The unofficial online home for fans of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Every year UC has a day dedicated to the staff contacting every high school in the "State of Cincinnati" to talk about their players and to make sure they all have a clear connection to the program. Today was that day, and they made a bigger deal out of it with a marketing blitz centered around billboards with Fick, and the two guys on staff with the deepest ties to the region in Gino and Scruggs. It was a very specific ad campaign focused on a one day recruiting event...

(01-14-2021 11:04 PM)GameTime_21 Wrote:  Every year UC has a day dedicated to the staff contacting every high school in the "State of Cincinnati" to talk about their players and to make sure they all have a clear connection to the program. Today was that day, and they made a bigger deal out of it with a marketing blitz centered around billboards with Fick, and the two guys on staff with the deepest ties to the region in Gino and Scruggs. It was a very specific ad campaign focused on a one day recruiting event...

Thanks for the insight.

(01-14-2021 04:38 PM)bearcatdp Wrote:  

(01-14-2021 04:37 PM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  

(01-14-2021 04:33 PM)ZCat Wrote:  Chad just on with Mo.
Said - If things break in UC’s favor, Chris Ash would be the new defensive coordinator. He also mentions Mike Mickens, Mike Tressel, and another guy from Ohio state but I miss that. I think it’s an obvious Guy you guys would know.

OC- He said currently Denbrock now. And if he leaves there’s only one choice and that’s Gino.

What are your thoughts
And great info, Chad!!

Those work for me.

Paul Haynes was the other - was DC at OSU in 2011 and is the Minnesota Golden Gophers CB coach now - also went to Fickell's high school.

Oh, I was thinking Al Washington (which I would prefer to Haynes btw)

(01-14-2021 04:40 PM)natibeast21 Wrote:  Chris Ash or Mike Mickens please! Other two will work but more meh.

Of the four, Ash is my clear #1 but we'll have to get lucky considering his rumored other potential options. Mickens a clear #2 from that list for me and I gotta hope and believe he'd take it. I'm not a fan of Haynes nor Tressel, but would go with Tressel next if I had to pick. FWIW MSU kept Tressel around after Dantonio left, but Haynes went from DB coach at MSU to safeties coach at Minnesota.

(01-14-2021 08:22 PM)bearcat29 Wrote:  Think the gentlemen and ladies on short vine might have a different opinion on who protects this city

Love that photo. I don't really know how CFD agreed to using UC's athletic mark on that ladder truck, but I love seeing it Uptown and bet it angers X fans whenever they get a glimpse.

It seems to me that unless you're a team that can just reload with amazing talent every year, then continuity in the coaching staff would be extremely important to long-term success. So by those standards, it would be great to have Gino as the OC and Mickens as the DC. Both former players who also stuck around after college and lived in the area and thus may be happy coaching for UC for the next 10 years. I'm afraid a guy like Chris Ash will be on the first bus out of town as soon as he gets a better offer.

(01-15-2021 08:16 AM)nachoman91 Wrote:  It seems to me that unless you're a team that can just reload with amazing talent every year, then continuity in the coaching staff would be extremely important to long-term success. So by those standards, it would be great to have Gino as the OC and Mickens as the DC. Both former players who also stuck around after college and lived in the area and thus may be happy coaching for UC for the next 10 years. I'm afraid a guy like Chris Ash will be on the first bus out of town as soon as he gets a better offer.

A lot of you seem to believe this with all your hearts, but it simply will not happen. First off, Mickens has already left once and Gino already told Chad and Dave on their podcast he was ready to pack his bags for East Lansing if CLF told him that was were they were going.

The days of Bud Foster type guys being a coordinator at one school for 25 years is pretty much over-- even if you are a native of the city the school is in and that is your alma mater. Assistant coaches are very nomadic, they will move around to get a job that pays more, puts them in a better situation to get a better job, etc.

Its time for people to stop fantasizing about the dream UC coaching staff made up of Kerry Coombs, Gino, Binns, Pead, Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce, Terrill Byrd, JK Shaffer, Mickens, Walter Stewart, and Kevin Huber (Special teams coach). Frankly I would not want it anyway as there are better coaches out there in most of those instances.

While I like the idea of local guys who might stay around, I would be happy to mortgage a bit of the future and go all in on next season, which may have an opportunity we may not see again in a long time. I will take one and done coaches if they do the job very well this coming season.

(01-14-2021 11:34 PM)QSECOFR Wrote:  

(01-14-2021 11:04 PM)GameTime_21 Wrote:  Every year UC has a day dedicated to the staff contacting every high school in the "State of Cincinnati" to talk about their players and to make sure they all have a clear connection to the program. Today was that day, and they made a bigger deal out of it with a marketing blitz centered around billboards with Fick, and the two guys on staff with the deepest ties to the region in Gino and Scruggs. It was a very specific ad campaign focused on a one day recruiting event...

