Cincinnati Bearcats Football

While it is still very early in the recruiting process for all college football teams, the Cincinnati Bearcats are well on their way to one of their better recruiting classes in recent memory. 

Butch Jones already has 13 verbal commitments for 2012, and there are already a few names that stick out. 

Defensive end Ryan Leahy is a local kid from LaSalle High School in Cincinnati and is rated one of the top 50 defensive ends in the country. Leahy stands at 6'6" and weighs 256 pounds. His combination of size and speed will make him a solid pass-rusher for Cincinnati in the future.

At this point, Leahy is the biggest name in next year's class. He has offers from major programs including Boston College, West Virginia and North Carolina State, among others. 

The Bearcats have also received a commitment from offensive lineman Kyle Williamson. Williamson needs to bulk up, but at 6'5" and 278 pounds, his size gives him great potential down the road for the Bearcats. 

Also committing to Cincinnati is 5'9" speedster Deionte Buckley out of Warren Central in Indianapolis. He will be joined by high school teammate Josh Posley, a 6'2", 238-pound defensive end with 4.6 40-yard dash speed.

Warren Central is a Cincinnati pipeline that has given the Bearcats incoming freshman linebacker Nick Temple and current tight end Adrien Robinson, among others. 

Wide receiver Jeremy Graves is another three-star recruit who will help shore up a receiving group with some key upperclassmen who will be departing after the 2011 season. 

Perhaps the most intriguing commitment so far is athlete Alex Dale. Dale hales from Memphis and chose Cincinnati over Mississippi and Western Kentucky. He is 5'10", 175 pounds and currently rated as a three-star recruit, according to Rivals.com. While he may be best suited for defensive back, Dale has explosive big-play ability that may allow him to see action as a true freshman in 2012. 

Out of the 25 players in the Cincinnati Bearcats 2011 recruiting class, 21 of them are 3-star recruits or higher according to rivals.com. 

Having the opportunity to play in a BCS conference has helped recruiting immensely for Cincinnati. 

With 20 3-star players, Butch Jones has a pretty solid group in his first class. 

However, one of the four 2-star recruits caught everybody's eye last night with the performance he put on in the Big 33 Classic. 

The Big 33 Classic is a yearly battle that pits Ohio's best high school football players versus Pennsylvania's best. Two of the best states for high school football fight it out for pride and bragging rights. 

This year, Ohio came out on top thanks in part to future Cincinnati running back Akise Teague. 

Teague led Ohio to a 50-14 win with a pair of first-quarter rushing touchdowns and a 40-yard touchdown reception at the beginning of the third quarter. 

In all, he totaled 168 yards on 10 touches and earned MVP honors for Ohio. 

At only 5'8" and 178 pounds, Teague was not highly recruited out of Ursuline high school in Youngstown, Ohio.

He had offers from a few MAC schools, along with Wisconsin and Cincinnati, but chose to stay in-state and play for the Bearcats.

While his size may not be there, he has 4.4 speed and big-play ability as he showed with a 52-yard touchdown scamper last night.

The Bearcats most highly-touted recruit is running back Jameel Poteat who also happens to be a running back, meaning playing time may be difficult to come by for Teague. 

But, after what he showed last night, Cincinnati may have found a diamond in the rough and could have quite a running back tandem for the next four years in Clifton. 

With Zach Collaros fully entrenched as the Bearcats starting quarterback, if everything goes as planned, the backup quarterback will not see the field for any meaningful snaps in 2011.

Chances are that will not happen, and the departure of senior Chazz Anderson has left coach Butch Jones and his squad in a bit of a bind.

Anderson was entering his fifth year in the program and had experience playing in Big East games. His decision to transfer will mean the Bearcats backup—whomever it may be—will not have much experience under center.

The three vying for the job are sophomores Munchie Legaux and Jordan Luallen, and junior Brendan Kay. 

Kay has been in the program the longest. He will be entering his fourth season and played in six games last season as the third-string quarterback.

He has thrown eight passes total but has battled knee injuries the past few years.

Luallen is a transfer from Georgia Tech. He was a four-star recruit out of high school, but has not thrown a pass since 2008.

He may be the most talented quarterback of the bunch, but will need time to learn the system, and not played in three years will not help his case.

Legaux came to Cincinnati last season from New Orleans. He was expected to redshirt, but the injuries suffered at the receiver position forced Legaux into action at wide receiver.

He is extremely athletic and has great size.

At 6-foot-5 and 197 pounds, Legaux has more raw talent than almost anybody on the Bearcats roster. He is not only quick, but has an excellent arm.

While Jones has not said Legaux is the front runner, early indications are he may have a slight edge.

With is big-play ability and potential mean, Legaux could easily win the job as Zach Collaros' backup. 

If that happens, Legaux would be called upon as a backup next season, but could be the starter in 2012 and help lead the Bearcats into the future. 

Simply put, the Cincinnati Bearcats defense was awful last season. They ranked near the bottom of the Big East in every statistical category.

Cincinnati will need vast improvements from their defense, particularly the secondary, if they plan on returning to a bowl game.

One positive note is that Cincinnati returns all 11 starters from last year's squad.  

They will be much more experienced than last season and will have a big man in the middle who can control the line of scrimmage. 

Derek Wolfe returns for his senior season and enters his third year as a starter. At 6'5" and over 300 pounds, he is a load up front for Cincinnati. 

He will be joined by returning starters Brandon Mills, John Hughes and Dan Giordano.

The problem last season with the defensive line was a lack of depth. This season, Cincinnati will be able to rely on Camaron Beard and Brad Harrah. 

Beard redshirted last season and is a pass-rushing defensive lineman. At 6'5" and 279 pounds, Beard will provide some depth up front. 

Harrah also redshirted last season and stands 6'5" as well. These two pass-rushers will see a lot of snaps this season. 

Returning at linebacker is second-team All-Big East selection J.K. Schaffer. Schaffer led the team in tackles last season and will need to have another big year. 

Also returning is Walter Stewart. Stewart is perhaps the most talented player on the defensive side of the ball for Cincinnati. He is in the process of transitioning to defensive line and had three sacks in the spring game. 

Stewart is a game-changer and is as talented as anybody on the Cincinnati roster. 

In the secondary, the Bearcats' best cover corner, Dominique Battle, will return after tearing his ACL last season. 

Drew Frey returns at safety along with a group of youngsters who will be called upon to come up with some big plays. 

If the transition of Stewart to defensive line can add some depth to the front four, the Bearcats have a chance to give some playing time to younger players, including talented linebacker Solomon Tentman. 

Tentman was battling for a starting job as a true freshman last season before he tore his ACL, and he will be right in the mix this season. 

For the first time in years, the entire coaching staff is intact from the previous season. There are no changes at all and the defense will have the opportunity to work together for another full season. 

If the defense can just be average, Cincinnati will have a chance to win a lot of games. 

If not, next season could be very similar to last season.