Now, for Singletary on the other hand the reason behind his transfer was unknown, but it was safe to say the addition of Joe Royer and a healthy Joey Beljan returning maybe played a role in his decision to transfer with it being known that Joe Royer would come in and make an immediate impact for the Bearcats in 2024.
Fast forward to the 2024 roster, Cincinnati tight end coach Josh Stepp has quickly rebuilt and tooled his tight end group heading into the 2024 season. A room highlighted by Joe Royer and Joey Beljan who combine for eleven seasons of college football between the two. Now, both are expected to play huge roles for the Bearcats this season and provide two big red zone targets for either Brendan Sorsby or Brady Lichtenberg.
“The tight end rooms is probably the most improved position on the football team. I think we are a lot better in that room,” Satterfield told reporters. “We love to use the tight ends, every snap you will see a tight end on the field, sometimes even two or three. The guys we brought in we are fired up about and feel like they can be really great tight ends. The two freshman we brought in Gavin Grover and Devyn Zahursky, love those two guys. We added size, guys who could catch and great depth. We are really excited about that group.”
Now let’s break down the Bearcats TE Room heading into the 2024 season.
Redshirt Junior, Joe Royer– The Cincinnati native and former four-star recruit returns to Cincinnati after spending the last three seasons with Ohio State. A 6’5″ 255-pound tight end who fans should expect to have a huge season for the Bearcats and should be the firm leader for the starting tight end position. Royer can do some many different things in terms of his athletic abilities and skillset, you can use him in the run game as an extra blocker due to his size and frame. Now the biggest part of Royer’s game is the ability to split him out wide and use him as a receiver which is something fans should expect to see often heading into the 2024 season.
Redshirt Senior, Joey Beljan- The Western Kentucky transfer enters his seventh season of college football and second with the Bearcats. Beljan missed the 2023 season after suffering a torn ACL in the early portion of spring ball that sidelined him the entire season.
Beljan opened up about his recovery and excitement to play at Nippert Stadium on Monday when talking to reporters.
“The knee feels great, it felt a little weird throughout spring having that mental block after overcoming a yearlong injury that happened to be my first real serious injury,” Beljan told reporters. “Right now, the knee feels great, and I personally feel more confident than ever heading into the season and that makes me super excited.”
“Nippert Stadium is the loudest stadium I have ever heard or played in. Im super excited to have the opportunity to play my final season there,” said Beljan. “Being able to walk out to Nippert Stadium on game days was bitter and sweet. When I walked out there vs EKU last year for the home opener, the student section was already full. I came from Western Kentucky University where’d you only have 10,000-12,000 fans per game. However, at Nippert you have that many people in the stands nearly two hours before kickoff. I’m super excited.”
Beljan discussed the tight end room with reporters and what his initial thoughts were on the new revamped tight end room. “I feel like this tight end group is miles ahead of what we were last year,” Beljan told reporters. “We have a lot of experience in that room and play very well together.”
