After what many described as their most grueling offseason, Cincinnati Bearcats football players were back on the Nippert Stadium gridiron Monday afternoon blessed with mid-70s weather for the first day of spring practice.
“To be able to put a ball down and watch these guys fly around is fun to see,” UC head coach Scott Satterfield said. “I didn’t see many guys on the ground. That’s one thing you always look at. We were competing at a high level.”
In addition to watching his team, Satterfield was watching some new staffers, as well as entertaining some recruits. He joked that he was trying to convince them most Cincinnati days in March are 75 degrees.
Cincinnati uses winter to bring Bearcats together
It’s year two for Satterfield who is looking to flip the script on his inaugural 3-9 season. To prepare the Bearcats mentally and physically, director of football performance Niko Palazeti began a grind in early January to improve the team’s overall toughness.
“It’s been great, we’ve been closer than ever,” linebacker Jack Dingle said. “(It was) a heck of an offseason. It brought us together for sure.”
Said 1,047-yard rusher Corey Kiner, “I feel this year we came in with a purpose. We came to set a new culture, build the culture up to back to where it was. Get people in who wanted to be here and get people out who didn’t want to be here.”
UC appeared together initially last season, getting out of the chute 2-0. Then they dropped nine of their next 10 games. Some of those were single-digit losses where opportunity was there, but not taken. Their lone Big 12 win was Nov. 11 at Houston, 24-14.
New players on deck from scholarships, transfer portal
Counting early enrollee high school players, UC has 27 new scholarship players, 17 from the transfer portal.
“That’s the new era of college football,” Satterfield said. “Our guys did a great job of evaluating the type of kid that we want to bring into the program.”
Which UC players are getting mentioned early?
Quarterbacks: “I thought (Brendan) Sorsby hit a couple nice deep balls for touchdowns. Samaj (Jones, early enrollee) did some nice things for being new. Lichty (Brady Lichtenberg) was solid today as well, (Brady) Drogosh looked good. They’re great human beings. They’re trying to make each other better and that’s what we want in this program.”
Early high school enrollees: “Samaj (Jones) in the weight room did 225 (pounds) 17 times. That’s impressive. I was blown away by that. He’s like a linebacker. Kale (Woodburn, Warner Robins, Georgia) can run. Three or four times he was wide open behind the defense. I saw Dakarai (Anderson) make a contested catch right over the middle. We love being around them. It’s good to see them come out here and make some plays.
New numbers to know
Of the new players, here’s a few to write down for future purchases: quarterback Brendan Sorsby (Indiana) is No. 2, safety Kye Stokes (Ohio State) is No. 3, receiver Tyrin Smith (UTEP) is No. 4, defensive end Mikah Coleman (Eastern Michigan) is also No. 4, running back Evan Pryor (Ohio State) is No. 6, running back Chance Williams (Grambling State) is No. 7, defensive back/linebacker Jared Bartlett is also No. 7, tight end Joe Royer (Ohio State) is No. 11, defensive back Mekhi Miller (New Mexico State) is No. 20 and defensive back Derrick Canteen (Virginia Tech) is No. 25.
New defensive/offensive coaches
The Bearcats also have a new defensive coordinator, Tyson Veidt from Iowa State, and a new running backs coach, Sean Dawkins from Memphis. The running backs had their first meeting with Dawkins just before Monday’s practice.
“He came in like he’s been here and was teaching us like he’s been here,” Kiner said.
As for new defensive coordinator Veidt, “The Godfather” Dontay Corleone appears comfortable. Corleone was one of the advisory players Satterfield established to seek Bearcats who would be on the same page.
“He’s the same as our old DC that’s very passionate about our defense,” Corleone said. “We want to set an example for our side of the ball. He’s very passionate about what we want to do this year which is be very aggressive.”
Corleone mentioned how he’d be attacking the center more, similar to the style he played in 2022 when Pro Football Focus graded him as the nation’s top defensive lineman.
Menu beyond March
UC begins the 2024 campaign at Nippert Aug. 31 vs. Towson. Big 12 home games are against Houston, Arizona State, West Virginia and TCU. The Bearcats face Texas Tech, UCF, Colorado, Iowa State and Kansas State on the road.
The Bearcats wrap up spring practice on Saturday, April 13 with the Red and Black Spring Game.
Praising former UC walk-on Jason Kelce’s NFL retirement
“I heard about then I saw a couple clips,” Satterfield said. “Number one, he’s an emotional guy and that’s the way he played. He played with great emotion. He played with great heart. That’s what we want our players to play like and to be like. Everything that he’s done in his career, he’s so passionate about it and he goes all out. I told our players it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. He was a walk-on player here and he built himself into what he is today, which is an NFL Hall of Famer.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats spring football roster for second Big 12 season
