a Senator could maintain the momentum Butch set forth to win 9 games, before quickly dropping a huge dookie on this program.
Last year’s roster was the first coaching transition that had to manage the NIL version of the transfer portal. Satterfield’s staff was able to secure some talent, but a swing and a miss at the QB position put this team behind the 8 ball. Mix that in with some roster mismatches and that’s a recipe for the worst finish the Bearcats have had since 1999. This year’s roster, on paper, has a lot more production tied to it. Add in the efforts of the Strength and Conditioning Staff to build a better locker room culture and this team could be poised for a turn around. Is this team a B12 Championship contender? Likely not, but 6 wins and a bowl game with the additional practices that go along with it could build a foundation for this team to compete in 2025. This week the Bearcats start their campaign against the Towson Tigers out of Baltimore, MD. Can this new look Bearcat team capture the hearts of Bearcats Nation?
Offense
Look for the Bearcat offense to continue to do what it was good at last season, which was running the football. Having a more competent QB should help even out of the offense. Last season’s team was very good at moving the ball, but once they hit the red zone, the brakes were instantly put on. The Bearcats finished 33rd nationally in yards per game, but a paltry 24.1 pts/game only ranked 84th overall.
Quarterback
The staff sought out and quickly gained the commitment of the QB of the future, Brendan Sorsby. Sorsby, a Texas native and Indiana transfer, saw action in 10 games last season. He completed 57% of his passes for 1587 yards, 15 TDs and 5 INT last season. He added 276 yards and 4 TDs on the ground, so he has the potential to extend plays with his legs. Sorsby was named the starter at the end of camp and if he plays well, will likely be the Bearcats QB the next two seasons.
Familiar face Brady Lichtenberg, despite having a strong fall camp, will be the primary back up to Sorsby this season. Lichtenberg saw some action spelling Emory Jones last season, but couldn’t help with the teams Red Zone Anemia. True Freshman Semaj Jones has an absolute cannon for an arm, but likely doesn’t see much action this season. He’s the likely successor to Sorsby in 2026.
Running Back
Senior Running Back Corey Kiner will continue to lead this room after rushing for 1047 yards and 5 TDs last season. The Roger Bacon grad is poised for another big season with the entire offensive line returning. Kiner is planning on this being his last season before heading to the NFL, so a repeat 1000 yard season, hopefully with a higher TD total is going to be key for this teams success.
The RB room had significant turnover this offseason with our other 3 leading rushers (Emory, Miles and Ryan Montgomery) moving on from the team. The staff went out and got some reserves in former OSU 4 star Evan Pryor and Grambling State Transfer Chance Williams. Williams had a decent stat line last season at Grambling, rushing for almost 900 yards and 6 TDs, while receiving for 135 yards and an additonal TD. Look for both of those guys to get a lot of touches early in the season to keep Kiner fresh for B12 play. Williams has a chance to be a big 3rd down weapon with his receiving abilities.
Offensive Line
Last year’s offensive line was phenomenal at run blocking, but failed to give Emory Jones any time to throw the ball. They allowed 27 sacks last season, 25 of them on Emory Jones alone. The Bearcats finished 5th in the Nation last year averaging over 217 yards per game on the ground. Their passing attack was ranked 87th in the country averaging just 209 yards per game. A balanced offense, but not a recipe for success at the college level.
The line is anchored by Pre-Season All American Luke Kandra at RG. Kandra, a hometown hero from Elder, followed this staff from Louisville. Starting LT John Williams, an Engineering major, returns looking to continue to build momentum on his 2023 season. At Center, Senior Gavin Gerhardt looks to make a case to play at the next level. Dartanyan Tinsley, another likely NFL draftee, starting at LG. At RT, incumbent returner Deandre Buford has been challenged by Phillip Wilder for the starting role.
There’s a lot of young players on the O line who will look to get in the rotation including Evan Tangesdahl from nearby Dayton Wayne, who’s transitioned to center this offseason but will likely see some action at guard. Ethan Green and Xavier Lozowicki look to get some plays in jumbo packages as well. Building solid depth along the Offensive Line is going to be key to the future success to this program.
