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(03-23-2022 10:34 AM)Cat-Man Wrote:  https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/...128383001/

'It's not like we're starting over': UC Bearcats football plows ahead during spring camp
Keith Jenkins
Cincinnati Enquirer

Replacing more than 30 players – including eight who received an invitation to the NFL scouting combine and one who is the winningest quarterback in program history – is a process. University of Cincinnati football coach Luke Fickell is learning that that process isn't necessarily a fast one.

Fickell and the Bearcats took the field Tuesday under the bubble at the Sheakley Athletics Center for their fifth practice of spring camp. It was the first practice for the team since the university took a weeklong respite for spring break.

"Actually, it took us a little longer today," Fickell said. "Coming off about an eight-day break, I knew it was going to be a mental challenge for these guys. Sometimes when you have that spring break, you have eight days off and then you come back in here and try to throw it right back at them. It took us a little longer today than the normal two hours and 20 minutes. We had to really cut some things down."

With former Bearcats quarterback Desmond Ridder watching from the sideline (preparing for Cincinnati's pro day on Thursday), Fickell slowed down the pace for quarterbacks Ben Bryant, Evan Prater and the rest of the new-look UC squad.

Position battles are underway all over the field for the two-time defending American Athletic Conference champion Bearcats, but none are bigger or more important than the one under center between Bryant and Prater.

Fickell said it's still very much a neck-and-neck competition between Bryant, a 6-foot-3, 218-pound senior who returned to UC after spending last season at Eastern Michigan, and Prater, the 6-foot-4, 200-pound 2019 Ohio Mr. Football who is in his third year in the Cincinnati system. Jack Perry, Jacob Hoying and Brady Lichtenberg are also pushing the quarterback group along.

"They kind of go back and forth," Fickell said of Bryant and Prater. "And that's not just coach talk. I think they each have had their moments. The greatest thing that we've got going is that we've got a great competition, and competition brings out the best in everybody. I see a sense of urgency from both of them. I think that's a really good thing."

While Prater is looking to step into the record-breaking void left by Ridder, Bryant is also looking to fill that void while developing timing with a group of receivers with which he has very few repetitions.

"The biggest thing that I noticed when he first came back here is he's a lot more vocal," junior wide receiver Tyler Scott said of Bryant. "He was a sophomore when I first got here. Des was the guy at the time. (Bryant) wasn't as vocal. He's more vocal and more confident now."

Scott, who is coming off a breakout sophomore campaign where he compiled 30 catches, 520 yards and five touchdowns, has been a safety net for both quarterbacks this spring. Another has been the offensive line. The Bearcats return all five starting offensive linemen from last season along with their top two tight ends in Josh Whyle and Leonard Taylor.

"It's not like we're starting over," Fickell said. "You've got a core of five or six guys that have played a lot of football and been in leadership roles. It's not like 2018. You've got a really good core nucleus of guys that are going to be great leaders. But they've got to permeate that through the rest of the group. Those young guys have got to spend a lot more time mentally making sure they know what they're doing."

Of the 20 players Fickell and his staff added during the early signing period in December, nine of them enrolled early and have joined the Bearcats for spring camp. One of those new additions is Delaware transfer kicker Ryan Coe.

Coe made 14 of his 17 field-goal attempts (23-23 on extra points) last season as a junior for the Blue Hens. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior booted a 53-yarder on Tuesday.

"We'll just call him a new kicker," Fickell said with a smile. "But you can see the guys recognize the potential he has. ... At the end of spring, we'll put him under some real heat and get ourselves in a kick scrimmage and see what he can do under that kind of pressure."

Fickell and the Bearcats will take a break from spring camp Thursday afternoon to host UC's pro day. The event will give Cincinnati's draft hopefuls an opportunity to work out for and interview with NFL personnel before the 2022 NFL Draft (April 28-30).

Representatives from all 32 NFL teams are expected to attend, including Bengals head coach and former UC assistant Zac Taylor and Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin.

"I think it'll be one of those days where you take a deep breath and spend a few minutes and reflect and recognize what those guys have done for us," Fickell said of the participating players. "I don't do it a whole lot. But I think it's obviously going to be a huge day for us, for a lot of these guys. I think it's a big day for our program. We can't dwell upon it, we can't rest upon it. But I think just to see what it looks like here on Thursday with all the people, the attention. I'll take a minute to at least obviously say thank you to those guys, but also recognize how far it's (the program) come and what the standard and expectations are now."

Fickell said it's still very much a neck-and-neck competition between Bryant, a 6-foot-3, 218-pound senior who returned to UC after spending last season at Eastern Michigan, and Prater, the 6-foot-4, 200-pound 2019 Ohio Mr. Football who is in his third year in the Cincinnati system. Jack Perry, Jacob Hoying and Brady Lichtenberg are also pushing the quarterback group along?

I thought Jack Perry entered the transfer portal?