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CB
Mike Mickens |
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2006
Statistics |
Coach:
Brian Kelly
1st
year |
2006
Record: 8-5 |
|
EASTERN
KENTUCKY |
WON
31-0 |
PITTSBURGH |
LOST
15-33 |
at
Ohio State |
LOST
7-37 |
at
Virginia Tech |
LOST
13-29 |
MIAMI
OH |
WON
24-10 |
AKRON |
WON
20-14 |
at
Louisville |
LOST
17-23 |
SOUTH
FLORIDA |
WON
23-6 |
SYRACUSE |
WON
17-3 |
at
West Virginia |
LOST
24-42 |
RUTGERS |
WON
30-11 |
at
Connecticut |
WON
26-23 |
INTERNATIONAL
BOWL |
Western
Michigan |
WON
27-24 |
|
2006
Final Rankings
AP-UR, Coaches-UR, BCS-UR
|
2007
Outlook |
As
Cincinnati found out, good coaches come
and go. When one builds a good team, he
is often lured away, hence what happened
with Mike Dantonio & Co. was UC’s
loss and Michigan State’s gain. But
karmic reality means Central Michigan’s
loss is now the Bearcat’s gain –
Brian Kelly, who turned the Chippies from
strugglers into MAC champs, bring his entire
staff to help continue the winning ways
Dantonio put in motion here. Last year marked
only the sixth time in the school’s
52 year football history that they earned
(a record) eight wins, so bringing back
15 of 22 starters from that International
Bowl winning team should mean little drop
off. The new chiefs have instilled their
balanced version of the spread, and UC has
the receivers, TBs and TEs/H-Backs to make
it work. The QB situation sees national
prep record-holder Ben Mauk transfer in
from Wake Forest, and current starter Dustin
Grutza stepping up to the challenge can
only help the Bearcats iron out the wrinkles
that Grutza’s limitations (had) impose(d).
The offense, especially up front, had trouble
this spring getting behind the defense (could
only manage short gains), and though a great
sign for the stoppers, work has to be done
if Kelly’s heroes are to even compete
for the vaunted conference crown. Scant
quality depth amongst the secondary and
a wet-behind-the-ears soph at MLB are the
lone concerns on D – momentum from
holding major foes like Rutgers to 11 points,
South Florida to six (both were wins) and
Louisville to 23 (six point loss) again
has Cincy a feared sleeper that the big
boys of the Big East had best respect, or
else. The new kicking elements have to step
up early for UC to stay in those tougher
battles. Only Oregon State looks like a
serious threat before the conference slate
kicks in (at full power right away), but
this team has to be careful against those
other hungry non-cons who may exploit the
new system’s early weakpoints, those
that aren’t up to speed yet. The fact
that front-runners Louisville and West Virginia
are at home is the only solace in this ever-improving
league. Expect another big upset of one
of the conference favorites. But if they
can’t also beat the Connecticuts and
Syracuses in their way, this team will remain
muddled around .500, coulda-woulda-shoulda-ing
their way to another disappointing offseason.
But if the refreshed attitudes seen this
spring and summer were any indication, everyone
associated with Bearcat football is excited
to get past the new administration’s
honeymoon and prove why this bunch of two-star
recruits can keep up with anyone in this
BCS-aligned conference, one that could easily
produce one of this year’s two national
championship qualifiers. Go, big red (and
black) machine!!!
Projected
2007 record: 7-5
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|
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WR
Dominick Goodman |
CINCINNATI
*POWER RATINGS |
Offense |
Defense |
QB
- 3.5 |
DL
- 4 |
RB
- 3.5 |
LB
- 3.5 |
WR
- 3.5 |
DB
- 3.5 |
OL
- 3 |
.. |
|
RETURNING
LEADERS |
Passing:
Dustin Grutza, 137-225-13, 1632 yds., 9
TD
Rushing: Greg Moore, 162 att., 709
yds., 4 TD
Receiving: Dominick Goodman, 40 rec.,
452 yds., 5 TD
Scoring: Dominick Goodman, 5 TD,
1 2 pt. conv., 32 pts.
Punting: Kevin Huber, 2 punts, 50.5
avg.
Kicking: None
Tackles: Haruki Nakamura, 66 tot.,
43 solo
Sacks: Trevor Anderson, 6 sacks
Interceptions: Mike Mickens, 3 for
2 yds.