Thanks for the insight.

Seconded. Thanks Chad!

(01-15-2021 08:30 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(01-15-2021 08:16 AM)nachoman91 Wrote:  It seems to me that unless you're a team that can just reload with amazing talent every year, then continuity in the coaching staff would be extremely important to long-term success. So by those standards, it would be great to have Gino as the OC and Mickens as the DC. Both former players who also stuck around after college and lived in the area and thus may be happy coaching for UC for the next 10 years. I'm afraid a guy like Chris Ash will be on the first bus out of town as soon as he gets a better offer.

A lot of you seem to believe this with all your hearts, but it simply will not happen. First off, Mickens has already left once and Gino already told Chad and Dave on their podcast he was ready to pack his bags for East Lansing if CLF told him that was were they were going.

The days of Bud Foster type guys being a coordinator at one school for 25 years is pretty much over-- even if you are a native of the city the school is in and that is your alma mater. Assistant coaches are very nomadic, they will move around to get a job that pays more, puts them in a better situation to get a better job, etc.

Its time for people to stop fantasizing about the dream UC coaching staff made up of Kerry Coombs, Gino, Binns, Pead, Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce, Terrill Byrd, JK Shaffer, Mickens, Walter Stewart, and Kevin Huber (Special teams coach). Frankly I would not want it anyway as there are better coaches out there in most of those instances.

Agreed. I don't get all geeked up about hiring someone as a coach just because they were a former player or from the Cincinnati area like others do. I want the best man for the job. Mickens may one day be a good coach, but he is lacking in experience. He's only been a CB coach so far (not even a full DB coach). Do we really want to hand over the keys to ready made top defense to someone who may not know what they are doing? Not saying the other guys are good candidates but at least Ash, Tressel, and Haynes have all been DC's.

(01-15-2021 08:30 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(01-15-2021 08:16 AM)nachoman91 Wrote:  It seems to me that unless you're a team that can just reload with amazing talent every year, then continuity in the coaching staff would be extremely important to long-term success. So by those standards, it would be great to have Gino as the OC and Mickens as the DC. Both former players who also stuck around after college and lived in the area and thus may be happy coaching for UC for the next 10 years. I'm afraid a guy like Chris Ash will be on the first bus out of town as soon as he gets a better offer.

A lot of you seem to believe this with all your hearts, but it simply will not happen. First off, Mickens has already left once and Gino already told Chad and Dave on their podcast he was ready to pack his bags for East Lansing if CLF told him that was were they were going.

The days of Bud Foster type guys being a coordinator at one school for 25 years is pretty much over-- even if you are a native of the city the school is in and that is your alma mater. Assistant coaches are very nomadic, they will move around to get a job that pays more, puts them in a better situation to get a better job, etc.

Its time for people to stop fantasizing about the dream UC coaching staff made up of Kerry Coombs, Gino, Binns, Pead, Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce, Terrill Byrd, JK Shaffer, Mickens, Walter Stewart, and Kevin Huber (Special teams coach). Frankly I would not want it anyway as there are better coaches out there in most of those instances.

100% agree. It's nice to have some on the staff though for pride in the school. Always hire the best candidate period!

Why I want Chris Ash over Mickens bad even if it's a long shot. Other two candidates that have been mentioned I'm not too familiar with but in Fick I trust.

(01-15-2021 08:30 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Its time for people to stop fantasizing about the dream UC coaching staff made up of Kerry Coombs, Gino, Binns, Pead, Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce, Terrill Byrd, JK Shaffer, Mickens, Walter Stewart, and Kevin Huber (Special teams coach). Frankly I would not want it anyway as there are better coaches out there in most of those instances.

I will say I am very excited at the possibility of seeing what Gino can do. I think he has the track record and experience and is ready for that kind of leap.

I'll also so watching Mickens during his career he always seemed like a guy who could make a coach. Wasn't the most physically talented corner, but really did everything right. I think he did an incredible job with our corners while he was here. Maybe he's not ready for the DC leap yet, I don't know. But Mickens and Gino in particular I think have real coaching chops and will be successful for a long time.

(01-15-2021 10:15 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(01-15-2021 08:30 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Its time for people to stop fantasizing about the dream UC coaching staff made up of Kerry Coombs, Gino, Binns, Pead, Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce, Terrill Byrd, JK Shaffer, Mickens, Walter Stewart, and Kevin Huber (Special teams coach). Frankly I would not want it anyway as there are better coaches out there in most of those instances.

I will say I am very excited at the possibility of seeing what Gino can do. I think he has the track record and experience and is ready for that kind of leap.

I'll also so watching Mickens during his career he always seemed like a guy who could make a coach. Wasn't the most physically talented corner, but really did everything right. I think he did an incredible job with our corners while he was here. Maybe he's not ready for the DC leap yet, I don't know. But Mickens and Gino in particular I think have real coaching chops and will be successful for a long time.

