CINCINNATI BEARCATS 2024 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW & PREDICTION

all right guys what's welcome back to everything C podcast today we Nick here 2024 preview and prediction for the Cincinnati Bearcats look at this coaching staff Scott safield back for his second year after a 3 and9 debut season Brad Glenn will be the OC in his second year Nate puka and Tyson Vic first year roles as defensive coordinator started 2- eight went one and eight the close of the year and I did have a bet on this team's under hitting which ended up cashing looking at the offensive side of the ball Nick you know we certainly expected this unit to be one that struggled but we thought they would struggle more than they did on the ground which was pretty much non-existent you know 217 yards rushing sixth nationally Cory kener arrived from LSU and he let the world on fire you know guy was a thick back with an effective one cut hard Runner with good balance not all that Shifty but really impressed last year showed great ball security missed a good amount of tackles uh forced the a good miss that is onek yard rusher here they also added him some help though Evan prior from Ohio State was next to on her recruit didn't get on the field much loose Runner with nice change of Direction abilities should have well defined role in this offense they also got Chance Williams from gramling who's quite impressive for being you know 58 185 did a good job improving the athleticism in this back field which was a concern for us last year Nick but it didn't lead to you know them being bad one bit this was a very impressive ground attack and they should be just as good if not better this year very strong ground attack last year ground attack that was very surprising 217 yards per game top 10 in the Nations a really impressive impressive number and it really you know goes through cor Cory Kenner who was really solid for this team over 1,000 yards rushing 1,447 yards 5.5 yards for carry and five scores for him so really dominant back really solid footwork nice speed I like what he can do a lot a really solid leading back for this team Evan PRI from Ohio State I think it's an underrated ad didn't play a whole lot for the Buckey but I do think he has a lot of nice potential and Chance Williams from Grambling State he could be a guy to keep an eye on that could have some nice potential as a smaller bit of a speedy more shiftier back I do think this three headed uh group here is really S I do like this unit a lot and now you look at the quarterback position they had Emory Jones last year obviously was a pretty good fit for this offense but in terms of a passer you know certainly had limited upside they bring in Brandon sorby from Indiana I didn't think he was all that bad last year showcase great competitiveness like his mobility and ability to make plays with his legs would often throw lots of lofting balls downfield only had five interceptions was a good player Brady lenberg saw some time in sporadic appearances 61 208 pounds was a restart of high school the battle appears to be between these two sorby again Nick I thought he was pretty solid last year playing in the Big 10 goes to a bit of a lesser conference here where it's not going to be as physical not as you know competitive and I think he could really Thrive this year um but this is a guy the jury Still Remains out for him again I was impressed with him last year watched a lot of whoer football and I think this is a guy who could really uplift this offense with some nice balance from him this is a guy they add in from from Indiana that could be a really solid player for this team I do think it's a decent ad you really you drop down on a level a little bit in my opinion I think that will help him out he was solid at Big 10 play last year though I think the stats are okay, 1500 yards passing 15 touchdowns to five interception ratio a solid number overall 57% comate a little bit low but this is a guy I think at 63 235 the frame is not too bad I think he plugs into this system is going to be just fine I do think he's a solid quarterback to lead the way for the Bearcats here now you look at the receivers he be thrown to they lose a lot of production but they do return top pass get your Xavier Henderson a possession wide out they Shield reliable hand brought in Tyron Smith from utap who has shown dangerous speed and highle playmaking downfield in the past added a versatile pass Catcher from FAU and Tony Johnson limited production but only had one drop in 81 career targets behind the starters are the units hadag concerning starting Burke halter didn't play at all after transferring from North Carolina &t at 64200 Evan Prader also has nice size at 6428 but the converted quarterback only saw a dozen receptions Aaron Turner had a few targets freshman kill Woodburn did make some nice plays in the spring and Bar Jackson not a 65 yard touchdown in the season opener kept his red shirt intact and should see a big workload this fall at 511 195 not a hoard room here but the depth will need to prove itself Nick you know I thought last year they did a pretty good job in the portal uh of bringing in pass catchers especially late but they do lose a lot of those guys like d Wiggins Bren Smith Shaman Mater are you worried about this receiving group any I am a little bit worried but I do think there is a little bit of lack of dep here they don't really return a lot of production f for further down the depth chart that is that does