Cincinnati Bearcats Football

The Cincinnati Bearcats left the confines of Nippert Stadium over the weekend and embarked on their annual trip to Higher Ground Conference and Retreat Center in West Harrison, Indiana.

Cincinnati makes the annual pilgrimage across the state lines to Indiana for their yearly two-week visit where they can get away and concentrate on football only. 

There is a lot to concentrate and improve on after a 4-8 season a year ago, and Cincinnati has a chance to mentally prepare for the season that lies ahead. 

While most of the starting positions are filled, there is one hard-fought battle that is taking place on special teams. 

The job up for grabs is the starting kicker position. 

Four-year starter Jake Rogers graduated last season and is now in camp with the New Orleans Saints. While Rogers had his share of inconsistencies during his time at Cincinnati, replacing him has become tougher than originally expected.

The competition has turned into a two-man battle between redshirt freshman Tony Miliano and Wake Forest transfer Shane Popham. 

Both are walk-ons with the winner of the job possibly being granted a scholarship. 

Miliano was a two-time first-team all-state selection at Elder High School in Cincinnati and chose to walk on at Cincinnati instead of taking a scholarship to a Mid American Conference school. 

Popham was a scholarship player at Wake Forest who averaged 38.2 yards on 71 punts last season while making eight of 14 field-goal attempts over his Wake Forest career. 

Both players have had their good days and their bad.

With Popham being a fifth-year senior, he has game experience that Milano is lacking. 

Milano has the potential to improve over his four-year career and could be a a little more of a risk. 

Whichever direction head coach Butch Jones goes, the decision will probably not be made until the Bearcats leave Higher Ground in Indiana in two weeks. 

With the season now less than three weeks away, this is just one of many big decisions that Jones has on his plate in the weeks to come. 

The Cincinnati Bearcats only had one player selected in the NFL draft this past April. 

Offensive lineman Jason Kelce was the only player to hear his name selected on draft weekend (sixth round by the Philadelphia Eagles). 

A few Bearcats, particularly wide receiver Armon Binns expected to hear his name called in the later rounds, but instead had to wait months until the lockout ended. 

This past week four Bearcats inked contacts with professional franchises. 

Leading the way was Binns, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars; fellow receiver Vidal Hazelton signed with San Diego; tight end Ben Guidugli will be in camp with St. Louis; and kicker Jake Rogers signed with the New Orleans Saints. 

Armon Binns was the Bearcats' most valuable player last season and was a first team all-Big East selection. He will join a Jacksonville team with many receiver spots up for grabs—only one receiver on the roster has more than three years of NFL experience. 

Out of all the Bearcats selected, Binns has the best shot at making the roster.

Unfortunately, fellow wide receiver Vidal Hazelton only played one game in his injury shortened Bearcats career. But Hazelton is a very talented receiver who could find himself on San Diego's practice squad with a slim chance to make their 53-man roster. 

Fullback Ben Guidugli had a very successful college career and will be competing in St. Louis against not only the tight ends, but also possibly the fullbacks. His 6'1" and 230-pound frame make him well suited for the fullback position in the NFL. 

Kicker Jake Rogers is a long shot going against incumbent Garrett Hartley in New Orleans. Hartley has an excellent leg as does Rogers, but his inconsistency on the college level will make it difficult for him to crack their roster. 

With the signing of these four free agents, there are currently 21 former Bearcats on NFL rosters. 

Last October former University of Miami safety Latwan Anderson announced he was leaving the football team to concentrate primarily on track. 

A few months later, he left the university altogether.

And last night, the former 5-star recruit tweeted he would be attending the University of Cincinnati in the fall. 

Anderson graduated from Cleveland Glenville in 2010 and took his talents to Miami to play for the Hurricanes. 

In high school, Anderson was rated the No. 2 safety overall and No. 15 prospect, according to Rivals.com. He was also one of the top track stars in the nation, ranking No. 12 in the 55-meter dash as a high school senior.  

As a true freshman last season, Anderson accepted a track scholarship to Miami and joined the football team as a walk-on.

Since he did not appear in a game for the Hurricanes, the track scholarship was never converted to a football scholarship, meaning Anderson will be eligible to play in 2011 without having to sit out a season.

He will be joining a Bearcats team in need of some defensive help and one where he could step in and contribute right away.  

Anderson is an athlete who can do it all on the defensive side of the ball. He is touted as a hard hitter and his track speed translates well to the football field. 

He was the No. 1 player in the state of Ohio in 2010, and after originally committing to West Virginia out of high school, he joined the Miami Hurricanes despite receiving offers from USC, Ohio State, North Carolina, Michigan and Cincinnati, among others. 

Anderson is a huge signing for Cincinnati and head coach Butch Jones. He will help solidify the defensive backfield for Cincinnati and also give the Bearcats a star on their track team. 

