Tuberville hopes 'D' steps up as UC begins practice
Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com 4:06 p.m. EDT August 5, 2015

The Cincinnati Bearcats enter their 128th football season with the start of preseason practice Thursday, with some similarities to UC’s greatest year in 2009.

While no one expects the 2015 Bearcats to come within an eyelash of the national title game as in 2009, this year’s model appears to have some things in common. As in, powerful offense and a suspect defense.

The ’09 Bearcats went 12-0 in the regular season, but things fell apart when coach Brian Kelly left shortly thereafter for Notre Dame. UC subsequently lost 51-24 to Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

That year is remembered for an explosive UC offense led by quarterback Tony Pike, as the Bearcats ranked No. 4 nationally in scoring at 38.6 points per game.

The ‘09 UC defense was another story, ranking just 44th nationally in scoring defense at 23.1 points per game. Not terrible, but not great.

Hello 2015, as UC returns quarterback Gunner Kiel, his top seven receivers, three of its top four running backs and three offensive line starters. Last year’s Bearcats ranked No. 29 nationally in scoring offense (34.6 ppg).

The defense returns just five starters from a unit that ranked No. 68 in scoring defense (27.2 ppg). And, UC needed dramatic improvement in the second half of the season to reach that number.

UC coach Tommy Tuberville, 18-8 in two years at the school, knows his 2015 team will score points. Preventing points is the main concern.

“Our defense was just awful for the first part of last year, but we’re more athletic and more physical and we’ve got more depth now,” Tuberville said. “We can improve this year in a lot of areas, for the simple fact that we’ll be able to play more guys.”

A glance:

WHO’S BACK

-Along with Maxwell Award candidate Kiel (3,254 yards passing, UC record-tying 31 TD passes last year), the returning receiving corps includes slot receivers Shaq Washington (66 catches, four TDs) and Max Morrison (45 catches, four TDs) and wideouts Mekale McKay (44 catches, eight TDs) and Chris Moore (30 catches, eight TDs).

-Top returning rusher Mike Boone (650 yards, nine TDs) will be rejoined by former starter Hosey Williams and high-potential veteran Tion Green, both returning from injuries.

-Left tackle Parker Ehinger leads a line that also returns starting center Deyshawn Bond and starting right tackle Justin Murray.

-Defensive end Silverberry Mouhon, who had 4.0 sacks last year after having 9 ½ sacks the year before, looks for a bounce-back year.

-Cornerback Adrian Witty, a vocal leader who missed most of last year with injury, will join safety Zach Edwards (121 tackles) as leaders in the secondary.

-Kicker Andrew Gantz returns after making 16-of-20 field goals last year. Punter Sam Geraci (39.4-yard average) improved as last season progressed. Long snapper Kirk Willis is a team captain along with Kiel, Ehinger, Witty, Mouhon and Washington.

-

WHO’S GONE

-QBs Munchie Legaux and Michael Colosimo; RBs Rod Moore, Rob Rice and Kyle Taubenheim; TE Jake Golic; OL Eric Lefeld, Tyreek Burwell, Cory Keebler, Dominic Mainello and Kevin Schloemer; LBs Jeff Luc and Nick Temple; DL Terrell Hartsfield, Brad Harrah, Cameron Beard and Jerrell Jordan; DBs Howard Wilder, Darren Doston; PK Tony Miliano; P John Lloyd.

-

WHAT’S NEW

-Steve Clinkscale becomes the third defensive coordinator in Tuberville’s three UC seasons. Clinkscale, formerly the UC secondary/cornerbacks coach under Tuberville, is known for his strong rapport with players. Tuberville believes he has the right fit.

-Nippert Stadium will reopen after an $86 million refurbishment. UC played home games at Paul Brown Stadium in 2014.

-Under Armour has replaced adidas as the UC outfitter, amid a social media storm that has had Bearcats fans buzzing.

