Cincinnati through-and-through
Evan Prater stepped in for his highly anticipated Bearcats debut last season after starting quarterback Ben Bryant suffered a season ending injury vs Temple. Prater completed 35 of his 66 passes a season ago, tallying 423 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for another 166 yards and a touchdown in 49 carries.
The Bearcats quarterback room this Spring, looks nothing like it does it now, after Ben Bryant transferred to Northwestern and Prater moved to wide receiver, it solidified the quarterback position for Emory Jones. However, for Prater, all he wanted to do was get on the field and help the Bearcats in any way possible, even if it meant changing positions.
Although, for Prater, he chose the route not many players would do nowadays, considering how the transfer portal is used in college football. Most players in his position would’ve jumped in the portal after finding themselves in an uncertain situation, but for Prater he knew he was in the right situation already at Cincinnati.
“I was always Cincinnati through and through,” Prater told TFON. “Since high school I had all these other options, but Cincinnati was always the place I wanted to be. Once the coaching change happened, I really tried to stay focused on what I could do myself. Just trying to stay focused and rehab just so I could play for the Bearcats. That was a huge thing for me, this is my city, I love the city of Cincinnati. This is right where I want to be.”
Despite a coaching change this past offseason, the Bearcats have made it a priority to keep the local talent right here in Cincinnati starting with guys like Evan Prater, Dontay Corleone, Malik Vann, Eric Phillips, Deshawn Pace and Jowon Briggs. The Hometown heroes who have not only built the program better than they found it, but who have helped take the Bearcats program to substantial heights in recent years following back-to-back AAC Championships, a CFP Playoff run, and more.
Cincinnati natives Malik Vann (6th year), Jowon Briggs (5th year), Deshawn Pace (senior), Eric Phillips (Senior), Dontay Corleone (redshirt sophomore) and Evan Prater (redshirt junior) all decided to stay at the University following Luke Fickell’s departure to Wisconsin. That in itself says a lot about what it means to have the opportunity to play in your hometown as all had opportunities to go elsewhere, but have made it known that they have a huge opportunity ahead of them heading into the Bearcats first season in the Big 12.
“It was an unspoken thing that we all knew we were going to do. We all know what we have here is special,” Prater said. “We’ve been here, spent a lot of time here in Cincinnati, done a lot of great things, and that is one thing we want to continue to do no matter who the coaches are. We want to continue to put on for our city and the people in this community. We get a lot of love, support, going forward our goal is to do it for Cincinnati.”