When he does step on the field for Cincinnati, he will be one of, if not the most highly touted recruit to ever take the field at Nippert Stadium for the Bearcats.  

With the NFL lockout possibly nearing an end, that means former Cincinnati Bearcat receiver Armon Binns will have his chance to sign with an NFL team in the next couple of weeks. 

For Binns, the wait has been all too long. 

After two huge seasons at Cincinnati, Binns expected to be selected in the middle to late rounds of the NFL draft, but did not hear his name heard on draft weekend. 

This has led to months of waiting for a receiver much too talented not to hear his name called. 

After only two receptions in his first two collegiate seasons, Binns had 61 catches for 888 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior and followed that up with 75 catches and 1,101 yards to go along with 10 touchdowns last season. 

What possibly hurt Binns is not redshirting his first season in Cincinnati. He is young for his class to begin with, still not even 22 years old and could have used that year to develop his game. 

While he has played alongside some talented quarterbacks and receivers in high-scoring college offenses, Binns is an NFL ready receiver who could contribute to a number of teams this coming season. 

He tested extremely well in the vertical leap and has excellent hands along with a great first step off the offensive line. 

At 6'2" and 210 pounds, Binns has NFL size that will allow him to sign on with an NFL team and contribute for years to come. 

With his talent, youth and ability to improve, Binn's has the potential to have a successful NFL career for the next decade. 

The Cincinnati Bearcats have one of the more experienced teams in the Big East and with most starters coming back for their second or third season in that role, a few of whom have received preseason recognition heading into the 2011 season. 

On the defensive side of the ball, LB J.K. Schaffer and DT Derek Wolfe were named to the watch list for the 2011 Nagurski Trophy. 

The Bronko Nagurski trophy is awarded each year to the nation's best defensive player. 

Both Schaeffer and Wolfe are entering their third season as starters on the defensive side of the ball and as seniors, they will be called upon to lead an experienced, but much maligned group. 

Schaeffer was a second-team All-Big East selection last season, finishing with 111 tackles. 

Wolfe is perhaps the most important player on the defensive side of the ball for Cincinnati. He is a big run stopper in the middle who might have the most NFL potential on the team. 

On the offensive side of the ball, QB Zach Collaros and RB Isaiah Pead were named to the Maxwell watch list. 

The Maxwell Award is given to the most outstanding college football player in America every year.

Collaros was a first-team All-Big East performer last season, while posting big time passing statistics. He would like to cut down on his interceptions this season and needs to for Cincinnati to be successful. 

Pead was a second-team All-Big East selection last season and is one of the most explosive players in the Big East. 

These four seniors have one more chance to get Cincinnati back to a BCS bowl and leave the program at the highest peak it has ever reached.

Who knows? Maybe they could win a few awards in the process. 

While running is not the name of the game for the Cincinnati Bearcats, when they do run, they just might have the most explosive running back in all of college football in 2011. 

The big play ability of senior Isaiah Pead makes him one of the college football biggest threats this coming season. 

Pead has seen his playing time steadily improve over each of the last three seasons, and has been near the top of the country in yards per carry the past two years. 

As a true freshman in 2008, Pead saw limited action on an Orange Bowl team that had a lot of experience. 

He finished the season with 30 carries for 194 yards. Still, a 6.5 yards per carry average as a true freshman showed the promise he possessed. 

As a sophomore, Pead split carries with senior Jacob Ramsey. When he did get the ball, he didn't disappoint and finished the season with 806 yards on only 121 carries. That was good for a 6.7 yards per carry average. 

Add in nine rushing touchdowns, along with 201 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and you have some big time numbers. 

Last season, Pead was hampered by an injured knee for the first few weeks of the season, but burst onto the scene against Oklahoma in Week 4. 

Pead finished that game with 169 yards on 21 carries. The very next week, he pounded out 197 yards on Miami (OH) on only 10 carries. 

Overall, his 157 attempts and 1,029 yards were good for a 6.6 average per carry. 

Among running backs with more than 150 carries, Pead was second in the nation last season in yards per carry, behind only James White of Wisconsin. 

His combination of speed and strength make him elusive enough to run by defenders and strong enough to go right through them. 

While he was not heavily recruited out of high school, Pead did have offers from nuAmerous Big Ten, Big East and ACC schools. His 4.4 40-speed and 38-inch vertical leap make him one of the best athletes on the field.

In high school, he broke all of Archie Griffin's records at Columbus Eastmoor Academy. 

The presence of incoming freshman Jameel Poteat and returning junior Darrin Williams will force Pead to fight hard to keep the bulk of the carries. 

For Cincinnati to be successful in 2011, they have to limit turnovers and run the football effectively. 

If they do that and make an effort to run the ball more next season, Pead has the potential to easily rush for 1,500 yards. 

If that happens there are certain to be a lot of wins in the future for the Cincinnati Bearcats.