Kickoff returns: Dominick Goodman,
21 ret., 25.8 avg., 0 TD
Punt returns: Derrick Stewart, 25
ret., 9.2 avg., 0 TD
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|
|
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OFFENSE
- 7
|
----RETURNING
STARTERS----
|
DEFENSE
- 8
|
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KEY
LOSSES
|
OFFENSE:
Brent Celek-TE, Bill Poland-WR, Jeff Reinstatler-C,
Frank Straub-OG, Kevin Lovell-K |
DEFENSE:
John
Bowie-CB, Kevin McCullough-LB, Dominic Ross-SS,
Brian Steel-P |
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|
2007
OFFENSE
|
The
new element for the seven returning starters in
coordinator Jeff Quinn’s offense is the
spread look to go with a marginal increase in
passing. Quinn and Kelly ran a balanced approach
with balanced results at CMU, which means big
back Greg Moore could easily get 1,000 yards in
his final campaign. Now without a traditional
fullback to plow the way clear, Moore’s
combination of size and speed should still work
well, as will classmate Butler Benton’s
similar qualities. Local Bradley Glatthaar is
a bit bigger and should be chosen for two-back
sets and/or goal line situations. Quinn/Kelly
worked with a two-back rotation in Mount Pleasant,
so we expect all three seniors to (somehow) see
the field. Hey, speaking of running the rock,
both quarterback candidates have decent sets of
wheels to set up LBs for fakes on roll outs and
to excel in plays outside the tackles. Incumbent
junior dual-threat Dustin Grutza wasn’t
given the starting job automatically; he separated
himself, though, in the Bearcat Bowl (spring game)
from wanna-be’s Craig Carey and Tony Pike
to secure the start for now. Grutza’s decision
making looked better, and he can throw well on
the run, but at no point has he looked like the
dominant leader needed to get this team to the
next level. Enter transfer Ben Mauk, the state’s
Mr. Football (2002) who set national prep career
marks for yards (17,523) and TDs (178) before
his struggles at Wake Forest. After breaking his
arm in the opener last year, he’s chosen
to transfer back home since he would have been
second string (after sitting out while Wake won
the ACC with QB Riley Skinner). For those of you
wondering, NCAA rules say that a student completing
his undergraduate work, as Mauk has, can transfer
for graduate classes and can then play immediately
at his new school if he has any eligibility left.
In the new look, Mauk is a great fit, and he seems
to have the inside track even before arriving.
We expect him to win the job, or at least be inserted
at the first sign of Grutza struggling. The receivers
are a fleet bunch, led by a guy who isn’t
afraid to go over the middle, sure-handed junior
Dominick Goodman on the outside. The rising star
is junior Derrick Stewart, a super quick deep
threat who led the team in receiving yards as
a backup last year. Soph Jared Martin was the
state’s 300-meter hurdles champ, so he should
also break out in these oft-seen multi-receiver
sets. The depth at receiver is good enough that
Earnest Jackson has been bumped to the more athletic
TE/H-back spot, affording Stewart the slot position.
Ex-FB Doug Jones, capable with the rock himself,
is bigger than Jackson and will be seen more on
run plays – foes should watch where he winds
up after being put in motion to see which way
UC will probably go. The line, Quinn’ specialty,
has been the team’s slowest unit in adapting
to the no-huddle. This was evident throughout
spring – in “black zone” drills
(ball on offense’s own one-yard line), they
usually had trouble earning much breathing room.
The tackles look good, especially Digger Bujnoch
as he has been bumped over to the all-important
left side along with All-Big East guard Trevor
Canfield. We think this can only equal the most
runs going their way. The rest of the starters
look solid, especially with four seniors competing
for the two openings. This line has the toughest
adjustments for the new schemes, but we think
they will be ready come fall for this more powerful
Bearcat squad to do what Kelly’s offenses
have done at all his stops – take their
production up a notch or two from where it was
(61st in total offense).
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OG
Trevor Canfield
|
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CINCINNATI
2007 DEPTH CHART
Returning Starters in bold |
OFFENSE |
QB |
Dustin
Grutza-Jr (6-2, 195) |
Ben
Mauk-Sr (6-1, 200) |
RB |
Greg
Moore-Sr (6-2, 218) |
Butler
Benton-Sr (6-1, 200) |
WR |
Dominick
Goodman-Jr (6-1, 210) |
Antwuan
Giddens-Sr (6-3, 190) |
WR |
Earnest
Jackson-Sr (6-3, 219) |
Derrick
Stewart-Jr (5-11, 170) |
WR |
Jared
Martin-So (6-1, 183) |
.. |
TE |
Doug
Jones-Sr (6-4, 276) |
Connor
Barwin-Jr (6-4, 235) |
OT |
Jeff
Linkenbach-So (6-6, 308) |
Toby
Boeckman-Fr (6-7, 265) |
OG |
Jeremy
Bolton-Sr (6-5, 320) |
Mario
Duenas-Sr (6-3, 280) |
C |
Chris
Flores-Sr (6-2, 270) |
Ken
Rodriguez-Sr (6-3, 296) |
OG |
Trevor
Canfield-Jr (6-5, 320) |
C.J.
