Cincinnati Bearcats Football: 10 Benchmarks for Spring Success

After having finished their fourth spring practice over the weekend, Cincinnati and head coach Butch Jones are undoubtedly working on replacing half of their starters and finding some new young talent who is ready to step into much bigger roles.

With spring break coming up, Cincinnati will take the next two weeks off before beginning the second week of spring practice on March 26.

They are allowed 15 practices in all, and the culmination of that will be Bearcat Bowl VI on Saturday, April 14, at Nippert Stadium.

For Cincinnati to be successful in 2012, they will need to learn a lot about the team during the remaining 11 practices

Here are 10 benchmarks for success from spring practice that will help propel Cincinnati into 2012.

Cincinnati has an established No. 1 receiver in junior Anthony McClung and a solid No. 2 in Kenbrell Thompkins. True freshman Alex Chisum stepped up last season and will likely fill the No. 3 receiver slot.

After that the spots are wide open for the Bearcats with a lot of young talented players who could step into that two-deep role.

Perhaps the leading candidate is sophomore DyJuan Lewis. Lewis is very talented and was a 4-star recruit out of high school a few years ago according to Rivals.com.

Another candidate could be fifth-year senior Danny Milligan. He is the leading candidate to be the punt returner and is as sure-handed as anybody on the team.

Developing some depth at receiver will be important for Cincinnati this spring.

Butch Jones has said the quarterback position is up for grabs heading into spring practice, but all signs point to junior Munchie Legaux as the potential starter.

He must establish that in the spring so there is no controversy heading into fall practice.

Legaux played well last season and has the talent to get Cincinnati back to a BCS Bowl.

He will have to show that talent beginning in the spring.

Isaiah Pead is moving on to the NFL and replacing him may be the hardest thing Cincinnati has to do.

While there are five potential suitors for his role, there are really two leading candidates: senior George Winn and sophomore Jameel Poteat.

Winn was a serviceable backup last season and Poteat showed signs as a true freshman of the potential he possesses.

Finding out who of the two will step into the starting role begins at spring practice.

Replacing an assistant coach may not seem like a big deal, but Kerry Coombs brings as much intensity to a college football game than anybody else in the country.

He left Cincinnati a few weeks ago to take a similar position at Ohio State. One of the benchmarks for success during spring practice will be finding somebody who can help replace the intensity lost, particularly on the defensive side of the ball now that Coombs has left town.

They will need an assistant or two to step up and take over for the departed Coombs.

As always, one of the keys to having a successful season is no injuries, and it all starts in the spring.

Last season, receiver Kenbrell Thompkins was slowed by an injured leg in the spring, and while the season is still almost six months away, an injury can linger over the summer.

Getting through spring practices without any injuries is a benchmark for success for the Bearcats.

It all starts up front in college football, and Cincinnati will have to replace three starters along the offensive line.

Developing that continuity begins in spring practice. The Bearcats will be relatively young along the offensive line in 2012 and will need to produce like they did in 2011.

A benchmark for success will be finding starters along the offensive line.

While Cincinnati will have to replace a few starters on defense, none will be harder to replace than linebacker J.K. Schaffer and tackle Derek Wolfe.

A benchmark for success this spring for Cincinnati will be finishing spring practice feeling good about the replacements for those two.

Freshman Nick Temple saw extensive action at linebacker last season as a true freshman and could replace Schaffer.

Cameron Beard and Jordan Stepp both have a chance to step into the starting roles left at the defensive tackle position.

It has been a long time since Cincinnati went an entire season without a key injury on offense, particularly to the quarterback.

That has hurt them each of the past five seasons and they will need to stay healthy this year to have a chance in the Big East.

Staying healthy will lead to more continuity on offense. They need to develop that continuity starting with spring practice, particularly with all of the young players on offense.

Cincinnati did not really have a deep-play threat last season, but running back Isaiah Pead could always break off a big run.

Top receiver Anthony McClung is more of a possession type and Kenbrell Thompkins can go deep on occasion.

Perhaps the deep-play threat could be Alex Chisum. He showed the potential to go deep on a few occasions last season, and finding out in the spring if he can continue to do so would help Cincinnati down the road. 

The annual spring game, deemed the Bearcat Bowl, is not known to attract a lot of fans, but getting more people in the stands would be a great way to end spring practice. 

While they will never get a sellout at Nippert Stadium, it would be nice to see a few more fans in attendance.

That would be a perfect way to end the spring and establish a benchmark for spring success.