Black Cats defensive overhaul
The Bearcats defense struggled immensely in the 2023 season, where they allowed opposing teams to gain nearly 6.7 yards per play throughout Big 12 conference play, which was the worst in the conference. However, the Bearcats made it a priority to retool their defense after seeing starting defensive backs Deshawn Pace and Bryon Threats transfer to Big 12 rival in UCF, along with Justin Harris (Texas State), Sammy Anderson (Charlotte), and Taj Ward exhausting all of his eligibility, it was safe to say the Bearcats secondary was going to be the point of emphasis this offseason via transfer portal.
The Bearcats bolstered their defense with the additions of Kye Stokes (Ohio State), Jared Bartlett (West Virginia), Darrick Canteen (Virginia Tech), Logan Wilson (North Texas), Ormanie Arnold (Wyoming) all via transfer portal.
Stokes, Bartlett and Canteen should be guys who come in right away and make an immediate impact for the Tyson Veidt’s defense as all have seen significant action throughout their playing careers. However, when speaking to the media earlier this week, the big picture that continued to get brought up, was how they want to help return Cincinnati to what it was at the beginning of the decade.
The trio prided themselves on being determined to returned Cincinnati to those uncharted waters as the program quickly arose to one of the best defensive teams in all of college football from 2020-2022 behind the likes of Ahmad Gardner, Coby Bryant, Darrick Forrest, Bryan Cook, Ja’von Hicks and many more.
“I think that was one of the main reasons why we all decided to come to Cincinnati as transfer students,” said Bartlett on Cincinnati’s defensive efforts. “I feel like it is one of our obligations to leave the program better than we found that. I truly believe we have the talent to do that here at Cincinnati,”
However, Kye Stokes was very quick to second Bartlett’s statement when talking to reporters on Tuesday. “I think it was a motivating factor in all of us coming to Cincinnati. We wanted to come in and rebuild this program, get it off the ground and back to its glory days.”
Kerry Coombs saw the Bearcats defensive secondary take a pummel in 2023 compared to 2022, but for Coombs, his resume speaks for itself after producing five first round draft picks across four seasons from 2014-2018. Now for Coombs, he was the reason some of the transfer additions chose Cincinnati University just due to the pedigree he has had over the last few seasons.
“Coach Coombs has coached some of the best DB’s to play the game, so when he talks and speaks, you have to respect him, just look at his resume,” Derrick Canteen told reporters. “He is fair with all of his players. He was a big reason why I came to the University of Cincinnati. I believe in what he is going to do for us, he is already shown it, being in the weight room with us for early morning workouts.”
“Coach Coombs recruited me at Ohio State and was a big reason why I came here to Cincinnati,” Kye Stokes explained. “I love the way he coaches obviously he knows what he is doing, he’s a veteran as far as developing defensive backs, he really knows what he is talking about. That is another thing I am really excited about being here at Cincinnati, is to be coached by him, one of the greatest coaches who spent time in the NFL, it’s something I am really excited for.
Up Next
Although the Bearcats were projected to have the easiest strength of schedule in the Big 12 conference heading into the season, they still were projected to finish near the bottom of the Big 12 as Vegas sportsbooks had the Bearcats win total set for the 5.5 mark. Which is a step in the right direction as many remember last season the Bearcats over/under entering the 2023 season was 4.5, so it is a step in the right direction. Now the real question is, will the Bearcats be able to but the pieces together to achieve that total later this fall.
In the meantime, the Bearcats spring practices are just a few short weeks away as Scott Satterfield and the Bearcats look to have Cincinnati back in the right column after a disappointing 2023 season.
