Great news for Cincinnati as All-American defensive tackle Dontay Corleone is back on the football field.
Just 11 days ago, the University of Cincinnati announced that All-American Defensive Tackle Dontay Corleone would be out indefinitely with a non-football related injury after being diagnosed with blood clots in both lungs. Corleone reported chest discomfort and difficulty breathing to the Cincinnati medical staff back in June, resulting in a one-night stay at a local hospital before being discharged and recovering at home since.
Statement from Senior Associate Athletic Director for Sports Medicine Aaron Himmler Per Cincinnati Athletics.
“Dontay came to us with chest pain and told us he was having trouble breathing. Over the course of two days, we ran several different tests with the UC Medical Center that determined he had blood clots in both of his lungs. His recovery has been going well. Thankfully, we caught this early, and we are hopeful he will be able to safely return to playing football in the near future. We are currently consulting specialists to determine next steps. Most importantly, Dontay is in good health right now. We are grateful for the hard work of Dr. Jon Divine and our partnership with the UC Medical Center that allowed us to quickly identify and treat the problem.”
Corleone released a statement shortly after the diagnosis back on June 28th per the University of Cincinnati.
“I am incredibly grateful to my family and for Aaron Himmler, Dr. Jon Divine, our whole medical staff and the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for guiding me through this over the last few weeks. Right now, I’m focused on my recovery. My hope is I will be able to return to football soon, but in the meantime, I will do everything I can to rehab and help the football program as a leader and mentor to our younger players. I’m looking forward to being around the guys soon. The sky is the limit for the Bearcats this season. I love my teammates, our coaches, this university, this city, and – of course – this fanbase, which has been incredibly supportive of me over the last three years.”
Satterfield provided an update on The All-American Defensive Tackle at Big 12 Media Days.
“Fortunately, for Dontay, everything else was healthy,” said Satterfield. “His heart is healthy. He has no other blood clots. Right now, we are working with the medical staff going forward. Dontay started working out with the team last week and is back working out with hopes of working out all summer as we head into fall camp with hopes of being available to play. I know he wants to play. He is an incredible young man. We will take it day-by-day, but the hope is he will play for us this fall and hopefully play for us at a high level.”
However, other players across college football including a player this past season from West Virginia University. Now this is positive news, for Corleone heading into fall camp with hopes of being able to step back on the football field after a very scary health related illness. Satterfield noted that West Virginia Head Coach Neal Brown reached out to him following the news on Corleone back on June 28th.
Now for Dontay, he has embraced Coach Satterfield since he was named head coach back in December of 2022. We have heard from Satterfield in the past about how much he cherishes the relationship between him and the rising junior defensive tackle. Satterfield noted ahead of the 2023 season that Dontay Corleone was one of the players that didn’t go home for winter break but elected to spend that time in Satterfield’s office within the Lindner Center wanting to get right to work with the new coaching staff.
Satterfield took some time with the local media to discuss his initial reactions surrounding the news that Corleone would be out indefinitely due to the blood clots.
“I’m probably closer to Dontay than anybody on our team.” Said Satterfield. “When I first heard the news, I was blown away. I have never really heard that before and didn’t know what it meant. Then as you move forward and start researching a little more and hear about some players that went through that same situation that are currently playing at a high level, I was very optimistic. The fact he is still healthy otherwise is a great sign. We love Dontay, obviously his health is our number one priority. Now if he is able to play then that is going to be awesome for him because that is what he wants. We are all pulling for Dontay.”
“Dontay means everything to our football program,” Satterfield said. “He is from Cincinnati, went to high school and been a huge part of our program for many years. He is one of the most outstanding leaders of our team. He would have been here in Las Vegas, Nevada if he wasn’t dealing with this ailment. The number one thing though for Dontay is his health outside of football we want to make sure he is going to stay healthy and live a long productive life.”
However, this is tremendous news for the rising star defensive tackle just nearly two weeks after the diagnosis of blood clots in both lungs. This is the best news the young man could have received after a very scary situation that is much bigger than football.
We will have another update on Corleone as we head into fall camp within the next few weeks.
