SB Nation - Solomon Tentman

Big East Position Rankings: Linebackers

29sonski — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:47:51 -0000

Continuing our evaluation of the position units, we rank the Big East Linebacker corps. There is a lot of disparity from end of the spectrum to the other.

1. Rutgers – The Knights landed two players on the Butkus Award watch list for the nation’s best linebacker: Khaseem Greene (1st team All-Big East, 141 tackles in 2011) and Steve Beauharnais (77 tackles, 11 for a loss). One only one other Big East player (Sio Moore) shared that distinction. Joining them in the starting lineup will be Jamal Merrell. This unit will be all the better because of the strength the defensive line and secondary. If defense wins championships …

2. UConn – Sio Moore is the lynchpin of the Huskies defense. He was behind only Trevardo Williams in sacks last season, and led the team in tackles for a loss (9.5). Jory Johnson led the Huskies in tackles (97) and had seven for a loss. Yawin Smallwood came on strong last year and impressed especially as a pass defender. Behind them are players who could be strating elsewhere: Maryland transfer Ryan Donohue and redshirts Jefferson Ashiru and Marquise Vann.

3. South Florida – DeDe Lattimore was the Bulls top tackler in 2011 (94), including sacks (seven) and tackles for a loss (six). He is joined by Sam Barrington and Michael Lanaris who were right behind Lattimore in tackles. Mike Jeune is also a veteran on the two-deep. Reshard Cliett and Hans Louis are likely to round out the unit, to form a tremendous front seven with the Bulls line.

4. Syracuse Orange – The Orange lost a lot of defensive talent in 2011, but gained a lot of experience in the process. This year it returns all its starters, including 2nd Team All-Big East honoree Marquis Spruill, Dan Vaughan (team-leading 72 tackles) and Dyshawn Davis (6.5 tackles for loss). Siriki Diabate, Cameron Lynch and newcomer Oliver Vigille fill out the unit.

5. Louisville Cardinals – The Cards had a tremendous run defense last year, allowing only 101 yards per game on average (10th nationally). Though they lose some key members of that defense, Preston Brown (84 tackles) returns to build on that success. He’ll be joined in the starting lineup by veteran Daniel Brown and Deiontrez Mount. Behind them are George Durant and Keith Brown. They’ll have their work cut out to repeat last year’s performance.

6. Pittsburgh Panthers – The Panthers are returning to a 4-3 scheme this year and have some new faces at this position. Todd Thomas is only a sophomore but probably is the most talented. Shane Gordon and Eric Williams will likely start in front of Nicholas Grigsby, Dan Mason and Emanuel Rackard. The secondary is sound and the line has some veterans that should lend some support.

7. Cincinnati Bearcats – The Bearcats suffered some defensive roster losses in the offseason that will leave a void. Malik Bomar and Nick Temple return to the lineup as does Solomon Tentman. The two-deep is rounded out by Greg Blair, Corey Mason and probably an underclassman. These are not household names and the unit is not likely to set a lot of records in 2012.

8. Temple Owls – The Owls had a great defense in their last season in the Mid-America Conference. For their first season in the Big East they have a tougher schedule. Blaze Caponegro is back along with converted running back Ahkeem Smith. Redshirt Nate Smith or Olaniyi Adewole will likely round out the starting unit. Behind them are Gary Onuekwusi, Praise Martin-Oquike and Matt Falcone.

2012 Big East Position Rankings: Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Offensive Lines, Wide Receivers, Defensive Lines, Defensive Backs.

Bearcat Bits For April 23rd

Matt Opper — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:00:34 -0000

Jordan Stepp is one of four new starters to solidify his position on defense this spring

The Football coaches released a post spring depth chart and there isn't much in the way of surprises. The bullet points.

Most of those expected to earn starting jobs (Camaron Beard, Jordan Stepp, Solomon Tentman, Arryn Chenault, and Dan Sprauge) have.
The farce of a Quarterback "Competition" will extend into fall as all previous Butch Jones statements indicate it would.
Honestly the only surprise (to me) is that Kevin Schloemer has fought his way to the top of the chart at Right Guard
Depth is razor thin at Defensive Tackle and Tight End--

Joe Reedy is continuing to do the possible by making Bill Koch look lazy and hackish with his coverage of the Bearcats draft prospects. This time Reedy checks in with Mel Kiper about why he is so obviously bullish on him. The reason is basic, and why the patriots make a ton of sense for Wolfe. He is scheme versatile and there isn't a team in the NFL that plays more different concepts than the Patriots.

Isaiah Pead is also making a ton of noise moving up draft boards around the league. Kiper is also expecting Isaiah to be the third back off the board, most likely in the third round, which is borderline shocking to me after reading article after article picking his game apart--

Adrien Robinson has become the beneficiary of what some have termed a weak Tight End Draft class. But the supposed weakness or strength of this crop of TE's is dependent largely on how a personnel evaluator views the role of the TE within the confines of the offense.

If the offense of your team requires a TE who can flex out and beat man coverage against a dime back or a linebacker then this is a great draft class. But for those still stuck in the 80's this class does suck. I don't think that there is any doubt that Robinson gets drafted at this point. But how high he goes will depend largely on the preconceived notions a GM will have about the position. For Robinson the more retrograde the better--

Video of Interest

Et cetera

The week ahead in Bearcat sports...the Baseball team starts a two game series with Xavier today...lets all get started on previewing this fall's opponents starting with Miami of course...UC commits Kyle Williamson and Zach Edwards have been named to the SOCA East-West All Star game taking place on June the 7th...I don't know if you heard but Chris Mack asked Mark Lyons to be an adult. Lyons said zip it up...meanwhile John L. Smith has been named Arkansas interim coach they only need some Steve Kragthorpe to complete the "Louisville trifecta"....Virginia Tech has interesting timing in firing Seth Greenberg...UConn is imploding rapidly....who knew that drugs were the gateway to economic enlightenment. Drug dealers that's who--

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Cincinnati Bearcats 2012 Post Spring Defensive Depth Chart

Matt Opper — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:47:04 -0000

On paper the strongest side of the ball for the Cincinnati Bearcats in 2012 is the Defense. 7 starters from the Liberty Bowl return this year. 8 if you want to count Dominique Battle as a starter, he only lost out on his job due to injury. If you want to count the nickle back as a position apart rather than as the third corner the number becomes 9 with Chris Williams coming back.

