Cincinnati Bearcats Football

While it was highly suspected heading into the combine and pro day that Isaiah Pead would be the first Cincinnati Bearcat selected in the upcoming NFL Draft, it now looks like defensive lineman Derek Wolfe has just passed Pead on the draft board and possibly jumped into the first round.

Wolfe had a solid combine and good enough showing at pro day to warrant some extra attention from certain NFL teams.

Even though Pead had been one of the most impressive players since the season ended, starting in the Senior Bowl and continuing on into the NFL Combine, it is Wolfe who will likely hear his name called first in a few weeks.

According to Mel Kiper Jr., the New England Patriots are interested in Wolfe and with two first-round picks, could find themselves taking him with one of those selections.

Kiper currently has Wolfe going No. 31 to the Patriots because of his versatility in their 3-4 system.

At 6'5" and 295 pounds, he still has the speed to be a pass-rusher off the end and also has the size to help fill a defensive line that could use some help.

The Patriots are thin up front and could use both first-round picks on defensive line selections.

Among the other teams who like to run a 3-4 defense and could be interested in Wolfe are Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Green Bay.

Coaches love his attitude and production at every level he has played. Hopefully that can translate to the NFL for Wolfe.

If he does go in the first round like Mel Kiper is suggesting, he will be the first Cincinnati Bearcat to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft since Bob Bell in 1971 and only the third all-time.

In the midst of spring practice, the Cincinnati Bearcats football coaching staff is also actively on the recruiting trail and just picked up a three-star quarterback from Massilon, Ohio.

Kyle Kempt is the latest verbal commitment Butch Jones and his coaching staff have received and while he cannot sign his official letter of intent until February, it is nice to get an early commitment for the 2013 class.

Kempt chose Cincinnati over a group that included West Virginia, Indiana, Bowling Green, Tennesse, Toledo and Ole Miss.

At 6'5" and 200 pounds, Kempt has the size to play at the collegiate level and is the latest in an influx of quarterbacks head coach Butch Jones has gotten over the years.

Jones continues to bring in at least one quarterback every year and has stockpiled a lot of talent at that position.

Cincinnati also has recently received a visit from defensive back Micah Harris. Harris is a Washington, D.C. native watched practice and talked to the coaching staff over the weekend.

While he lives in Washington, D.C., his grandmother is a Cincinnati native and he enjoys visiting the area three to four times a year.

Harris is an athlete that can play a number of different positions. He has played quarterback in high school, but spent most of his junior season playing safety and cornerback. In college he will likely be suited for corner, a position his cousin played at Ole Miss. 

Harris will be back in June for another visit.

With spring practice in full gear, the Cincinnati coaches are also busy on the recruiting trail and will be for the next few months, looking to land some big names for the future.

With spring practice now back in gear, there are some position battles that are taking place at the skill positions for the Cincinnati Bearcats.

While Munchie Legaux is likely to be the starter at the quarterback position, head coach Butch Jones has moved backup quarterback Jordan Luallen to a slot wide receiver spot.

Luallen is a junior transfer from Georgia Tech who saw action last season in mop-up situations and when Zach Collaros went down with an injury.

He only threw four passes, completing two of them for 10 yards, but did carry the ball 22 times for 135 yards using the Wildcat formation. He was the perfect change of pace quarterback to throw defenses off.

Now he is getting time in the slot and has a chance to see some playing time there with former slot receiver D.J. Woods now having moved on.

Junior Anthony McClung and sophomore Kenbrell Thompkins basically have two of the three spots locked up with sophomore Alex Chisum the most likely candidate to take the third spot.

If Luallen continues to progress at receiver, he will still likely be slotted as the backup quarterback, but if Jones decides to go in another direction for his backup, fifth-year senior Brendon Kay will be the likely choice. Kay has been pushing Legaux for reps so far this spring. 

The running back position is also a spot that is up for grabs with Isaiah Pead moving on to the NFL.

Fifth-year senior George Winn is the early favorite to earn the starting nod and has been impressive so far both on and off the field with the leadership he has shown.

Winn is certainly going to be pushed by a few guys, including sophomore Jameel Poeat. He was the biggest recruit in the 2011 class and saw some action last year as a true freshman.

Fellow sophomore Ralph David Abernathy IV continues to impress with not only his skills on special teams but also his big play ability on offense.

With less than two weeks of spring practice remaining, culminating with Bearcat Bowl VI, there are some wide open spots at the skill positions for the Bearcats.

The Cincinnati Bearcats announced their official 2012 college football schedule on Tuesday, and it features seven home games and three Big East road trips.

With the departure of TCU to the Big 12, Cincinnati had a void to fill and was unable to get a home-and-home with a BCS school, forcing them to settle for Fordham.

Scheduling Fordham and Delaware State gives Cincinnati two FCS schools, something they certainly did not want to have to do.

Cincinnati will open the season on Sept. 6 in a Thursday night, nationally-televised game on ESPN against Pittsburgh at Nippert Stadium.

They will then begin the non-conference portion of their schedule with a game against Delaware State at home before heading into a bye week.

The big non-conference road test will follow, with Cincinnati traveling to Washington D.C. to take on Virginia Tech.

