Bearcats fans that I talk with aren’t down on the Football program. They’re just not sure where it’s going. There’s some uncertainty, which can be frustrating. That’s especially true when you consider the Bearcats are only two seasons removed from a College Football Playoff berth, two wins away from a national championship.
You, as a Bearcats fan, may be uncertain about second-year head coach Scott Satterfield. I, as a Bearcats fan, am uncertain about Satterfield. But there’s one attribute to him that has me hopeful for this upcoming 2024 season. Satterfield is honest, but in a positive way.
In his postgame press conference, Satterfield specifically mentioned that junior kicker Carter Brown had been struggling throughout Spring practice. That’s not something I’m used to hearing from a head coach, at least one in Cincinnati. I was surprised to hear Satterfield say Brown had been struggling, but then he followed it up by saying he’s been working through some things and that this was his first time kicking in a live-action setting.
We all hear head coaches dance around hard-hitting questions with positivity. Whether it be questions about injuries to key players or controversial in-game decisions, it’s common for head coaches to dance around them and offer positivity to concerned or frustrated fans. But Satterfield didn’t do dance around anything on Saturday, and I applaud him for that.
He sounded more confident in his postgame press conference Saturday, saying that he likes where this Bearcats team is at as Spring practice concludes. You can hear it in his voice. He sounds like he has a much better grip on this program than he did going into his first season. And he’s not offering positivity just because the fans want some semblance of it. He’s being honest in assessing where his team is at as the Bearcats head into the Summer, a Summer, as Satterfield says, will be devoted towards getting the high school recruits up to speed on the Bearcats offensive and defensive schemes.
From what I saw in the Spring Game Saturday, there is hope for this team. I saw a defense, despite a lot of new faces, that was flying around and making plays. I saw an offense that has potential and has a lot of activity to it. In particular, watch for redshirt-junior running back Evan Pryor. He is shifty, cuts well and also has power. Satterfield said Corey Kiner didn’t play in the Spring Game because of the beating he will take in the Fall, so they didn’t want him to take that beating in the Spring game.
The quarterback battle has an interesting twist. Brendan Sorsby has the most experience, with a full season’s worth last year at Indiana where he made seven starts and appeared in 10 games. Yet Brady Lichtenberg, as Sorsby acknowledged after the game Saturday, knows the Bearcats playbook like the back of his hand. Sorsby said his confidence level in knowing the whole playbook, on a scale of 1-10, is about a six or a seven right now. Sorsby is the more experienced, but Lichtenberg is the veteran with Satterfield’s offense. That makes for an interesting battle going into Fall Camp.
Last year was frustrating, I get that. But the Bearcats couldn’t have played any worse than they did in their last two games, not to mention a 45-13 loss at Oklahoma State in their eighth game of the season. But based off what I saw today, amid all the uncertainty that presides over this program, there is hope this program gets back to respectability this season. Satterfield says he likes where his team is at, and that comes after he said the Winter part of the offseason was going to be extremely difficult. Bearcats fans want some positivity after last season and the sudden, and rapid, fall from the College Football Playoff just two years ago. Through all the uncertainty, there needs to be an honest voice. Satterfield is that, and he’s offering positivity to go along with it. That should off you hope as Bearcats fans. It gives me hope for the upcoming 2024 season, and hope is sometimes all you need as a fan.
I don’t care about “positivity,” what I want from a coach is confidence. Fickel had it in spades, always projecting his certainty that the program was improving, and lifting players and fans in the process. Satterfield’s “honesty” about subpar performance undermines confidence among the players and the fans and is a constant reminder that he ain’t Fickel.
Satterfield isn’t Fickell because nobody will be Fickell. I understand it’s still unfortunate he’s not here, but give Satterfield a chance. The Bearcats have a 1,000-yard rusher returning, an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 receiver returning and plenty other receivers you may not know about right now but could know as Fall Camp and the season unfold. Keep in mind: it wasn’t Satterfield’s offense that was the problem at Louisville. It was the defense. And the Bearcats got a solid hire in defensive coordinator Tyson Veidt. There are some positives going into this season. Not to mention a favorable schedule. Satterfield said he likes where this team is at as Spring wraps up.