That doesn't mean that the group is without questions. Four Senior starters with a combined 122 starts are walking out the door. And with them goes 4/5's of the 2011 defensive spine. Those are (were) the biggest question marks for the defense heading into spring. After 15 spring practices this is a reading of the situation.

Defensive End

Starters: Walter Stewart and Dan Giordano - These two both come back for a second season as a starting pairing. Between them they had 11 sacks, 20 TFL, 78 tackles, 12 QB hurries, 9 pass breakups and 5 forced fumbles. Both improved over their sophomore years, though for different reasons. Stewart finally got to play his natural position, Giordano used his experience from 2010 to improve. This is arguably the best DE tandem in the Big East in 2012. Giordano just needed more reps to make the leap.

Back Ups: Brandon Mills and Silverberry Mohoun - Mills is a guy who can thrive in a situational role but can be easily exploited as an every down starter. To wit, in 2010 Mills had 12.5 TFL and 6 Sacks. Last year playing maybe 40 per cent the number of snaps he had 7 TFL and 5.5 sacks. His numbers declined, but not in proportion to his decrease in reps. He is back for a third year of causing offensive line coaches to lose sleep.

Mohoun is a guy who really took fully advantage of his red shirt year. He hit the weight room, he was the scout team player of the year for defense and now he is primed to be a key figure in a Senior dominated rotation. Coach Stripling loves what he brings to the table with his get off and quickness. It might be early to call him UC's next great pass rushing terror. But he is probably UC's next great pass rushing terror.

Related: Post Spring Offensive Depth Chart

Defensive Tackle

Starters: Jordan Stepp and Camaron Beard - Literally and figuratively the two biggest holes to fill for the defense in 2012. It is nearly impossible to match the production that John Hughes and Derek Wolfe displayed last year. 34 TFL and 14 sacks is a massive debt to pay. But Beard and Stepp don't have to match that production. What they have to do is allow the John Jancek to deploy the same old blitz happy scheme without leaving massive and exploitable gaps in the interior of the defensive line. They shouldn't have a problem doing just that. Stepp in particular really stepped it up this spring.

Back Up: Brandon Mitchell - With Roney Lozano's injury keeping him sidelined until mid October at the earliest it will be in the hands of Brandon Mitchell to be the one and only back up. Mitchell would probably be in the rotation even with a healthy Lozano because Mitchell is the biggest guy on the team at 6'2" 320 and that gives some versatility to a DT group that is, for the most part, predicated on speed and quickness over brute strength.

Linebackers

Starters: Maalik Bomar, Solomon Tentman and Nick Temple - That is WILL, MIKE, SAM from left to right. The obvious news here is Tentman is stepping in for J.K. Schaffer at the mike. Tentman really had an excellent spring and locked down the mike job relatively early in the process. He isn't yet 100 per cent, but barring any set backs he should be by September. When UC goes to the Nickle, which will be often, Nick Temple will slide inside to J.K.'s old nickle spot and Tentman will depart.

Back Ups: Dwight Jackson, Greg Blair and someone - Blair is Tentman's presumptive back up. He is another guy who had a good spring. Jackson played in 10 games last year and got plenty of first team reps as Bomar's understudy when Bomar struggled with stingers down the stretch. I have no earthly idea who winds up as the Temple of Doom's back up. I could be any one of five guys. For now I will refrain from listing the lot.

Corner Backs

Starters: Camerron Cheatham and Deven Drane - Field and Boundary respectively. Drane is the most gifted cover guy here since Mike Mickens. He has that kind of ability. Ask Mohamed Sanu, Drane put a blanket on him and kept him under 40 yards on 6 catches, with no TD's. He took firm control of the starting job when Dominique Battle tore his ACL on this play against USF. Cheatham had an injury plagued spring*, but he is still the presumptive starter as I write.

* So did Drane for what its worth

update: Not entirely sure how it happened but I seemed to have made up an injury for Cheatham in the process of writing about Drane's injury issues this spring. Once more to establish the basic facts, Drane had injury issues, Cheatham did not. Hat tip to Cheawhooer for pointing out the breadth of my idiocy

Back Ups: Trenier Orr and Dominique Battle - If/when Battle gets back from his injury he will be in the two deep somewhere, probably as Drane's back up. Orr took full advantage of his chance and played well running with the one's as the big three dealt with injuries. Orr impressed everyone and can't really be counted out with a chance to nab Cheatham's spot.

Nickle Back

Starter: Chris Williams - Williams finally found a role on defense and he thrived in it. He is fine covering slot receivers, but where he really excelled was blitzing from the slot and playing the run. Williams picked up 46 tackles, 4.5 TFL and 2 sacks last year. The job is his for another year.

Back Up: Reuben Johnson - Johnson was a corner in 2010 but was moved to nickle for last year. He missed action for two different stretches, one at the start of the year and one in the middle. It's unlikely that Johnson will unseat Williams.

Safeties

Starters: Drew Frey and Arryn Chenault - Frey is back for his 10,000th year in red and black and is coming off a phenomenal season a year ago. He had a rough start, particularly against Tennessee, but he rebounded in a big way and is unassailable at Free Safety. Chenault is the odds on favorite to replace Richardson. His name isn't there in permanent ink yet, but it's penciled in and underlined. Chenault plays the game like Richardson, but is more gifted athletically.

Back Ups: Adrian Witty and Malcolm Murray - Purely speculative here. Both were in competition with Chenault for the starting job at strong. Obviously both lost out. Still I would feel comfortable with either guy back there in a pinch.