My last post notwithstanding, I agree that Coach Gino and Mike Mickens have a lot of upside.

Starting to wonder if Denbrock is actually leaving- he was out recruiting yesterday for UC and as word breaks on twitter we have a new (defensive) 22 commit coming, Denbrock is retweeting it.

(01-15-2021 10:23 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(01-15-2021 10:15 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(01-15-2021 08:30 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Its time for people to stop fantasizing about the dream UC coaching staff made up of Kerry Coombs, Gino, Binns, Pead, Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce, Terrill Byrd, JK Shaffer, Mickens, Walter Stewart, and Kevin Huber (Special teams coach). Frankly I would not want it anyway as there are better coaches out there in most of those instances.

I will say I am very excited at the possibility of seeing what Gino can do. I think he has the track record and experience and is ready for that kind of leap.

I'll also so watching Mickens during his career he always seemed like a guy who could make a coach. Wasn't the most physically talented corner, but really did everything right. I think he did an incredible job with our corners while he was here. Maybe he's not ready for the DC leap yet, I don't know. But Mickens and Gino in particular I think have real coaching chops and will be successful for a long time.

My last post notwithstanding, I agree that Coach Gino and Mike Mickens have a lot of upside.

Starting to wonder if Denbrock is actually leaving- he was out recruiting yesterday for UC and as word breaks on twitter we have a new (defensive) 22 commit coming, Denbrock is retweeting it.

Yea. He may not leave, which to me is best case scenario for now. I think he's done a good job here.

Here is the Enquirer article about the billboards:

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/...168958001/

Despite recent departures, Fickell and Bearcats forging ahead with recruiting
Keith Jenkins
Cincinnati Enquirer

Though their ship has been rocky of late, University of Cincinnati football coach Luke Fickell and the program's recruiting department are determined to keep things steady and full steam ahead.

Fickell and the Bearcats got another commitment Friday from the 2022 class in three-star defensive lineman Segree Graham of Jacksonville, Florida. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Graham of Bartram Trail High School announced his commitment to Cincinnati on Twitter. Graham chose the Bearcats over offers from Indiana, Iowa State, Miami, Arkansas and others.

Graham's commitment, Cincinnati's sixth from the 2022 class, gives UC the fifth-ranked class in the nation, according to 247Sports.com.

Graham's commitment comes a week after defensive coordinator and key recruiter Marcus Freeman elected to leave Cincinnati for Notre Dame.

It also comes four days after associate head coach and running backs coach Dan Enos accepted the offensive coordinator position at Maryland, two days after offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock interviewed for the same job at Vanderbilt, and three days after fellow 2022 recruit Mumu Bin-Wahad, a defensive back from Georgia, de-committed from the Bearcats, citing recent "coaching changes."

Despite all of that, the UC football recruiting department planted several billboards throughout the city early Thursday morning featuring the images of Fickell, quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli and defensive line coach Greg Scruggs with the words "We protect our city."

"It shows we're still rolling," Bearcats Director of Recruiting Chad Bowden told The Enquirer. "Obviously, we don't have Free (Freeman), but nothing's changing. ... Everything that's going on with Denbrock. Everything that's going on with Freeman and Enos. Who knows what's going to happen? But at the end of the day, there's still a captain that's running this ship, and that's Coach Fickell."

Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell and his staff reached out to every high school coach in the area Thursday and Friday as they continue to reload for the future.
The billboards are part of the program's "Cincinnati Blitz" campaign, where Fickell and his staff reached out to every high school coach in the area Thursday and Friday as they continue to reload for the future.

Bowden said he and his team purposely chose to put Guidugli and Scruggs on the advertisement, as both the assistant coaches are area products. Guidugli, who played quarterback for the Bearcats from 2001-04 and owns most of the program's passing records, is from nearby Fort Thomas, Kentucky, while Scruggs, a former University of Louisville standout and two-time Super Bowl champion with the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, is a Cincinnati native who played high school football at St. Xavier.

"We're going to work day and night to make sure that Cincinnati is fighting with teams like Georgia, Oklahoma, Alabama, Clemson," Bowden said. "We truly believe we're the Clemson before Clemson. Clemson, 8-10 years ago, was fighting. They were going to some New Year's Six bowls. We truly feel that we got next."

The Bearcats, who were eighth in the final College Football Playoff rankings, went 9-0 last season, including a win against Tulsa in the American Athletic Conference championship game, before losing to Georgia in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1. It was the program's first appearance in a New Year's Six Bowl since making back-to-back appearances following the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Fickell is 35-14 in four seasons at Cincinnati, including nine-plus wins in each of the past three seasons.

