You can definitely feel the energy. There’s a different energy to this team. The burden of coming off a 3-9 season doesn’t seem to exist out at Camp Higher Ground.
There’s definitely potential on this team. Playmakers could emerge on both sides of the ball.
Brendan Sorsby and Brady Lichtenberg both look the part at quarterback. While it still remains to be seen who will win the starting job heading into the season-opener in three weeks, both are capable of stepping in as the starter.
Towards the end of practice, Lichtenberg kept a play alive after fumbling the snap. He knifed his way through the defense, swooped up the ball and dodged his way to the left sideline for a quarterback run. It’s a play like that that shows Lichtenberg’s poise and growth as a quarterback.
There are weapons at wide receiver, headlined by Sterling Berkhalter and Tyrin Smith. We saw Berkhalter emerge within the receiving corps last year, but Smith did not play in 2023. In 2022, Smith had over 1,000 yards receiving at UTEP. He has explosive speed, something that could help the Bearcats unlock their big-play offense.
On the other side of the ball, the Bearcats secondary is looking for a bounce-back season after a 2023 season plagued with giving up big plays. The secondary looked strong today, breaking up passes and preventing big plays. Derrick Canteen looks to emerge as a leader, while Jordan Young looks stout as one of the enforcers of the secondary.
Another key to the defense’s success will be stopping the run. Five of the top 10 teams in rushing yards per game in 2023 came from the Big 12, including Cincinnati. The run defense looked solid today, but the main tests will come in the regular-season.
UPDATE:
Dontay Corleone was out stretching with the rest of the team before practice, but has not been cleared for full activity. We still don’t know how much we will see of him this season.