Wide Receiver
A much maligned passing attack last season leads to another overhaul at the WR position. #1 WR Xzavier Henderson returns with his 782 yards, and 3 TD season in 2023. He is the clear first look on the outside for Sorsby. Evan Prater, the former 4 star QB, is the second leading returning receiver with 114 yards. He’s been dinged up in camp, but looks to get on the field again this season. Expectations for Prater to take a step forward have been hampered by injuries.
Satterfield’s staff went out and got some production to bolster the WR room. Tony Johnson, a Florida Atlantic transfer, brings in 4 years of experience and over 400 yards receiving last year. They also brought in UTEP Transfer Tyrin Smith, who had a great 2022, but struggled with injury in 2023. Smith had over 1000 receiving yards and 7 TDs in 2022. Jamoi Mayes also joins the team with over 1000 yards last season at Chattanooga. Couple the newcomers with a redshirt freshman Barry Jackson who showed some flash last season, Aaron Turner who saw action, and Sterling Berkhalter, a name often called out last camp, and this receiver room looks to give Sorsby plenty of weapons at the receiver position. One can’t move on without naming Kings Walk-On Michael Mussari who has been popping in the pre-season and may even be the starting Kick and Punt Returner for this team.
Tight End
Last year’s Tight End room had 7 of the team’s 20 passing TD last season and unfortunately returns 0 production from last year’s team. Leading TE Chamon Metayer left to join the circus in Boulder, before heading out to Arizona State and back-up Peyton Singletary moved on to USF.
The Bearcats were heavy on TE in the transfer portal, bringing Joe Royer from Elder back home to Cincinnati. Royer was a 4 star prospect at Ohio State, but struggled to get on the field in Columbus, but has looked like an absolute stud in camp, easily looking like the camp MVP with his big catches. Arkansas transfer Francis Sherman has also looked solid, moreso as a blocker than receiver, but could also be a threat in the redzone. Freshman Gavin Grover and Joey Beljan could also be contributors this season as well. Hopefully the TE room can help the Bearcats woefully bad red zone offense from last season, scoring on only 73% of their red zone possessions.
Defense
To say the Bearcats were bad defensively would be an understatement. They allowed almost 403 yards per game, good for 93rd in the country and 100th in scoring defense allowing 30 points per game. Defensive Coordinator Bryan Brown moved onto Ole Miss in the offseason and was replaced by Tyson Veidt. Veidt, a linebacker coach from Iowa State, has existing knowledge of the teams in the Big 12, but also brings a new look 3-3-5 defense to the Bearcats, featuring 3 starting safeties. This allows some flexibility in the middle of the field to shift players between the hashes, bring exotic QB pressures, and make on the fly adjustments to run or pass plays.
Defensive Line
The biggest question mark for the season, does The Godfather play this season? Corleone went down in the off-season with blood clots in his lungs and will have to find a path forward with his new underlying condition. There’s precedent for players to return from this disorder, and he’s been practicing, but if and when he makes his return are huge question marks. Coach Satt hinted at the Towson Press Conference they’d like to see him for Pittsburgh, but it’s up to the medical staff. They are going to need him too, as his backup Jalen Hunt is out for the season with a knee injury. SEMO Transfer Harris Adams is the next man up at Defensive Tackle. It’s a big step up in competition for him, but we’re going to need him at his best until Corleone returns. Behind him are a lot of question marks.
Expect a rotation of homegrown talent at the Defensive End position. Eric Phillips, Kamari Burns, and Rob Jackson look to get a lot of reps at the end position. Wisconsin transfer Darian Varner looks to get some time along defensive front as well.
Linebacker
Another position that’s heavy with homegrown talent and a bit of a surprise at MLB. Last season the Bearcats ran an alignment that heavily featured 4 linebackers, trimmed down to 3 for this season. Jonathon Thompson and Jack Dingle look to man the strong and weak side LB positions. A surprise in camp, Jake Golday a transfer from Central Arkansas, looks to have locked down the MLB position with WVU transfer Jared Bartlett likely to see heavy action as well.
Look for Brian “Mook” Simms to get some playing time as well as Simeon Coleman. Veidt’s linebacker play has been traditionally strong at Iowa State and look for more of the same here on this new look defense.