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Cincinnati Bearcats Link Jump Off | April 18th

Matt Opper — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:14:59 -0000

Some notes from Butch Jones the long and short of it is that all but two of the spots open to competition has been filled. There is QB which has been discussed without end. The other spot up for grabs is right guard. No one has any clue who will win that job. On defense though the four spots up for grabs are no longer up for grabs. Jordan Stepp and Camaron Beard are the starting DT's. Solomon Tentman is the new MLB and Arryn Chenault has emerged as the starting strong safety. The biggest task left is developing depth in fall camp.

Derek Wolfe is taking the first roung projections in stride which is good. Wolfe made the decision to come back for his senior year instead of entering the draft last year with maybe a 15 dollars in his bank account. Safe to say the decision has worked out for him. He is the perfect fit for a 3-4 team in need of a defensive end. That's why Kieper's projection makes sense. He has him going to the Patriots, anyone who watched the Super Bowl knows that they need defensive line help. Derek Wolfe can give it to them.

Video(s) of Interest

Et Cetera

Bearcats Nation takes a look at the non conference schedule...Football season ticket stories...wrapping up the women's tennis season heading into Big East play...Men's Soccer season highlights no idea why this is posted now....Baseball Falls to No. 2 Kentucky and falls to 12 and 24 on the year...let's all laugh at Xavier...Texas A&M excels at geography...Oh my god college students smoke weed? Surely not...Melo went off last night sorry if you didn't get to watch that...In an unsurprising development Tyler, the Creator is kind of a dick...

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Cincinnati Spring Game | What To Watch For

Matt Opper — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 22:25:35 -0000

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Tomorrow is Bearcat Bowl VI. Just for a refresher the start time is 4PM at Nippert Stadium. Not that anyone who has managed to find this blog needs to be refreshed, still custom is custom. Almost all of the talk about spring Football has revolved around the Quarterback position and who will replace Zach Collaros. It has been framed by the coaches and the media as a "competition" between Munchie Leguax, Brendon Kay, and Patrick Coyne. It hasn't actually been a competition since mid March. Barring injury or a meltdown of catastrophic proportions Munchie will be taking the snaps against Pitt to start the season. But that doesn't mean that there aren't position battles to pay attention to in BB6.

The biggest piece from the 2011 offense that has to be replaced isn't Zach Collaros, it's Isaiah Pead. Pead always brought a level of athleticism and big play explosiveness that was hard to match. But as a Senior he learned how to grind out tough yards and that made him a complete back. Right now three guys are vying to replaced iPead, George Winn, Jameel Poteat and Ralph Abernathy IV. No matter what happens in the spring game those three guys will head into the season splitting carries more or less equally.

Receiver will continue to be the strength of the skill position groups with the top three at the end of the year (Anthony McClung, Kenbrell Thompkins and Alex Chisum) all coming back, not to mention two thirds of the rotation at Tight End in Travis Kelce and Blake Annen coming back. There are some guys who can push their way into the mix among the receivers and TE's, Dyjuan Lewis and Chris Moore for example, but that will be decided in the fall camp more so than in this setting.

The place to watch for changes and general chaos is along the offensive line. Regardless of what the media says the Bearcats are returning three starting offensive linemen Sean Hooey, Eric Lefeld and Austen Bujnoch. The only guy who has been 100 per cent all spring long has been Lefeld. Hooey is less than 100 percent after his ankle surgery earlier this year. Bujnoch had off season shoulder surgery as well. The three of them compose the starting Left and Right Tackles (Lefeld and Hooey) and Bujnoch will start at Guard, presumably left.

Where the intrigue lies is at the other guard spot and center where Dan Sprauge, Sam Longo, Andre Cureton, and anyone else capible of playing battle for the two remaining spots*. You can bet that the starting five will include the returning starters and two of those three in some order. The spring game means the most to those guys so pay attention to lineplay.

* My hunch is that Sprauge starts at center, Cureton at right guard. Purely a guess though.

Defensively almost everything is sorted. Coming into the spring four starters had to be replaced. Derek Wolfe and John Hughes at defensive tackle, J.K. Schaffer at Middle Linebacker and Wesley Richardson at Free Safety. Flash forward 14 practices and just one position is still up for grabs.

Camaron Beard and Jordan Stepp have been cemented as the starting tackle duo. Solomon Tentman has come all the way back from a devastating knee injury to be the man in the middle of the defense. That just leaves Free Safety to figure out. A trio of guys are competing for the spot. Malcolm Murray a JUCO transfer last season who tore his ACL and missed the majority of the season. Adrian Witty a converted corner back who is going to try and do his best Ahmad Black impression. Lastly is Pat Lambert who has been exclusively on special teams duty since losing his nickle back job to Chris Williams early in 2010.