-

THE FORECAST

-UC, for all its apparent offense/defense imbalance, is an overwhelming choice (by league media)


to win both the 2015 AAC East and overall league championship. UC received 29 of 30 first-place votes in the East, and 22 of 30 votes to win the inaugural AAC title game.

“We’ve got good numbers now, but we want to get our depth in the right positions,” Tuberville said. “You go into two-a-days knowing you’re going to have some problems down the way, but you want to start with everybody near 100 percent healthy. We’re excited to get started.”

-

FIRST WORKOUTS: The first UC preseason practice is Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at the Sheakley Athletics Center. After two days on campus, UC on Saturday departs for its annual two-week stay at the Higher Ground Conference & Retreat Center in West Harrison, Indiana.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../31173713/

Top 50 defense and top 10 offense should be the goal.

(08-06-2015 05:44 AM)ctipton Wrote:  Tuberville hopes 'D' steps up as UC begins practice
Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com 4:06 p.m. EDT August 5, 2015

The Cincinnati Bearcats enter their 128th football season with the start of preseason practice Thursday, with some similarities to UC’s greatest year in 2009.

While no one expects the 2015 Bearcats to come within an eyelash of the national title game as in 2009, this year’s model appears to have some things in common. As in, powerful offense and a suspect defense.

The ’09 Bearcats went 12-0 in the regular season, but things fell apart when coach Brian Kelly left shortly thereafter for Notre Dame. UC subsequently lost 51-24 to Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

That year is remembered for an explosive UC offense led by quarterback Tony Pike, as the Bearcats ranked No. 4 nationally in scoring at 38.6 points per game.

The ‘09 UC defense was another story, ranking just 44th nationally in scoring defense at 23.1 points per game. Not terrible, but not great.

Hello 2015, as UC returns quarterback Gunner Kiel, his top seven receivers, three of its top four running backs and three offensive line starters. Last year’s Bearcats ranked No. 29 nationally in scoring offense (34.6 ppg).

The defense returns just five starters from a unit that ranked No. 68 in scoring defense (27.2 ppg). And, UC needed dramatic improvement in the second half of the season to reach that number.

UC coach Tommy Tuberville, 18-8 in two years at the school, knows his 2015 team will score points. Preventing points is the main concern.

“Our defense was just awful for the first part of last year, but we’re more athletic and more physical and we’ve got more depth now,” Tuberville said. “We can improve this year in a lot of areas, for the simple fact that we’ll be able to play more guys.”

A glance:

WHO’S BACK

-Along with Maxwell Award candidate Kiel (3,254 yards passing, UC record-tying 31 TD passes last year), the returning receiving corps includes slot receivers Shaq Washington (66 catches, four TDs) and Max Morrison (45 catches, four TDs) and wideouts Mekale McKay (44 catches, eight TDs) and Chris Moore (30 catches, eight TDs).

-Top returning rusher Mike Boone (650 yards, nine TDs) will be rejoined by former starter Hosey Williams and high-potential veteran Tion Green, both returning from injuries.

-Left tackle Parker Ehinger leads a line that also returns starting center Deyshawn Bond and starting right tackle Justin Murray.

-Defensive end Silverberry Mouhon, who had 4.0 sacks last year after having 9 ½ sacks the year before, looks for a bounce-back year.

-Cornerback Adrian Witty, a vocal leader who missed most of last year with injury, will join safety Zach Edwards (121 tackles) as leaders in the secondary.

-Kicker Andrew Gantz returns after making 16-of-20 field goals last year. Punter Sam Geraci (39.4-yard average) improved as last season progressed. Long snapper Kirk Willis is a team captain along with Kiel, Ehinger, Witty, Mouhon and Washington.