Cornerback
The cornerback position, by all metrics last season a disaster, looks to turn around this season. Jordan Young returns to the Bearcats looking to lock down one side of the field, while Idaho Vandal transfer Ormanie Arnold will work the other side of the field. Arnold had a strong season last year at Idaho, with 33 tackles and 2 interceptions.
The reserves feature more homegrown talent. True freshman Gravy Johnson will absolutely see the field at some point this season while Kalen Carrol, who finished the season strong last year for the Cats looks to get some playing time behind Arnold. Kentucky transfer Jordan Robinson didn’t join the program until late this summer, but has a lot of talent and will hopefully be a big contributor for this season.
Safety
Arguably one of the worst holes in the roster last season, the safeties, got a total overhaul this off season, and a big task with a position that will feature 3 starters, rather than the traditional 2 safety look. The Bearcats went heavy in the portal, prowling for undervalued talent. Josh Minkins, from Louisville, Mekhi Miller originally a Miami (OH) player before heading to New Mexico State, and Derrick Canteen from Virginia Tech will headline the safety room. All 3 of which were key contributors for their teams. Canteen earned a Captain role for this team as well.
Behind the starters, OSU Transfer Kye Stokes, North Texas transfer Logan Wilson, and true freshman Jiquan Sanks will spell the starters. Look for Sanks especially to get playing time this season as he acclimates to the college game. The safeties are going to be a new look position and have the most combined experience on the defense.
Special Teams
Not much has changed on the special teams front. Carter Brown is the incumbent starter, having gone 15/19 last season and a perfect 30/30 on PATs looks to build on a strong season last year. He led the team in points with 75 last season.
Senior Punter Mason Fletcher returns, off an injury riddled season last year. Look for the Senior Fletcher to make a case for one of the best punters in the country. His brother Max Fletcher transferred in from Arkansas, likely won’t see any action this year, but will be the punter of the future for the Bearcats.
Tiger Talk
The Bearcats opening opponent this year, this Towson Tigers, from Baltimore, MD aren’t exactly a football powerhouse, but rather a first game tune-up for the Bearcats. The Tigers finished 5-6 last season and 4-4 in their conference. At the FCS level they’ve made the playoffs 3 times, going 3-3 with all three wins en route to an FCS Championship game loss in 2014. They aren’t anticipated to take a huge step forward this year either. In the Coastal Athletic Conference Coaches Poll, they were projected to finish 9/16.
Interestingly enough, the Tigers run a very similar 3-3-5 defense to us, which could play into our strengths. Our offense should be able to read that defense very well having practiced against that alignment extensively in fall camp. Towson also lacks the size of their B12 and Pittsburgh foes, which means a heavy running attack will be in place. Look for the Bearcats to get the ball moving early on the ground. I expect Kiner to give way to the reserves early, to keep him fresh for the following match-up against Pitt. Sorsby should also have an opportunity to get his feet wet in this Bearcat offense.
Offensively, the Tigers are a huge question mark. It seems last season fans were expecting a heavy air raid offense, but they kept the ball on the ground for the most part. However, that may change with the addition of UMASS Transfer Carlos Davis. Davis started the first 4 games for the Minutemen before being shutdown for the season. He threw for 886 yards, 6 TDs and 3 INTs for the Minutemen last year. Davis is more of a pocket passer, but can scramble a bit. They do return last year’s starting QB Nathan Kent also, so it’ll be interesting to see who the Tigers roll out for game 1. Their best offensive player Carter Runyon was an FCS 2nd team All-American last season and led the team with 549 yards and 4 TDs. Applying pressure to the QB and keeping Runyon under control are the keys for the defense in this game.
Towson is built similar to EKU last season, who we boat raced to a 66-13 victory. The difference here could be the weather Last year’s kickoff was a beautiful day, while we have rain threatening the forecast for kickoff. I don’t see this one being much different. Bearcats get the lead early, and work to build depth for the future.
Cats – 59
Old Bay Tigers – 13
See you on The Grid Saturday. WEAR WHITE!
Juncta Juvant
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