The unofficial online home for fans of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(09-04-2020 07:10 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  From Chad's podcast link above, his observations of the two deep...

First Team Offense
James Hudson [Jr]
Jeremy Cooper [So]
Jakari Robinson [Jr]
Vinnie McConnell [Jr]
Darius Harper [Sr]

Desmond Ridder [Jr]
Gerrid Doaks [Sr]
[1b]Charles McClelland [Jr]

Alec Pierce [Jr]
Michael Young [Jr]
Jayshon Jackson [Jr] [Slot]
Bruno Labelle [Sr]
[1b] Leonard Taylor [Jr]/Josh Whyle [So]

First Team Defense
Myjai Sanders [Jr]
Marcus Brown [Sr]
Elijah Ponder [Sr]

Darrian Beavers [Sr]
Joel Dublanko [Sr]
Jarell White [Sr]

Ahmad Gardner [So]
Coby Bryant [Sr]
Taj Ward [So]/Arquon Bush [So] [Slot]
James Wiggins [Sr]
Darrick Forrest [Sr]

Second Team Offense
Lorenz Metz [So]
Colin Woodside [So]
Jake Renfro [Fr]
Dylan O'Quinn [So]
John Williams [Fr]

Ben Bryant [So]
Charles McClelland [Jr]
Jerome Ford [Fr]/Ryan Montgomery [So]

Wyatt Fischer [So]
Jordan Jones [Sr]
Tre Tucker [So] [Slot]
Leonard Taylor [Jr]/Josh Whyle [So]

Second Team Defense
Ethan Tucky [Sr]
Jabari Taylor [Jr]
Malik Vann [Jr]

Ty Van Fossen [So]/Deshawn Pace [Fr]
Wilson Huber [Jr]
Brody Ingle [So]

Jaquan Sheppard [So]
Justin Harris [So]
Taj Ward [So]/Arquon Bush [So] [Slot]
Bryan Cook [Jr]
Ja'von Hicks [Jr]

I see there is only 6 D-Linemen listed and 12 DBs for both first and second team but where is Pitts at? Don’t tell me an injury please.

(09-09-2020 09:48 PM)natibeast21 Wrote:  I see there is only 6 D-Linemen listed and 12 DBs for both first and second team but where is Pitts at? Don’t tell me an injury please.

IIRC from the podcast, Chad eluded that Pitts was behind from missing out on some camp time/practices due to either some injury issues or due to something else. I don't believe it was a major injury. I posted the link to the podcast upstream if you want to review.

Chicago
- yes remember Joe Stiffend’s BIG shot.
Was pretty young then but was super pumped.

Tony Yates recruited Chicago well.
I can’t remember though if Lou Banks was also from Chicago.

I loved Vert!

We need To get as many top players as we can from Chicago and Cleveland. Take as many top players as we can and will be happy to take the scraps that Ohio State or some other big 10 school does not offer.
There’s enough talent around here that even with leftovers we will dominate. Get them in here, get them in the weight room. By their junior year or sooner, they will be getting playing time the big schools can’t offer.

Get on every player and parent’s radar within a 7 hr drive! Talent Plus these coaches is going to win us a lot of games.

If we are not Someone’s top choice, I want to be their default number two option in Ohio, Michigan and IL. As we continue to build our brand, Coach Fick and the administration has really set us up nicely. Any parent that comes to Nippert Stadium for a night game is just going to be awestruck!

(09-09-2020 10:54 PM)ZCat Wrote:  Chicago
- yes remember Joe Stiffend’s BIG shot.
Was pretty young then but was super pumped.

Tony Yates recruited Chicago well.
I can’t remember though if Lou Banks was also from Chicago.

Nah, Lou Banks was from Camden, NJ. They were a powerhouse at the time and Louisville had a nice little pipeline going with guys like Milt Wagner and Kevin Walls, etc. There was some hope we could replace them under Yates when we got Banks and then Vic Carstarphen but Vic transferred out after a year or two and things fizzled out for whatever reasons.

(09-09-2020 10:54 PM)ZCat Wrote:  Chicago
- yes remember Joe Stiffend’s BIG shot.
Was pretty young then but was super pumped.

Tony Yates recruited Chicago well.
I can’t remember though if Lou Banks was also from Chicago.

I loved Vert!

We need To get as many top players as we can from Chicago and Cleveland. Take as many top players as we can and will be happy to take the scraps that Ohio State or some other big 10 school does not offer.
There’s enough talent around here that even with leftovers we will dominate. Get them in here, get them in the weight room. By their junior year or sooner, they will be getting playing time the big schools can’t offer.

Get on every player and parent’s radar within a 7 hr drive! Talent Plus these coaches is going to win us a lot of games.

Upon further review....
There has been a lot of Bearcat talent over the years from Chicago and northern Illinois. These football players have talent, and they are also are men of character. The character issue isn't a surprise but it does kind of jump out at you.
Two Bearcats from northern Ill have played in the NFL:
Tyjuan Hagler and Tom Blake (out of 137 Bearcats in the NFL)
Hagler was an outstanding RB at Kankakee HS. He was a 6-0 235 LB for the Bearcats and then the Indy Colts (2006-2010). In Super Bowl XVI he recovered a fumbled kickoff that helped the Colts come from behind to beat the Bears. In another game, he ran back an onside kick for a TD.
He still lives in Kankakee and his tyjuanhaglerfoundation.org sponsors football, basketball and cheerleading camps and gives out scholarships.:

"The Tyjuan Hagler Foundation promotes good character. As a result of overcoming his challenges. Tyjuan supports the youth of Kankakee, IL and surrounding areas with positive, safe environment and opportunities to be inspired and pursue athletic development.