For reference here is the spring roster


1	Kenbrell Thompkins	WR	6-1	196	SR-JC	Miami, Fla./Northwestern/El Camino CC
2	Dyjuan Lewis	WR	6-3	194	RS SO-RS	Indianapolis, Ind./Pike
4	Maalik Bomar	LB	6-1.5	220	SR-2L	Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods
4	Munchie Legaux	QB	6-4.5	203	JR-1L	New Orleans, La./Edna Karr
5	Reuben Johnson	DB	5-10	196	SR-2L	Lawnside, N.J./Winslow Township
6	Anthony McClung	WR	5-11.5	165	JR-1L	Indianapolis, Ind./Pike
7	Shaq Washington	WR	5-8.5	159	SO-HS	Maple Hts., Ohio/Maple Hts.
8	Jordan Luallen	QB	6-3	214	RS JR-TR	Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove/Georgia Tech
8	Adrian Witty	DB	5-10	177	RS SO-RS	Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach
9	Dominique Battle	DB	5-11	185	RS SR-2L	Boca Raton, Fla./American Heritage
9	Patrick Coyne	QB	6-1	233	RS FR-HS	Cincinnati, Ohio/Badin
10	Bennie Coney	QB	6-2	210	FR-HS	Plant City, Fla./Plant City
11	Deven Drane	DB	5-10.5	179	JR-1L	Plantation, Fla./Plantation
11	Brendon Kay	QB	6-4	229	RS SR-SQ	Marine City, Mich./Marine City
12	Trenton Norvell	QB	6-4	215	FR-HS	Daytona Beach, Fla./Seabreeze
13	Pat Lambert	DB	6-1	208	RS SR-2L	St. Cloud, Fla./Osceola
14	Tony Miliano	K	6-1.5	298	RS SO-RS	North Bend, Ohio/Elder
15	Chris Moore	WR	6-1	175	RS FR-HS	Tampa, Fla./Thomas Jefferson
16	Damon Julian	WR	6-2	209	SR-JC	Atco, N.J./Winslow Township/Pierce College
17	Malcolm Murray	DB	6-1	195	SR-JC	Glendale, Calif./Junipero Serra/Mount SAC
18	Travis Kelce	TE	6-6	255	RS SR-1L	Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights
19	Ralph David Abernathy IV	RB	5-6.5	160	SO-HS	Atlanta, Ga./Westminster School
20	Chris Williams	DB	5-11	180	SR-2L	Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods
21	Camerron Cheatham	DB	5-8.5	195	RS SR-2L	Kalamazoo, Mich./Central
22	Jameel Poteat	RB	5-10	202	SO-HS	Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt
23	Chris Burrell	RB	5-7	170	SO-TR	Westwood, N.J./Don Bosco Prep/Temple
24	John Lloyd	P	6-1.5	238	RS SO-RS	Cincinnati, Ohio/CHCA
25	Arryn Chenault	DB	6-0	197	JR-1L	Cincinnati, Ohio/Fairfield
26	A.J. Fleak	K	6-1	231	RS FR-HS	Sunbury, Ohio/Big Walnut
26	Drew Frey	DB	6-3	200	RS SR-2L	Wilmington, Ohio/Clinton-Massie
27	Trenier Orr	DB	5-11	180	RS FR-HS	Winter Garden, Fla./Ocoee
29	Rob Rice	RB	5-10	178	RS FR-RS	Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas
30	Aaron Roberson	DB	5-11	183	SR-1L	Maple Heights, Ohio/Chanel/Gannon
31	Deionte Buckley	RB	5-9	195	FR-HS	Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central
32	George Winn	RB	5-11	198	RS SR-2L	Southfield, Mich./U. of Detroit Jesuit
33	Solomon Tentman	LB	6-2	222	RS SO-RS	Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon
34	Pat O'Donnell	P	6-5	217	JR-1L	Lakeworth, Fla./Palm Beach Central
35	Eric Ernst	P	6-.5	177	RS FR-HS	Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas
35	Josh Russ	TE	6-5	231	RS FR-RS	Elyria, Ohio/Elyria Catholic
36	Marcus Foster	DB	6-1	190	FR-HS	Troy, Ohio/Troy
38	Adam Fearing	RB	5-9	182	SR-SQ	Dayton, Ohio/Carroll
39	Demitri Beal	DB	5-10.5	188	RS SO-RS	Pembroke Park, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna
40	Kevin Brown	DB	6-1	195	FR-HS	Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central
41	Kevin Hyland	LB	6-1.5	219	RS FR-HS	Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder
43	Nick Temple	LB	5-10	215	SO-HS	Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central
44	Corey Mason	LB	6-2.5	229	RS SO-RS	Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder
46	Mitch Meador	LB	6-4	270	RS JR-1L	Greenwood, Ind./Whiteland Community
47	Colin Lozier	LB	6-0	220	SR-2L	Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain
48	Matt Staubach	TE	6-5	247	RS FR-HS	Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas
49	Anthony King	RB	5-11	206	JR-HS	Chicago, Ill./Ayersville
50	Innocent Macha	LB	5-11.5	216	SO-HS	Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon
51	Greg Blair	LB	6-2	240	SR	Pittsburgh, Pa./Schenley/Lackawanna CC
52	Dwight Jackson	LB	6-1	213	SO-HS	Miami, Fla./Miami Central
54	Walter Stewart	DL	6-4.5	248	RS SR-2L	Ashville, Ohio/Teays Valley
55	Roney Lozano	DL	6-1.5	272	RS SO-1L	Miami, Fla./American
56	Errol Clarke	LB	6-2	210	FR-HS	Miami, Fla./Central
57	Clemente Casseus	LB	6-1	205	SO-HS	Mirimar, Fla./Everglades
58	Brandon Mills	DL	5-10	251	RS SR-2L	Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain
60	Sam Longo	OL	6-5	289	JR-TR	Spring Valley, Ohio/Bellbrook/Ohio State
61	Kirk Willis	LS	6-2	227	RS FR-HS	Granville, Ohio/Granville
62	Cory Keebler	OL	6-6.5	286	RS SO-RS	Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota East
63	Dan Sprague	OL	6-3	278	RS JR-SQ	Worthington, OH/Kilbourne
66	Sean McClellan	OL	6-4	281	RS JR-SQ	Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller
68	Daniel Murray	OL	6-2.5	284	RS FR-HS	San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines
69	Dominic Mainello	OL	6-3	266	JR-SQ	Fort Mitchell, Ky./Beachwood
70	Brandon Mitchell	DL	6-2	320	RS FR-HS	Cincinnati, Ohio/Withrow
71	Eric Lefeld	OL	6-6	285	RS SO-RS	Coldwater, Ohio/Coldwater
74	Justin Murray	OL	6-5	245	SO-HS	Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore
75	Kevin Schloemer	OL	6-6.5	303	SO-RS	Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota West
76	Austen Bujnoch	OL	6-4.5	274	RS JR-1L	Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder
77	Sean Hooey	OL	6-9	298	SR-1L	Litchfield, Mich./Hillsdale
78	Parker Ehinger	OL	6-7	278	RS FR-HS	Rockford, Mich./Rockford
79	Andre Cureton	OL	6-5.5	299	RS JR-1L	Indianapolis, Ind./Pike
80	Alex Chisum	WR	6-2.5	178	SO-HS	Fayetteville, Ga./Sandy Creek
81	DeShawn Dowdy	TE	6-4	222	FR-HS	Akron, Ohio/North
82	Max Morrison	WR	6-1	166	RS FR-HS	Kenton, Ohio/Kenton
83	Danny Milligan	WR	5-8.5	172	RS SR-1L	Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier
85	Bruce Horner	WR	6-1	172	RS SR-1L	Farmington Hills, Mich./Harrison
86	Blake Annen	TE	6-5	258	RS JR-1L	Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington
89	Demetrius Richardson	TE	6-2	243	SR-1L	Marlton, N.J./Cherokee/USMAPS
90	Camaron Beard	DL	6-5	278	RS SO-RS	Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral
91	Adam Dempsey	DL	6-2	260	SR-SQ	Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands
92	Silverberry Mouhon	DL	6-3.5	233	RS FR-HS	Norcross, Ga./Norcross
93	Brad Harrah	DL	6-5	250	RS SO-RS	Marion, Ohio/Marion Pleasant
94	Jordan Stepp	DL	6-.5	287	RS JR-1L	Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis
95	Jonathan Burt	DL	6-3	248	FR-HS	Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central
96	Josh Posley	DL	6-2	238	FR-HS	Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central
97	Chad Hannah	DL	6-5.5	218	RS FR-HS	Tampa, Fla./Gaither
98	Chad West	DL	6-6	240	RS FR-HS	Perry, Ohio/Perry
99	Dan Giordano	DL	6-4	261	RS SR-2L	Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East

