First look at a Bryan Brown defense
The Bearcats enter their first season with Bryan Brown as their defensive coordinator, and this defense will look at little different than what it has in the past under former defensive coordinator Mike Tressel. The defense has been standing out the most this spring as they are looking to fill the void of guys like Ja’Von Hicks, Arquon Bush, who both were 5th year guys who are now off to the NFL, who are those guys who have stepped in so far? Redshirt sophomore Jordan Young, who transferred from Florida, has had a great spring so far, the 6’0″, 200-pound defensive back has been all over the place this Spring and has looked very solid on the outside. Young has been everywhere this Spring so far and has come away with a few interceptions on the defensive end as well. Sammy Anderson has really embraced the veteran within that defensive back room as the redshirt junior has had a really nice Spring as well on the backend.
The front seven for the Bearcats is what will cause a lot of problems especially with a returning defensive line of Jowon Briggs, Malik Vann, and Dontay Corleone. Briggs and Vann bring almost 11 years of combined college football to that defensive line and are paired with Corleone who was recently tabbed a First Team Walter Camp All-American. Then they bring in linebackers Dorian Jones and Daniel Grzesiak who both have a knack for getting to the quarterback. Grzesiak was one of the most highly touted transfers this offseason after finishing with 8.5 sacks, 52 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles a season ago. The Bearcats also have Deshawn Pace in the “Star” role and has looked great so far in the Spring, as his athleticism and speed have really played to his advantages here so far. “Deshawn Pace has done exceptionally well this Spring. He is an exceptional athlete, he has done a great job at creating some turnovers. He has really asserted himself as a leader on defense,” said Satterfield.