certainly concern me when you look at that that there's not a whole lot of guys making uh production they did add some solid players out of the portal and obviously they return Xavier Henderson who's your top returning receiver who is a really solid player for this team he had a really good year last year 782 yards receiving 13.5 yards for grab and three touchdowns for him Aaron Turner is your next top returning receiver of only 89 yards of production off of a few grabs last year they bring in Tony Johnson who I really like Tyron Smith I think is a solid ad as well two guys that you can kind of play where you want to move around a little you probably put Smith at the slot Johnson at The X two players they add who I think are can be impressive Smith from UTEP is a really Speedy player I do like him then Johnson from FAU could be really solid for them hasn't really worked out for him at previous stops but he's hoping to step up and be involved it's going to go a lot through Henderson this year they're going to Target him a lot he's going to be the main player for this team in terms of wide receivers he's going to get a ton of targets probably get over a th yards receiving this year but he's a really solid player and I think he can carry carry that extra weight uh work that is you looking at the offensive line a big reason why I'm so excited about this offense is because of what they return up front they were a medle of a Pack Unit last year they get all five starters back left tackle John Williams was pretty impressive in his first year starting does enter his fifth year in the program 65320 we need to keep improving on the ground game though since he got great play out of the Guard spots Darian Tinsley at left guard was great in pass Pro Luke con he did have four sacks a Right Guard he was tremendous all around and should contend for All Conference honors his run blocking prowess the 643 23 Center is going to be occupied by Gavin Gerhard who's been the starter for the past two seasons now showcasing impr improvements and was a good run blocker and a right tackle Deontay Buford on the other hand he was quite poor really struggled in the back half of the Season even started rotating at that position to close out the season Ethan green and rard sophomore will push him um this offensive line will contend as one of the best in the conference maybe even one of the top 15 nationally Nick good size the experience is massive this o line has me incredibly excited for a team again that was top 10 nationally last year running the football they add some guys to The Back Field so they're going to be more Fresh The Experience here could really lead to some massive upside returning all five starters is a massive return for your team that's a huge thing that this team has going for it these guys are all experienced the youngest player on this offensive line is a redirt junior and that's DeAndre Buford at right tackle who is a really solid player the rest of these guys are red shirt seniors that have played at other programs as well John Williams a left tackle very sturdy strong left tackle Gavin Gard at Center is a really good physical leader for this offensive line a guy that's a veteran that has been playing there for a significant amount of time a really good player you know P parts of the past two seasons a really solid player in my opinion that I'm expecting a big season of the depth is a little is a little weak but I do I don't worry too much about that because they do have such great starters who are going to be able to eat up minutes and be solid for this offensive line you know I watched a lot of Bearcat football last year and you know they did a good job you know moving the ball they just couldn't finish 113th in Red Zone touchdown percentage I mean that's just awful and that's why they ended up winning only three games and you know the verdict here is this offense fell victim to that poor Red Zone execution and silly Mistakes by the quarterback and while Emory Jones's leg will be missed sby is a gamer should be able to provide some nice playmaking he was quite Fair versus some tougher competition last year so Run game was phenomenal should be even better with the so line and some new faces in the back field this offense is exciting upside Nick you know I certainly you know we look at what they have on paper look at some of the tape and come to a conclusion the conclusion here for me is this offense is going to Showcase some drastic improvements especially in the Big 12 I like this offense a lot this an offense that has some really solid players I think the wide receiver there Henderson is a really strong great player for this offense the quarterback play will be pretty good this year as well I do like what this offense has cuz the running back room is phenomenal they're going to lead the way on the ground so nice quarterback play really good running back play and a star wide receiver that's a good combo for me look at the defensive side of the ball and again even though we were pretty unmarked with this team's record we kind of missed the beat on where they would be good where they'd be weak because this defense was a lot worse than expect to give them 30 points per game added 12 guys in the portal lost 17 so you see good bit of turnover returning five starters you're looking at the defensive line Dante Corleone he's been one of the nation's best run Stoppers has emerged as a leader with good football IQ as an impressive combo of explosiveness power and