Cincinnati Bearcats Link Jump Off | April 9th

Matt Opper — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:59:11 -0000

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Solomon Tentman is your new starting middle linebacker and it took a ton of work to get to this point. I knew that Tentman's injury as a freshman was pretty serious. But I didn't know just how serious. The list of ligaments completely torn; ACL, LCL, MCL. his PCL was partially torn, part of his meniscus was lost and lastly he detached ligaments from his fibula.

Today he is the starting middle linebacker for the Bearcats. That is a remarkable accomplishment coming all the way back from such a devastating injury. Tentman has big shoes to fill taking over J.K. Schaffer's old haunt at the Mike. But he has the ability to do just that. Doubly so now that he is getting some of his old explosiveness back.Regardless of how well Tentman plays, my guess is that he will play very well for what its worth, the fact that he is on the field at all is one of the better stories in college Football this year.

Trenier Orr is giving the Bearcats a ton of depth at corner back for this year. That's obviously a huge asset for the defense this year. Corner is probably the deepest position on the defense. The only individual position that really comes close is defensive end. The most interesting comment he has is about the difference between Kerry Coombs and Shannon Morrison

"We’re doing the opposite of what Coach Coombs taught us, but not in a bad way," he hurried to add. "It’s just two different coaching techniques."

It's OK trenier. You can say that Coombs coached the secondary like the high school coach he is. Its the truth.

Video(s) of Interest

Et Cetera

UC features prominatly among the premier games of the Big East season...Track and Field cleaned up at USF on Saturday...Pat O'Donnell still looks like he can wrestle a bear and win that's not a requirement for a Punter, but its a nice luxury to have....Alex Oriakhi is the most intriguing name on the transfer market this off season. How often does a starter from a national championship team transfer...Who knew that Isaiah Thomas would never work at FIU...oh thats right everyone knew...Georgia's president doesn't like the BCS's and their cushy little deal with the Rose Bowl...A different way to think about Anonymous

Cincinnati Bearcats Football 2011 Season In Review | Linebackers

Matt Opper — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:50:20 -0000

QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | DB | ST

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Alternate Title: So there are more than two?

The linebackers in 2010 weren't the greatest. I don't think that's being overly harsh it's just kind of a fact of life. J.K. Schaffer and Maalik Bomar were forced to play nearly every meaningful snap for an entire season. Walter Stewart was the third starter. But he was out of position. At one point during that fateful season UC boasted 4 healthy linebackers in the program. Linebacker was one of the biggest areas addressed in the class of 2011. Nick Temple and Dwight Jackson enrolled early and both had sizable impacts on the linebackers this year. More on that in a bit.

The numbers in the chart below represent the statistical impact of the linebackers on the 2011 defense. The percentages at the beginning represent the percentage of the category that linebackers accounted for.

	Tackle %	TFL %	Sack %	Rush Yards Allowed	YPC
2011	.47	.38	.13	1239	2.71
2007-10 Average	.60*	.30	.18	1647.15	3.41

*The tackle percentages are slightly skewed because of the 2009 season when Brian Kelly went with a 3-4 defense. With a higher proportion of players on the field the linebackers would be expected, and did, capture more of the available tackles. It doesn't make a huge difference to the numbers, but its a relevant point.

There are two big reasons for the dip in production from the linebackers relative to the defensive line and the secondary. 1) The defensive line was dominate. Teams struggled so emphatically for most of the year to get plays up to the second level in the running game. The defensive line simply ate up plays in the backfield. For a lot of games, I am thinking N.C. State and Miami, there simply wasn't much for the linebackers to do.

2) The defense attacked more and blitzed the linebackers far more than in previous seasons. That is why linebackers share of the tackles for loss is so high in a category that is usually the purview of the defensive line. That attacking style was a resounding success. UC lead the nation in Tackles for Loss, was second in Sacks and 4th in turnovers forced. Part of the new style was an emphasis on the nickle package which was frequently used on run downs as a way to get speed on the field to attack the edge. That took a linebacker off the field which again goes back to proportion of players on the field. The lower it is for a position group the lower their production will be relative to the DLine and secondary.

