The Cincinnati Bearcats are less than a week away from their season starting and there is a lot of excitement in the air. The Bearcats take on Miami of Ohio on Saturday, Sep 4th at Nippert Stadium in one of the highest stakes seasons the Bearcats have been involved in for a very long time. The story around camp this offseason and during practice has been how good the offense has been led by senior quarterback Desmond Ridder. The talk of the camp though wasn’t just Desmond Ridder though as the young wide receivers really made their marks and were making plays left and right. In camp, there was plenty of talk surrounding the talent in the wide receiver room and there was plenty of justification why. When you walk into a room already with Alec Pierce, Michael Young, Jr., Tre Tucker and options out of the running backs including Charles McClelland and Jerome Ford there is a reason why everyone knew this offense would be scary. What everyone wasn’t planning for was the younger guys stepping up and jumping into major roles this upcoming year.
To start off the guys who could play a role for this team we have to start with the guy who has been with the first team and has been playing lights out since camp started and that is Tyler Scott. Scott played in all 10 games last year and was a guy that moved around a lot on the field last year. This year it has not changed as he has lined up outside he has moved around to the slot and even was back doing kick returns with Tre Tucker. The kid has great hands and will make an immediate impact for this team. The next guy was the other Scott and that is Chris Scott. Scott redshirted last year, but has stepped up in camp and has made some really nice plays. He has lined up outside and could be the guy called upon when Alec Pierce needs a rest. The next guy is Jadon Thompson who made a couple of starts last year and has built upon that momentum last year and has carried it into this year. Thompson has been everywhere this camp and in practice and even during UC’s scrimmage where he caught three touchdowns. Thompson has a lot of skill to take a huge step forward this season and really help this team in more ways than one. Following behind Thompson is speedster Drew Donley who has really put his name out there during camp and in this last week of practice. He was arguably one of Evan Prater’s favorite targets during camp and has been a fun watch during practice. Donley is a guy who can create a lot of separation and can really help this team in more ways than one. Donley was also helping this team with kick returns and could be a guy who is side by side with Tre Tucker during kickoffs. Then there is the young guys who transferred here last year in Jordan Jones and Blue Smith. Both of these guys have been great depth pieces and both have been exceptional in camp. Both of these guys could help with special teams and filling in during certain sets in the offense.
All in all Bearcat fans, there is so much talent in the wide receiver room and the talent surely is not going away anytime soon. Expect offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock to use all these guys in many sets and expect this team to be off and running starting September 4th.