tenacity very good at defending outside Zone a 62320 though his stamina is not all that great so the snap count you know certainly could lead to Improvement you know alongside him Jaylen hunt had no production but a 6435 did play 200 plus snaps does a good job as a gap controller michah Coleman arrives from Eastern Michigan he was solid in his extensive snaps Daren Varner didn't have the expected impact last year for Wisconsin uh but he was a productive Edge when he was at T at Temple Cameron Wilson from Louisville was just a small rotational piece over four years uh you know with Eric Phillips being a quality defensive event and run Defender over the past two years at 260 pounds you know this is a more than capable D line struggled to stop the run now lose some key components in the front six this is a 335 they run Nick I mean again 111th nationally against the run that was not expected one big because I thought they had the you know pieces to be able to be better in that regard than they weren't they struggled against the run which is really a big for this defense they returned Some solid pieces and they went to the portal to kind of fill up this defensive line that does is a new look Dante carlone is a really solid player they return 39 total tackles six and a half tackles fall three sacks and a pass breaker for him he's a big physical guy on that defensive line that nose tackle really solid you plug him in the middle there he's really good Jaylen hurt not a whole lot of production but I like the size of him I think he's a really good player in the Gap they add some other players Michael Coleman is a really solid player looked good in a lot of snaps at Eastern Michigan I like what he can do de Varner as well as a guy that could potentially be involved after having some struggles at some previous programs he moves around a little bit and Cameron Wilson I think that's a nice rotational piece that could step up and be a little bit stronger this year a lot of new faces on this front part of this defense are they going to be able to play together and play strong that's certainly a key question look at the middle of this defense you know Jared Bartlett a nice ad from West Virginia played a lot of football not much of a run Defender it's been a really good pass rusher really fires into the pocket Jonathan Thompson was a sound tackler he's not he going to step into a full middle linebacker role Jack Dingle was a start of last year wasn't all that great but should improve a good bit this year added Connor keys from Minnesota Trevor Adams returns neither of which had snaps last year relatively thin middle of this defense Nick that at one point under Luke fickle was incredibly Stout but they do lose some key components in the pace brothers and that certainly leads to me for having you know worry of concern especially this D line can't really bring the tenacity that we expected last year with the guys they lose here in the middle there could be some big reasons for concern Dingle and Thompson are two nice returning pieces Dingle 53 total tackles five tackles for loss plus a sack for him Thompson 31 total tackles four tackles for loss for him decent production there I think they added some nice pieces as well I think the Barlett ad from West Virginia is a really solid ad a really good player nice pass rusher really good at getting after the quarterback you know I think he needs a Polish out his run defense like alluded to there but I think he's a guy that's got good High football IQ really saw it getting after the quarterback a really good ad Trevor Adams could be okay as well as a guy that didn't play a whole lot I think this is a unit that's not incredible but I do think they have a nice DNA here some players good experiences program that could develop and turn to Stars this run defense they were awful at the end of the year they gave up 284 yards per game over the last five contests they went one and four in those games and the one outlier where they played pretty well as the game they ended up winning so they can certainly accomplish big things when they can slow down the run but man they were just getting brutalized there at the end of the year look at the secondary you know they allowed the 87th most pass plays of 30 plus yards but they were 21st in opponent completion rating allowed they also had some good and bad quite good unit under fickle really Elite I'd say borderline with what they were able to accomplish but um you know for many years but not much really remains from his era you know it's a complete makeover Makai Miller comes over from New Mexico State he was an elite tackler good coverage asset from the slot Derek canten will come over to occupy a starting CB roll was a high level player at Georgia Southern elevated his game against the run this past year for Virginia Tech Jordan young he was about average last year after transferring in and should provide a solid impact as well probably at you know slot um they bring in armandi Arnold who was a stout side corner for Idaho last year kayin Carrol played a good bit but wasn't any good lots of experience here at corner though is what I'm reading you know the safety group a bit of a mystery you know DJ Taylor struggled against the run and as a tackler you know missed seven tackles and 200 snaps um you know Josh minkins transfers in playing lots of snaps at Louisville uh but was always just an average performer for them antoan Peak only saw a few snaps and added a reserve from Ohio State