I Was Quite Right On This One

In the pre season I gave the Linebackers a 7. Post season I have a hard time going to 8. The group was good on the year. J.K. Schaffer was his usual dominant self posting a third consecutive 100 tackle season as well as career highs in tackles for loss (13.5) and sacks (4.5) while and he tied a career high with 3 interceptions. But his running mate Maalik Bomar was most effected by the dominance up front. Later in the year he struggled with a recurring stinger problem that knocked him out of multiple games. Nick Temple was a very pleasant surprise exceeding my relatively high expectations for him starting every game starting with North Carolina State. The Bearcats got a lot out of Dwight Jackson too who was often the point man when Bomar would go out down the stretch. But the depth I expected never really materialized. Ben Pooler was lost for the season after three weeks. Solomon Tentman wasn't 100 per cent back from the ACL that knocked him out last season. Greg Blair wasn't granted eligibility. Depth was a concern again with three true freshman listed as primary backups for parts of the year. Those are forces generally beyond the control of everyone but they prevent the group from going to 8. I give the linebackers a 7.

What's your grade?

Poll

Grade the Cincinnati Bearcats linebackers in 2011

10

2 votes

9

4 votes

8

12 votes

7

14 votes

6

3 votes

5

1 votes

4

1 votes

3

0 votes

2

0 votes

1

0 votes

37 votes | Poll has closed

Taking Stock of the 2012 Cincinnati Bearcats Defense

Matt Opper — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:00:32 -0000

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It is almost three months untill the start of Spring Practice, eight months before the start of fall camp and nine months before the actual start of the 2012 season but I feel very confident in saying that the defense will be stronger than the offense.

I am sure you are asking why. The simple reason is that though the depth improved greatly from 2010 this season it will be, if anything, even better in 2012. The Bearcats only started 4 Seniors on the defense in 2011 and only had two other seniors who regularly cracked the rotations at any level. Basically this defense was a couple of Seniors and a whole lot of youth. In terms of pure yardage compared with the rest of the country the defense was better than the offense, and that is something that I don't think anyone really saw coming.

Defensive Line

This year the Bearcats settled into a nice 8 man rotation along the defensive line. Derek Wolfe, John Hughes and Jordan Stepp formed the rotation at Defensive Tackle. Those three split the relevant snaps 40/40/20. Hughes and Wolfe are obviously spending next year in the NFL. Stepp will be the anchor inside next year and is coming off a very productive season for a reserve defensive tackle (33 tackles, 2 TFL, .5 sacks). There are yet more talented defensive tackles littering the roster. Roney Lozano, Camaron Beard and Brad Harrah are three guys who Steve Stripling loves. Brandon Mitchell red shirted in 2011 but has a ton of potential

The rotation at DE included Walter Stewart and Dan Giordano started every game and will be returning for their Senior seasons. Brandon Mills was a reserve defensive end who is a situational pass rusher who finished third on the team in sacks with 5.5. The only members of the rotation who need to be replaced Monte Taylor, Rob Trigg who played mainly in the cheetah package on obvious passing downs. Fighting to replace them will be Silverberry Mouhon, Chad West and Chad Hannah. Mouhon was a guy that drew rave reviews in the summer and seems destined for a bright future. The DL has a chance to be pretty good once again despite having to replace two draftable defensive tackle starters.

Linebackers

The Leadership of J.K. Schaffer will obviously be hard to replicate and/or replace. But there are some pretty big pieces coming back. Maalik Bomar will be coming back for his third season of starting. A combination of stellar defensive line play and an ongoing battle with a stinger limited Bomar's production (60 tackles in 2011, 70 in 2010) but he has a wealth of experience (23 career starts). The next man up in, every conceivable sense, is Nick Temple.

Temple cracked the rotation basically from the opening game. He started his first game against N.C. State and started 8 as a true freshman. The first Bearcat linebacker to start any games as a true Freshman since Cory Smith started all 13 in 2005. Temple turned in his best game in the Liberty Bowl notching 8 tackles, .5 tackles for loss and forcing a fumble and coming up with the pick that set up Isaiah Pead's dagger in the 4th quarter.

Temple and Bomar are known quantities. Beyond them is a lot of young talent. Dwight Jackson played a ton last year. He was the guy who filled in for Bomar when he was dealing with his injuries. Solomon Tentman was going to be a rotation guy in 2010 as a true freshman before tearing his ACL. He never achieved full health and only played in 5 games. And there is a cadre of young talented backers set to join the pack. In short two starters and returning and the depth will be even better.

Secondary

Everyone is back. 7 guys were regular contributors to the secondary in 2011, 6 of them are going to be back in 2012. Deven Drane has the most talent of any Bearcat corner back since the Mike Mickens/Denaglo Smith/ Brandon Underwood days. Drew Frey who somehow made 1st team all Big East is also going to be back. The only guy who won't be back in 2012 is Wesley Richardson who was a great leader and a smart guy who made up for his lack of physical talent by thinking ahead and playing hard. The basic message? Everyone will be back in 2012.

Totting It Up

The Bearcats are going to have to replace some big pieces next year. Derek Wolfe, John Hughes and J.K. Shaffer leave the biggest holes. But there is enough talent coming back to offset those losses in the coming year. If you look at the depth chart from the Liberty Bowl there are 26 players listed on the Bearcats defense. 21 of them will be back in 2012. 14 of the top 20 tacklers. 10 of the 16 players with 2 or more TFL's, and 20.5 of last 2011's 46 sacks will be back as well. The Bearcats are losing some talented guys, but they are bringing a ton of talent back in 2012.

Cincinnati Bearcats Training Camp Round Up (Reading Between The Lines)

Matt Opper — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:00:49 -0000

Well we are 17 practices into the 2011 training camp for the Cincinnati Bearcats Football team. UC has the rest of the week left at higher ground. At which point the Bearcats will abandon the higher ground (get it?) and head back to Campus to ramp up preparations for the ~~Tennessee Volunteers~~ Austin Peay Gov' nahs. So the question is what are the developments to date?