The foundation also encourages and support educational advancement. emphasizing the importance of education. The foundation will recognize and reward outstanding and deserving students with a financial scholarship to pursue a college Degree."

T Tom Blake was born in Bushton, IL and attended Middletown OH HS. He played for more college teams (Tenn and UC) than NFL teams (NFL NY Bulldogs 1949.)
DE Dan Giordano played for Frankfort Lincoln-East Way HS before becoming a Bearcat in 2008.
QB Demetrius Jones of Chicago Morgan Park HS is the second highest rated Bearcat football player at .9792 only behind the .9878 rating of transfer Gunnar Kiel. His strange college career began when Jones redshirted at ND in his first year (2006). He started the first game for the Irish in 2007 but was pulled in the first quarter. The next Friday, the ND team buses were held up for 20 min on the campus but Jones never showed up. He was at NIU trying to register for classes! Before the transfer portal it could be very hard for players to transfer: just ask Bearcats Ben Mauk and Dino Boyd.
The ND coaches did not want Jones at NIU, but he was allowed to transfer to UC in 2007 because the Bearcats were on the quarter system, not the semester system and Cincinnati was far away enough from South Bend. Jones continued his streak of bad luck because his throwing arm was hurt. Coach Brian Kelly loved moving players around all over the field, so Jones went from QB to ILB. Coach Kelly learned how to move players at Grand Valley State and Central Michigan. At the same time Kelly moved Elder HS QB Craig Carey to DE. Why not, he only had QBs Tony Pike, Zach Collaros, and Brendon Kay on his roster.
RB Anthony King from Chicago Ayersville HS
LB Franklin Bruscianelli from Woodridge Montini Catholic HS.
DT Chris Flores, Wheaton, IL
And many more, and that is just football players.....

Quote:Linebacker Joel Dublanko has played in all 39 of Cincinnati's games over the last three seasons. He's also excelled in the classroom, earning his degree in Biology in April.

But he's never had the opportunity to start until this season.

"I'm extremely excited," he said. "I've been working really hard for a long period of time and I'm excited to show what I can do and be the best teammate I can be."

The senior from Aberdeen, WA has big shoes to fill as he's expected to replace Bryan Wright at middle linebacker. Wright earned first-team All-AAC honors last year, finished second on the team in tackles, and earned a training camp invitation from the Kansas City Chiefs.

Wright has confidence in his successor.

"He's one of the most focused kids I've ever been around to be honest," said Wright. "He's a genuine guy and somebody to look up to on-and-off the field. He's a positive leader.

"When I was here, if I didn't want to practice he would say, 'Come on bro.' Now he's the leader of the defense and I feel like he's going to have a great senior year."

Dublanko admits that it wasn't always easy to be on the second team.

"Last year I worked really hard," said Dublanko. "Every day I tried to beat B. Wright out for the starting spot and things fell the way that they did. So I went to (Defensive Coordinator Marcus) Freeman and said, 'I worked my butt off last year, but I have to do more this year.' To go to a place that you've never been, you have to do the stuff that you've never done before to get there."

Dublanko is likely to be followed on the depth chart by converted tight end Wilson Huber who made the transition to defense in the practices leading up to the Birmingham Bowl victory over Boston College.

"I'm really happy with what Joel Dublanko and Wil Huber have done," said head coach Luke Fickell. "They're going to be the catalysts to lead what we do defensively, because Coach Freeman and I are adamant about the middle linebacker being able to control things."

In addition to losing Wright, the Bearcats also have to replace weakside linebacker Perry Young who earned first-team All-AAC honors in each of the last two seasons. Dublanko says the current linebackers on the roster know that their position group is the biggest question mark on defense.

"We've definitely talked about how we're pretty much good on all fronts on defense, but we lost a couple of big production guys with Perry and B. Wright," he said. "The new starters like myself are going to have to step up along with the other guys around us to make up for that production."

"We might not have the 85 snaps a game that Bryan Wright or Perry Young gave us, but I think in the long run we could be a lot better with our ability to play some different guys and keep 'em fresh," said Fickell.

Dublanko spent his final year of high school at prep powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL where his teammates included current NFL players Isaac Nauta (Detroit) and Cesar Ruiz (New Orleans) as well as former Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson. After seeing them excel at the college level, Joel is looking forward to his chance to shine.

"The only thing you can do when you've been in the position that I've been in is to keep working and keep getting better until you get the opportunity to show what you can do," he said. "Then you've got to take it and run with it."

Dublanko Ready To Go

The future is bright...

Gotta love those big uglies...

As most of us here, I'm looking forward to Bearcat football on Saturday. And as most of us here, I expect a win. So I'll do the fan thing and look past Saturday to Army.

I expect a very competitive game as UC spends time early adjusting to Army's unique schemes and formations. I won't be surprised if UC trails early. As others have suggested, a good day for the Bearcats may mean a strong start-- jumping out in front in the first quarter and keeping Army's offense off the field. We should have the defense to shut down big gains in their rushing attack and our running game should eat some clock too.

While there were mixed opinions on this board about scheduling Army, at this point it looks like an excellent opportunity. A ranked opponent, at Nippert and on either ABC or ESPN. In this wacky 2020 season, that's almost an ideal scenario for a pre-conference game. If UC takes care of business, it keeps CFP talk alive which is great for our brand. If not, that audacious goal goes away but abundant opportunities for a CCG and a New Year's Day bowl remain.