and Kai Stokes they do have a nice addition here and Logan Wilson from North Texas he was great for the mean green over the last two years Ken Willis was good at times so they have a few different options here new scheme should help well you know a nice cornerback room safety needs to figure it out a bit but this is going to be a strength for this team Nick probably not as Elite as when they have S Gardner but this will be a good secondary I do like the secondary the secondary has some solid pieces that can be involved Jordan Young's a nice turning piece 34 toll tackles seven pass breakups plus a pick DJ Taylor was a phenomenal in covered 16 toll tackles wasn't really incredible last year but he's a younger guy that can be involved and sort of grow as things go on here I think he's a guy you can look at but Miller is a really solid ad from Mexico State a very elite tackler I like him in the slot a lot you can move him around I think he's a really good ad for this team Derek Canen a really strong cornerback who I think will be a very impact player out there a high level guy they added out of the portal I like what I've seen out of him from the previous stops in the group I think you know like iess said DJ Taylor is a guy that could grow at safety I want to see what he looks like this year this secondary unit was not bad last year right 69th in the country is not really that bad at all you know top 70 unit I think they can get to that level again this year I do like the piece of they have the verdict for this defense you know this unit was a far car from what you saw under fickle as the rund D was just flat out abused over the final month of the year while the secondary would crack at times despite being a good group I think we see some modest improvements up front but the linebacking group could greatly hold them back as they progress but they will look good against the pass look at the prediction for the Bearcats you know they lost a few games in silly fashion last year but also got smoked in the others but that was a building block year as I really like what the offense has in store and that includes less mistakes and more balance that's only if swords be end up playing at a good level on the other hand the defense is destined to improve but it's greatly possible they continue to regress against the run but enough transfers should really help a you know alleviate future pain here I'm going to go with a bold prediction on Cincinnati nickas is a team again I bet on last year to hit the under this year I'm betting on the over I just think the schedule kind of aligns for them to do well with a great offensive line I think sorby will greatly improve this offense they'll be much better in the Red Zone which could have led to you know a multitude of different victories last season I think Miami game they lost last year at home that's going to be a big Trap game for them I think they'll take care of business this season um I think this offensive line those does surge them to victories over teams like Colorado and TCU they do lose to four tough opponents in conference eight wins obviously it's pretty lofty here Nick and I'm only giv the offense a b but I think at the end of the year they'll be one of the better ones in this conference eight wins here going bold on the Bearcats I'm copying you and I think this is a team that I'm equally as high on I this a team that has a lot of things going for it on the offensive side of the ball I think the quarterback play will be just fine with sorby I think he's a really good ad from Indiana the running back room is phenomenal and they're a really strong unit they'll be able to Dart all over the ground I think you know they have a great returning top receiver that could be really solid for this team you know you return a guy like him and zavon Henderson who is a really solid piece the defense yes I have some questions but I do think they've added some nice pieces out of the portal and the schedule's pretty favorable we look at I don't think pit will be a very good team this year Houston Texas Tech these are teams that are not phenomenal talson Miami Ohio you know not incredible teams and the non-conference Arizona State not very good Colorado I don't think they're going to be very good this year despite all the hype they continue to receive and then TCU you know very iffy on them as well the teams they lose to they could potentially pick off West Virginia or UCF as well two teams that I'm equally as high on as the Beats I think a lot of the teams in this conference this conference is very divided you have a lot of teams at the top who are kind of going to be all in that same eight and four n and three range you're going have a lot of teams at the bottom that going to be in that three and N 4-8 range is kind of a weird split this year with this conference I like this Barat team think they're a solid team I think they've done a good job in the portal good job job building this roster you I do think Miami of Ohio is a very good team we both know that the defense will be very Stout they also lost plenty of pieces in their own right total at five and a half they should easily make a bowl game I would say they should they should you know be at four wins come the end of September Nick so this is very attainable here appreciate you joining me today as always Nick breaking down the Bearcats looking forward to watching this team a very fun team in this conference make sure you guys like comment subscribe see you next time