The cop out answer is that I don't know anything for certain. And yes, that is a cop out but it's also the truth. Geographic complications have prevented me from getting down to Higher Ground for a practice. Not that I would be exceedingly likely to gain access being but a humble blogger. But I obviously follow these things closely and I ravenously consume anything and everything Bearcats and I feel kind of comfortable reading between the lines. Don't by any stretch of the imagination, take anything said from here on out as gospel. But there is frustratingly little out there for people who don't subscribe to the pay sites in terms of depth chart movement, players who have impressed ect. So I will try to provide some of that stuff.

Offensive Line

Lets start up front. The tentative starting five is

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
Alex Hoffman	Randy Martinez	Evan Davis	Austen Bujnoch	Sean Hooey

Let's leave out the sheer idiocy that is having Alex Hoffman moving over to LT after placing Hooey over there in spring. It's stupid and I know that just installing Hooey at LT and having that position taken care of for the next two season would make much more sense. That's nothing against Hoffman. But he is a natural guard and I do have some concerns about his ability to handle guys like Brandon Lindsey and Bruce Irvin on his own. I have none of those concerns with Hooey. But this is just another hit from Don Mahoney, the same guy who brought you hits like "Starting C.J. Cobb for 12 games"

To me one of the most interesting development is the way that Andre Cureton and Austen Bujnoch are battling it out at the right guard position. I fully expect Bujnoch to win the job but the way that Cureton has impressed this offseason bodes well. This of course leads me to my second development, namely that Randy Martinez has been taking live snaps at Center. Evan Davis's days may be numbered, and Truthfully, it's not that surprising. He has started one game, and it was an unmitigated disaster. and Davis only participated in in 5 games for the rest of the year, and even then only in mop up duty. It was always far more hopeful than realistic to expect Davis to rebound from last year's performance to become a solid starter or contributor. To be honest I would much rather see a starting five of Hoffman, Cureton, Martinez, Bujnoch, Hooey than one with Davis in there. I don't intened to run down Davis, but that lineup gives UC a better chance to produce explosive numbers this year, and it gives UC a solid three man core coming back for 2012 with Cureton, Bujnoch and Hooey ushering in Sam Longo and whoever winds up playing center.

Quarterbacks

Ostensibly, the backup job is still up for grabs, but I would be surprised to see Jordan Luallen named the backup for the Austin Peay game. In my mind Munchie is the better choice. It seems to me that the biggest knock that people have on Munchie to this point is that he burned his red shirt and played last year at WR. To me that is not a knock on Leagux at all. The biggest adjustment from high school to college for every player, regardless of position is the speed of play which is obviously much faster. By playing at WR last year Leagux got to experience that for himself first hand last year. That in and of itself is invaluable, but playing WR gave Legaux another insight into a deceptively complex offense.

Luallen by all accounts still hasn't exactly perfected his throwing motion and leaves something to be desired with his accuracy. But I think that the biggest thing holding back Luallen is rather simple. He has never had to do what this offense asks him to do. For almost all of his life Luallen has run nothing but the tripple option. That gives me major cause for concern if heaven forbid Zach goes down and a backup has to go out and win a game.

Skill Positions

The news here is focused on the young bucks, obviously. Jameel Poteat has more than lived up to his outsized expectations so far. By all accounts he will be Isaiah Pead's primary backup. Shaq Washington is another guy who has impressed. He is rumored to be the fastest and quickest player on the team. Shaq might be at the head of the class among the freshman wide outs, but Alex Chisum and Chris Moore have both gone stripeless recently and are sure to threaten the rotation.

In other receiver news D.J. Woods is moving away from his exclusive slot duty and has worked outside of late. Mike Bajakian plans to move him around a bit to make it harder on defenses. I think this opens things up for Anthony McClung to rule the slot. I also think that is an indication that knocking the rust off Dyjuan Lewis is taking longer than everyone expected.

In Tight End news it is still up in the air. Travis Kelce has picked up a couple of knocks and has spent a few days in the dreaded green jersey. Adrian Robinson still struggles with his consistency and has thrown open the door for Blake Annen who was the most consistent guy in the spring and has carried that right into fall camp. Annen looks like he has filled out and will stand up better in blocking.

The last two things are that 1) George Winn seems likely to take over the pseudo fullback/H-Back roll when UC goes two backs in the shotgun. That was the role that John Goebel took over for the Oklahoma game. 2) Akise Teague has been out for almost the entirety of the higher ground sojourn. That is dissapointing to me because I think Teague is a guy who I thought would have good first year.

Defensive Line

Not much going on here. Things have played out almost exactly as I expected them to. The only news is that Cameron Beard seems to have made the tradition to a full time DT. All of the freshman are expected to redshirt, but Brandon Mitchell and Silverberry Mouhon have deeply impressed the coaching staff.

Linebackers

Maalik Bomar and J.K. Schaffer are the rocks everyone is expecting them to be. It seems the most likely candidate to take over the Sam job is Ben Pooler. But there are still questions about his health. He's a guy who simply could not stay healthy at Maryland and is an ongoing risk here because of that.

Speaking of injuries Solomon Tentman is a go according to Paul Dehner. He could wind up wresting the third job from Pooler. Dwight Jackson and Nick Temple are going to be backups this year. Temple still seems to be the one who is a little bit more advanced to me, but the adjustment to playing inside is going to be different for him.

Greg Blair is still off the official roster at this point and he didn't make an appearance at media day. My guess? His transcript is having a hell of a time getting through the clearinghouse and he isn't taking part at camp right now. Walk on Clemente Cassius is a guy who has really impressed the staff to date and could make an impact like the departed (from the team, not the earth) Antwan Darling did last year.