-

WHO’S GONE

-QBs Munchie Legaux and Michael Colosimo; RBs Rod Moore, Rob Rice and Kyle Taubenheim; TE Jake Golic; OL Eric Lefeld, Tyreek Burwell, Cory Keebler, Dominic Mainello and Kevin Schloemer; LBs Jeff Luc and Nick Temple; DL Terrell Hartsfield, Brad Harrah, Cameron Beard and Jerrell Jordan; DBs Howard Wilder, Darren Doston; PK Tony Miliano; P John Lloyd.

-

WHAT’S NEW

-Steve Clinkscale becomes the third defensive coordinator in Tuberville’s three UC seasons. Clinkscale, formerly the UC secondary/cornerbacks coach under Tuberville, is known for his strong rapport with players. Tuberville believes he has the right fit.

-Nippert Stadium will reopen after an $86 million refurbishment. UC played home games at Paul Brown Stadium in 2014.

-Under Armour has replaced adidas as the UC outfitter, amid a social media storm that has had Bearcats fans buzzing.

-

THE FORECAST

-UC, for all its apparent offense/defense imbalance, is an overwhelming choice (by league media)

Cincinnati Bearcats defensive lineman Silverberry Mouhon (92) celebrates the team's win over the Houston Cougars.
(Photo: The Enquirer/Gary Landers)

to win both the 2015 AAC East and overall league championship. UC received 29 of 30 first-place votes in the East, and 22 of 30 votes to win the inaugural AAC title game.

“We’ve got good numbers now, but we want to get our depth in the right positions,” Tuberville said. “You go into two-a-days knowing you’re going to have some problems down the way, but you want to start with everybody near 100 percent healthy. We’re excited to get started.”

-

FIRST WORKOUTS: The first UC preseason practice is Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at the Sheakley Athletics Center. After two days on campus, UC on Saturday departs for its annual two-week stay at the Higher Ground Conference & Retreat Center in West Harrison, Indiana.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../31173713/

Of course, that pre-season expectation puts a huge target on our back. Here's hoping UC's offense and defense prove to be so agile and elusive that nobody in conference and post-season play is able to draw a steady bead on us.

Go Bearcats!

We have the talent and depth, now we need a championship attitude - that no matter who we face, we will win. There's no room for doubt - this team has to believe in itself in order to come out on top in January.

Just score half a hundred a game and don't sweat the D.

(08-06-2015 06:34 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Just score half a hundred a game and don't sweat the D.

Why not? Worked against Toledo

Hopes? What about "will?" Not to reassuring but we have our 3rd D Coordinator in three years. Can we take our dee to the next level? Next level being average. We can always hope.

(08-06-2015 09:32 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  Hopes? What about "will?" Not to reassuring but we have our 3rd D Coordinator in three years. Can we take our dee to the next level? Next level being average. We can always hope.

Honestly, I think the defense was fine in Tubs first year. Last year, Hughes was incompetent. He was unable to teach his system to his players. Guys would run wide open all over the field early in the season. Not to mention, we could not tackle any running back. The new coordinator says all the right things and passes the eye test for competency. I look for the defense to make strides this year.

Looking down the roster it appears on the defensive line we have 3 junior college and a number of red shirt freshmen. Hope some of them have the ability to step in and improve our defense quickly.

(08-06-2015 08:47 PM)Brian_Johnson Wrote:  

(08-06-2015 06:34 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Just score half a hundred a game and don't sweat the D.

Why not? Worked against Toledo

Exactly. We went to the Sugar Bowl on that philosophy, too.

Try to score in 2 minutes every freaking possession. Last year we layed up in front of the green on a lot of possessions even with Kiel on the field.

(08-07-2015 07:27 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  

(08-06-2015 08:47 PM)Brian_Johnson Wrote:  

(08-06-2015 06:34 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Just score half a hundred a game and don't sweat the D.

Why not? Worked against Toledo

Exactly. We went to the Sugar Bowl on that philosophy, too.

Try to score in 2 minutes every freaking possession. Last year we layed up in front of the green on a lot of possessions even with Kiel on the field.

