The cornerback position has depth with sophomores Justin Harris, Taj Ward and Jaquan Sheppard. These three have potential to help this season and beyond. All of them fit the new mold of cornerback at Cincinnati being six foot or taller. We haven’t even touched base on the freshman like Sammy Anderson, Todd Bumphis and others.
At safety they have seniors James Wiggins and Darrick Forrest. Wiggins is coming off a season ending ACL injury, but before the injury he was labeled as one of the best in the country and a huge loss last season. Without Wiggins, it allowed Forrest to showcase his playmaking abilities on the backend and now with both of them in the fold it has been even tougher for offenses to have success. The cornerbacks have been so good this season that these two are flying under the radar.
Even their backups at the safety position are legit with juniors Bryan Cook and Javon Hicks. Hicks filled in nicely for Wiggins last season showing he was a big time playmaker racking up five interceptions and four fumble recoveries. Cook has shown he’s been nothing, but solid in his time on the field and in practice.
At this time Cincinnati only has one defensive back in the NFL (Linden Stephens, Seattle Seahawks), but this crop of players have the talent to potentially change that sooner than later. They might not be DBU now, but it is possible in a few years this group may change the narrative.
Nice article JT. I happen to believe that this secondary will prove to be the best in program history. The starters are phenomenal and the 1A guys could start for most schools. The QUALITY depth is what takes them over the top.
Thanks a lot.. this is a very good group.. the whole group had good offers.. and are laying a great foundation