Secondary

If nothing else there is no shortage of options. Safety is still a concern of mine. Even more so because Drew Frey and Wesley Richardson are, at this point, likely to retain their collective jobs. How that can even be possible is beyond me. This was the worst safety pairing in the Big East and arguably the country last year. But both will likely sit atop the depth chart when UC kicks off against Austin Peay. That is a proposition that is too depressing to consider so I will move on.

At corner there is no shortage of talent, and UC is bringing back three guys who have started a season in Dominique Battle, Reuben Johnson and Cameron Cheatham. But Deven Drane has shocked a lot of people and could very well be starting come next Saturday. I for one am fine with that. I think that he was one of the only bright spots in the secondary down the stretch. He made mistakes, sure but I really liked his aggresiveness and his recovery speed. It doesn't hurt things one bit that he moves almost exactly how Mike Mickens moved.

Special Teams

There are two bits of news regarding special teams. One is that a kicker has yet to be settled on, though Tony Miliano seems to be close to ending the contest. The other news, and the headline grabber, is that Isaiah Pead will probably be returning some kicks. On the face of it this is a huge risk, after all Pead is the most explosive player this offense has at it's disposal, and the kickoff is the single most dangerous play in a given game of Football. But UC's field position blew last year and that is something that has to be addressed. I don't want Pead taking every return, but a rotation of D.J. Woods, Pead, Ralph David Abernathy IV and maybe Akise Teauge if he can ever get over his hamstring issue would do the job capably.

August 24th Jump Off

Chris Bains — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:00:40 -0000

The final five have been revealed in the Down the Drive Ring of Honor voting. You have until the season opener against Austin Peay to vote.

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Training Camp

247 Sports Training Camp 8/22 - Some more photos for you to check out of training camp

SNEAK PEAK: 2011 Bearcats Football Kickoff Video - Go the the Austin Peay game to see the rest

DL Walter Stewart Talking About His Time at Camp Higher Ground - Walter Stewart looks huge. That's not good news for quarterbacks next season.

2011 Media Day - Looks like the Bearcats have new light-weight cleats to go along with the jerseys next season.

Training Camp 2011: Drew Frey Interview - If you didn't know it, this is Drew's 18th fall training camp.

Bearcats News

Collaros Ready for Final Season
Great story about Zach Collaros' transition from undefeated high school quarterback, to being an unknown number on the Bearcats roster, to being named team captain and offensive leader in his senior season at Cincinnati. 2010 didn't go how Zach or the rest of Bearcats country wanted and especially for him who hadn't lost a football game he started since before high school. I think he's grown a lot in a year understanding the Butch Jones offense, learning how to take both winning and losing the same way, and understanding how to become a leader. He has all the tools to be a great quarterback and the drive to get him there. I think Zach will fight for the top spot as the best quarterback in the Big East in 2011.

Linebackers: What's going on over there?
Paul Dehner takes a close look at the linebackers for 2011. The depth at the position is world's away from where it was last year but it isn't necessarily where they want to be. Schaffer and Bomar are locked as starters but there's still questions about who will play the 3rd linebacker spot (likely SAM) and who the backups will be. I agree with Paul that Ben Pooler (barring injury) will end up winning that job as he has tons of college-level experience and the body to play there as well. As far as the backups, I think it will be a fight between Solomon Tentman, Greg Blair, Nick Temple, and Corey Mason.

Practice report: Cincinnati - Big East Blog - ESPN
Pretty standard summary of UC's major concerns heading into the 2011 season. Kicker is sometimes overrated in football but being able to hit those clutch field goals and get SOME points on a drive as opposed to nothing is huge. The backup quarterback situation is also up for grabs but it looks like it'll come down to Munchie Legaux and Jordan Luallen. I sure hope either of these guys get tons of snaps in blowout games this year. For the offensive line, there seems to be a solid core of Hoffman, Hooey, and Maritinez and the biggest question right now is right guard. The battle is between Austen Bujnoch and Andre Cureton. Both are very capable of playing the position but they simply don't have much experience there, and that is invaluable when playing at the college level.

Reloaded Bearcats Look to Build on Last Season's Success - University of Cincinnati Official Athletics Site
Unknown to most people, Cincinnati actually boasts a very solid men's soccer team. I'm not much of a follower of soccer other than the World Cup (you can probably look to Matt for better soccer insight) but I'd love to see the Bearcats build a great program alongside the building of the football, basketball, and baseball teams. It's one of the fastest growing sports in the United States and Cincinnati can really set the bar at the college level by being a perennial powerhouse. That's the dream from this Bearcats fan anyways.

Around the BEast

Frogs O' War - For TCU Horned Frogs Fans
In preparation for TCU joining the Big East to start the 2012 season, a new SB Nation site has emerged to help keep you up-to-date on all your Horned Frog news. Welcome them with open arms or go over there and talk smack. Whatever. Just check out the new site!

Who the Heck is Pitt Playing: River City Rivalry Edition - Cardiac Hill
Cardiac Hill's look at the River City rivalry next season. Pitt has owned the series 8 - 2 but the recent wins for UC has occurred over the past three seasons. The tide could begin changing in this rivalry. Their prediction is a 35 - 17 Pitt win but I've said it before that a lot of people are overlooking how tough it is to transition from a pro-style, run first offense to the spread, especially when your entire team was brought into run the old system. Transition years are also tough just because you're change coaching styles, teaching styles, audibles, play calls, etc. I've got UC taking this game.

Around the Nation

TMQ says money motivates losing on the cheap instead of paying up for wins - ESPN
Gregg Esterbrook's Tuesday Morning Quarterback focuses on the structure of NFL revenue streams and how teams can still make tons of profits even if the teams perform horribly on the football field. It all stems from this country's crack-like addiction to football as corporations, television deals, marketing agencies, and ticket holders pour millions of dollars into these owners' pockets. This is preaching to the choir if you're a Bengals fan as you've seen how Mike Brown cares more about his bottom line than the crooked numbers on the scoreboard.