Trying to give the D a breather

Meh. Play fast. If they need a breather they can sit. Not like the first team was all pro prior to getting to some of the AAC cupcake offenses.

Agreed Rath. Who cares how fast you score, as long as you do, and it amounts to seven.

I love the offense, but, I would be even more fine with a defense that wasn't the dumpster fire of last year

You can score quick AND have a good D...they aren't exclusive qualities.

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I love watching Gunner sling it, but I think I'm looking forward to seeing Boone this year as much as Gunner. That kid was fun to watch last year.

Perhaps someone has stats that would prove or disprove the following: We seemed to play good defense of first and second down only to get gashed third down.

(08-08-2015 08:28 AM)BeerCat Wrote:  I love watching Gunner sling it, but I think I'm looking forward to seeing Boone this year as much as Gunner. That kid was fun to watch last year.

Yes. Gunner is a stud but we need to run the rock to take some pressure off him. Boone greatly impressed me last year with his blend of speed, power and vision. Not sure if he ever fumbled but if he did it was rare. I believe the early camp reports have him number one on the depth chart. I'm looking forward to his continued development into a running back that we have not seen since the explosiveness of Pead.

This sounds a bit odd but I'm also looking forward to the continued development of our kicker Gantz. The Frosh kid was great last year from a poise and consistency standpoint. I've read that his leg is approaching "bionic" proportions from some of the distances that he's hitting in practices.

(08-07-2015 11:39 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  You can score quick AND have a good D...they aren't exclusive qualities.

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Good point Cat. If I remember correctly, the D played better as a whole on the back end of the schedule but still finished the year in the lower tier in most defensive metrics. Again, the expectation should be showing improvement (any improvement) over last year's D and that will only help the team's goals for a strong season this year. An improved defense may be the difference between another 9-3 season with a bowl loss and 10-2 or better with a bowl win.

(08-08-2015 09:19 AM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  

(08-08-2015 08:28 AM)BeerCat Wrote:  I love watching Gunner sling it, but I think I'm looking forward to seeing Boone this year as much as Gunner. That kid was fun to watch last year.

Yes. Gunner is a stud but we need to run the rock to take some pressure off him. Boone greatly impressed me last year with his blend of speed, power and vision. Not sure if he ever fumbled but if he did it was rare. I believe the early camp reports have him number one on the depth chart. I'm looking forward to his continued development into a running back that we have not seen since the explosiveness of Pead.

This sounds a bit odd but I'm also looking forward to the continued development of our kicker Gantz. The Frosh kid was great last year from a poise and consistency standpoint. I've read that his leg is approaching "bionic" proportions from some of the distances that he's hitting in practices.

(08-08-2015 09:34 AM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  

(08-07-2015 11:39 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  You can score quick AND have a good D...they aren't exclusive qualities.

Good point Cat. If I remember correctly, the D played better as a whole on the back end of the schedule but still finished the year in the lower tier in most defensive metrics. Again, the expectation should be showing improvement (any improvement) over last year's D and that will only help the team's goals for a strong season this year. An improved defense may be the difference between another 9-3 season with a bowl loss and 10-2 or better with a bowl win.

Great last few points guys. If the defense is going to be more "deep" according to Tubs, there is no reason to trot out the excuse that scoring quick wears out the defense (especially when our defense was getting scored on equally as soon).

As Beercat and 1992 point out - I would love to run the ball more, not because I want to save the defense, but more to spare Kiel from taking a pounding at the hands of an ears-pinned-back pass rush. And, by all accounts the OL is bigger now, so maybe we'll be able to score more red zone TDs now, and not have to rely exclusively on 30+ yard TD passes. In general, if a team relies on pass-pass-pass, the defense has a better chance at successfully adjusting to it.

But, when it comes down to it, if we can score early and often it doesn't matter how. It would just be nice to be able to do it more than one way, for reasons stated above.