The 47-year-old father of six and his staff got a jump on the 2021 recruiting class last month during the early signing period. The class, which includes Fickell's oldest son, three-star Moeller offensive lineman Landon Fickell, is the highest rated among the AAC, according to 247Sports.com, and is No. 35 in the Rivals.com listing, besting the No. 39 ranking of UC's 2020 class.

Bowden said Fickell, who signed a contract extension prior to last season that keeps him at the helm of the UC football program through 2026, has told his staff he has no intention of leaving anytime soon.

"He's extremely happy," Bowden said. "I think we're all very happy to be here at Cincinnati. This city deserves so much. It deserves a winner. It hasn't gotten it (lately) with the Reds. It hasn't gotten it with the Bengals. It's going to get it with the Bearcats. We're going to win national championships."

(01-15-2021 11:17 AM)Cat-Man Wrote:  Here is the Enquirer article about the billboards:

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/...168958001/

Despite recent departures, Fickell and Bearcats forging ahead with recruiting
Keith Jenkins
Cincinnati Enquirer

Though their ship has been rocky of late, University of Cincinnati football coach Luke Fickell and the program's recruiting department are determined to keep things steady and full steam ahead.

Fickell and the Bearcats got another commitment Friday from the 2022 class in three-star defensive lineman Segree Graham of Jacksonville, Florida. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Graham of Bartram Trail High School announced his commitment to Cincinnati on Twitter. Graham chose the Bearcats over offers from Indiana, Iowa State, Miami, Arkansas and others.

Graham's commitment, Cincinnati's sixth from the 2022 class, gives UC the fifth-ranked class in the nation, according to 247Sports.com.

Graham's commitment comes a week after defensive coordinator and key recruiter Marcus Freeman elected to leave Cincinnati for Notre Dame.

It also comes four days after associate head coach and running backs coach Dan Enos accepted the offensive coordinator position at Maryland, two days after offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock interviewed for the same job at Vanderbilt, and three days after fellow 2022 recruit Mumu Bin-Wahad, a defensive back from Georgia, de-committed from the Bearcats, citing recent "coaching changes."

Despite all of that, the UC football recruiting department planted several billboards throughout the city early Thursday morning featuring the images of Fickell, quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli and defensive line coach Greg Scruggs with the words "We protect our city."

"It shows we're still rolling," Bearcats Director of Recruiting Chad Bowden told The Enquirer. "Obviously, we don't have Free (Freeman), but nothing's changing. ... Everything that's going on with Denbrock. Everything that's going on with Freeman and Enos. Who knows what's going to happen? But at the end of the day, there's still a captain that's running this ship, and that's Coach Fickell."

Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell and his staff reached out to every high school coach in the area Thursday and Friday as they continue to reload for the future.
The billboards are part of the program's "Cincinnati Blitz" campaign, where Fickell and his staff reached out to every high school coach in the area Thursday and Friday as they continue to reload for the future.

Bowden said he and his team purposely chose to put Guidugli and Scruggs on the advertisement, as both the assistant coaches are area products. Guidugli, who played quarterback for the Bearcats from 2001-04 and owns most of the program's passing records, is from nearby Fort Thomas, Kentucky, while Scruggs, a former University of Louisville standout and two-time Super Bowl champion with the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, is a Cincinnati native who played high school football at St. Xavier.

"We're going to work day and night to make sure that Cincinnati is fighting with teams like Georgia, Oklahoma, Alabama, Clemson," Bowden said. "We truly believe we're the Clemson before Clemson. Clemson, 8-10 years ago, was fighting. They were going to some New Year's Six bowls. We truly feel that we got next."

The Bearcats, who were eighth in the final College Football Playoff rankings, went 9-0 last season, including a win against Tulsa in the American Athletic Conference championship game, before losing to Georgia in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1. It was the program's first appearance in a New Year's Six Bowl since making back-to-back appearances following the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Fickell is 35-14 in four seasons at Cincinnati, including nine-plus wins in each of the past three seasons.

The 47-year-old father of six and his staff got a jump on the 2021 recruiting class last month during the early signing period. The class, which includes Fickell's oldest son, three-star Moeller offensive lineman Landon Fickell, is the highest rated among the AAC, according to 247Sports.com, and is No. 35 in the Rivals.com listing, besting the No. 39 ranking of UC's 2020 class.

Bowden said Fickell, who signed a contract extension prior to last season that keeps him at the helm of the UC football program through 2026, has told his staff he has no intention of leaving anytime soon.

"He's extremely happy," Bowden said. "I think we're all very happy to be here at Cincinnati. This city deserves so much. It deserves a winner. It hasn't gotten it (lately) with the Reds. It hasn't gotten it with the Bengals. It's going to get it with the Bearcats. We're going to win national championships."

Literally brought a tear to my eye reading this. Just awesome.

Check out the coaches he credits...