Cobb-Fr (6-4, 300) |
OT |
Digger
Bujnoch-Sr (6-5, 280) |
Khalil
El-Amin-Jr (6-5, 320) |
K |
Jake
Rogers-Fr (6-3, 195) |
.. |
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|
2007
DEFENSE
|
With
the exception of four opponents that went over
28 points (all losses), Cincy returns eight starters
that were 8-1 against the rest of their foes,
and even held five of those to 11 or less. The
carryover for those five juniors and three seniors
will be huge for coordinator Joe Tresey, who only
spent one year with coach Kelly at CMU (after
he really honed his craft at I-AA powerhouse Georgia
Southern). The DL (ranked 25th in run stopping)
back en mass is a great way to start the new era.
All-American Terrill Byrd and fellow junior tackle
Adam Hoppel play light for a BCS-aligned team,
but who can argue with their clogging results.
The team leader in sacks (six) and QB hurries
(13), Trevor Anderson is a tough assignment off
the corner and should be all-conference by season’s
end. Senior Anthony Hoke is a great compliment,
and Angelo Craig can also effectively speed rush
whenever needed. Depth is adequate up front, but
many injuries here would eventually affect the
win total. Like the tackles, the linebackers’
quickness works for them against today’s
more innovative offenses. OLB Corey Smith is equally
tough against both the run and pass; Leo Morgan’s
JUCO successes highlight his ability to recover
well in misdirection and/or play-action. The biggest
dice roll is with sophomore Andre Revels filling
the MLB slot – he definitely seems like
the best fit of all the possible candidates, but
his inexperience at such a volatile position could
be an early weak spot in the front seven. The
corps’ backups are all experienced upperclassmen,
though, they are role players more than they are
viable starters. The LBs only need Revels to step
up for UC to again have a group that knows how
to tie the two elements of defense together for
optimal results. The secondary starts with blanketing
corner Mike Mickens. This lanky junior can effectively
take down those ball carriers lucky enough to
catch one on him, allowing him to be left on an
island much of the time against foe’s top
snarler(s). Opportunistic DeAngelo Smith’s
INT return for a score against Rutgers (in his
first career start) proves what will happen if
foes too often throw away from Mickens. Depth
exists on the outside, but it is pretty green.
Nakamura is surprisingly effective for his size
at free safety, while heady Xenia product Cedric
Tolbert has been groomed well for the start at
the strong slot. Senior grand legacy Evan Sparks
buoys the safety rotation, but besides Aaron Webster,
the DBs have little worthy depth upon which to
bank. The new administration has a solid foundation
of players, ones who know how to play together
well enough to hold foes to a 33% conversion rate
in third-down situations.
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DT
Terrill Byrd
|
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CINCINNATI
2007 DEPTH CHART
Returning Starters in bold |
DEFENSE |
DE |
Trevor
Anderson-Jr (6-2, 255) |
Lamonte
Nelms-Jr (6-3, 233) |
DT |
Terrill
Byrd-Jr (6-1, 270) |
Jon
Newton-Sr (6-3, 275) |
DT |
Adam
Hoppel-Jr (6-2, 276) |
Ricardo
Mathews-So (6-3, 268) |
DE |
Anthony
Hoke-Sr (6-1, 230) |
Angelo
Craig-Sr (6-5, 230) |
LB |
Leo
Morgan-Sr (6-1, 204) |
Ryan
Manalac-Jr (6-0, 221) |
LB |
Andre
Revels-So (6-0, 216) |
Delbert
Ferguson-Jr (6-1, 225) |
LB |
Corey
Smith-Jr (6-1, 208) |
Jon
Carpenter-Sr (6-0, 220) |
CB |
Mike
Mickens-Jr (6-0, 166) |
Martez
Williams-Fr (5-8, 172) |
CB |
DeAngelo
Smith-Jr (6-0, 186) |
Brad
Jones-So (6-2, 196) |
SS |
Cedric
Tolbert-Jr (6-0, 187) |
Aaron
Webster-So (6-3, 195) |
FS |
Haruki
Nakamura-Sr (5-10, 181) |
Evan
Sparks-Sr (6-0, 200) |
P |
Kevin
Huber-Jr (6-1, 212) |
.. |
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2007
SPECIAL TEAMS
|
Big-footed
junior Kevin Huber has to be careful not to out-kick
his coverage unit, but he has the control to also place
his efforts where/when needed. Jake Rogers looks like
an adequate replacement for Kevin Lovell’s consistency
at placekicker. Receivers Dominick Goodman (kicks) and
Derrick Stewart (punts) are as good of a tandem of returners
as can be found in the Big East.
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