Bearcats Defensive Star First Cincinnati Player Selected Across 2026 NFL Draft

The Bearcats got their first draft pick on the board for the 2026 cycle.

Linebacker Jake Golday heard his name called 51st overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday night. He joins former Bearcats linebackers Ivan Pace Jr. and Eric Wilson in Minneapolis.

Draft Profile

Nov 29, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs running back Jeremy Payne (26) eludes the tackle of Cincinnati Bearcats linebacker Jake Golday (11) during the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Golday was a consensus top 60 prospect and became the highest-drafted Bearcats player since 2022 after bursting onto the scene across the past two seasons. Golday ripped off a great two-year run with the Bearcats.

This past season, the 2025 All-Big 12 first team selection led UC with 105 tackles while adding six tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and three pass breakups. He is the first Bearcat to post a 100-tackle season since Pace Jr. in 2022.

“I’m thrilled for Jake and his family,” Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield said in a press release. “We knew early on he had a chance to play at the next level because he was pound-for-pound one of the best athletes we’ve been around. What’s set him apart, though, is his work ethic. That’s what turned him into a second-round pick. He led by example every day and was a joy to coach. I wish we could’ve had him here longer than two years, but I’m excited to watch him on Sundays. The Vikings are getting an instinctive linebacker who plays with elite speed and toughness, and he’s just scratching the surface of what he can become.”

He is the 19th UC player selected in the draft since 2021. Cincinnati has seen 52 Bearcats drafted since 2000.

"I was playing defensive end for my first two seasons at Central Arkansas. I got recruited as an athlete," Golday told Sports Illustrated's Justin Melo last month. "They weren’t sure where I was going to play when I first arrived. Sure enough, they put me at defensive end. I played there for two years, mostly just as a pass rusher on third downs. We got a new defensive coordinator going into my third season. He came in and said, 'Man, you’re too athletic to just be rushing the passer on third down. I want you on the field for every single down.'

"He switched me to linebacker. I found a whole new love for the game. I already loved football, but I fell in love even more with linebacker. The game became that much more fun at linebacker. You get to make plays all over the field. I was constantly in the game for every down. I just discovered a new love for football."

Cincinnati is expected to have at least four and maybe five total draft picks this weekend, in what would be the most picks for the program in once cycle since that historic College Football Playoff team sent nine players to get NFL Draft slots in 2022.

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