The Cincinnati Bearcats are a week away from starting the 2022-2023 schedule when they open up the campaign against the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Bearcats are coming off the most magical season a G5 school has ever seen. A College Football Playoff birth and a perfect 12-0 season. The Bearcat’s magical season ended with a loss to No.1 overall Alabama. The Bearcats lost nine members of their championship team to the draft including two stars in the linebacker core Darrian Beavers (Giants) and Joel Dublanko (Seahawks). The Bearcats want to become a team like Alabama. A team that will reload every year to find themselves back in the same position they were in last year. That starts with depth and teams being able to recruit well. The Bearcats have done that over the last couple of years and don’t plan on going away anytime soon. So, let’s take a look at this year’s linebacking group and what they could bring to this year’s team.
Wilson Huber
Huber stepped up big last year on special teams and made a mark on the coaching staff last year. Registering 13 total tackles last year and four sacks in the Bearcat’s magical season. He will be stepping for the likes of Dublanko and Beavers in his 6th season for the Bearcats. The super senior has always been a team guy and has always been one of the team’s favorites. We talked to Huber earlier in the season about the new guy in the linebacker room and this is what Huber had to say about Ivan Pace, Jr., “I love playing next to Ivan, he’s going to be a great addition to our team. He’s slippery, strong, powerful. He’s going to make a lot of plays for us.” This is the player Huber has been since he has been here and he will get an opportunity to be on the field a lot for the Bearcats defense whether it’s on defense or special teams.
Deshawn Pace
Pace steps into his third year in the Bearcats system and will be looking to take an even larger step than he did his sophomore year. Coming off a year where he collected All-AAC Honorable Mention and had amazing games against Indiana, Miami and tallied nine tackles and a half-tackle for loss versus No. 1 Alabama in the College Football Playoff Semifinals. Pace is now being paired up with his older brother Ivan who has a lot of experience playing at Miami Ohio for four years. Having been named to the Butkus Award Watch List and has been put on the radar to take a major jump in the linebacker ranking for College Football this year.