Cincinnati will then return home to take on Miami (OH) and Fordham before traveling to Toledo for the final non-conference game of the slate.

The remaining Big East games feature road contests against Louisville, Temple and Connecticut with home games against Syracuse, Rutgers and South Florida.

This may not be the schedule that Cincinnati had envisioned a year ago, but it is favorable with seven games at home and only three Big East road games.

With the Big East champion earning an automatic BCS berth, winning the conference is still the No. 1 priority, and it all starts with the season opener against Pittsburgh.

Texas Christian University has never played in the Big East, but that hasn't stopped the Horned Frogs from sending ripples through the league's make-up in the last year or so.

First, TCU was in the league then, with Texas A&M and Mizzou leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, and the Horned Frogs were out of the conference. Opting for the proximity and the money brought on by being in a conference with Oklahoma and Texas, TCU elected to join the Big 12 immediately.

Throw in West Virginia taking off for the Big 12, Temple being added to the league for 2012 and what the league essentially has done is remained at eight members for the 2012 campaign. While the future looks a bit brighter for schedule makers with Houston, SMU, UCF, Memphis, Boise State and San Diego State joining in 2013, 2012 became a bit problematic.

Case and point, Cincinnati.

The Bearcats have finally filled out their 2012 schedule, and it is not nearly as appetizing as the folks in Cincy would have liked. Instead of TCU coming to town in October, the Bearcats resorted to adding Fordham to their slate. Conference realignment claims yet another decent regular season matchup.

Ordinarily we have seen the out of conference games fall by the wayside and long-time rivalries disappear with realignment. However, the Big East is a case where in-conference games come at a premium, and losing those eight games made things mighty difficult.

Cincinnati already had FCS-Delaware State on their schedule for mid-September. This addition of Fordham not only erodes its strength of schedule but also makes its other FBS games mean that much more. The Bearcats must hit the seven-win mark to get to bowl eligibility. Zach Collaros is gone, and that means Munchie Legaux will be in the lead to push for those wins.

The Big East is a league that will be in flux until 2014 rolls around; they have lost not only TCU and West Virginia but also Pitt and Syracuse. Adding the six schools mentioned above, plus Navy in 2015, gets the league some stability, but for now the Bearcats are another loser in expansion as they could not fill that date with a quality opponent.

The University of Cincinnati football team had their first week of spring practice earlier in the month and have now parted for spring break. They will resume practice April 3 and it will all conclude with Bearcat Bowl VI on April 14 at Nippert Stadium.

For nine Bearcats early enrollees, they have the opportunity to get a jump start on practice. These nine freshmen graduated high school early and enrolled at Cincinnati for the winter quarter at the beginning of January.

Among the freshmen is running back Deionte Buckley out of Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, IN. Buckley is as highly touted as any recruit in the Cincinnati class and has an outside shot to step in and earn immediate playing time next season.

Another of the freshmen already in camp is Bennie Coney. Coney is a highly regarded dual-threat quarterback out of Plant City, FL. Even though Coney will likely redshirt in 2012, getting him into the program will certainly be beneficial down the road.

Perhaps the most interesting of any of the players is Marcus Foster from Troy, OH. Foster is an athlete who has the talents to play a number of different positions at the college level, but may be best suited for the secondary, particularly safety.

The extra time for a guy like Foster will give the Cincinnati coaching staff extra time to help him find his position and get him working with that group.

Another of the freshmen to look at early in the spring is Errol Clarke, a linebacker out of Miami, FL. He has some growing and developing to do, but could see the field at some point next season.

While the nine players will not necessarily see more playing time than the other freshmen coming in, they are certainly getting a head start on the guys they will be competing against for playing time, and that never hurts. 

The Cincinnati Bearcats will not only have to replace some integral defensive players from last season's team, they will now also have to deal with the departure of two defensive coaches that were instrumental in their success last season.

Just last week defensive backs coach/special teams coordinator/associate head coach Kerry Coombs left to coach cornerbacks and be an assistant head coach at The Ohio State University.

Coombs is a big loss for Cincinnati because of the enthusiasm and intensity he brings to every practice and game.

He is a local guy who has spent his entire 50-year life in Cincinnati and certainly helped recruit along the local trail.

That passion for the game will definitely be missed in 2012 and beyond for the Bearcats.

He is the second coach on the defensive side of the ball Cincinnati has had to replace this offseason.

Co-defensive coordinator Tim Banks left to take over the defensive coordinator position at Illinois this offseason and while he was listed as co-defensive coordinator, for all intents and purposes, Banks was calling the shots last season.

Cincinnati has started to find replacements. Fellow co-defensive coordinator John Jancek will be the lone defensive coordinator this season and be calling all the shots. He will also be assistant head coach.

Steve Stripling who served last season as the defensive line coach will now also take on the responsibility of defensive run game coordinator.

The Bearcats have brought in Roy Manning who was a graduate assistant last season at Michigan to coach the outside linebackers.

While Banks served as the defensive coordinator, replacing Coombs may be more difficult because of what he brought to the program.

Who his replacement will be is unsure, but he will have a hard time living up to the intensity of Coombs.