Bearcats Leaders Update Offseason Work on Defense and More as 2026 Fall Camp Kicks Off

Off and rolling into 2026 fall camp.

University of Cincinnati football head coach Scott Satterfield takes questions during a press conference to announce the neutral site for the upcoming Battle of the Victory Bell football game at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. The rivalry college football game between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the Miami RedHawks will be played at TQL Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Cincinnati Bearcats football team kicked off 2026 fall camp on Wednesday morning as the fourth season of the Scott Satterfield era gets closer and closer.

Two major factors are in play for Cincinnati's success this coming season: Fixing the defense with a new system/coordinator, and getting JC French IV to maximize his ultimate ceiling in the sport.

Satterfield touched on both topics after the first two-hour session of the month. Cincinnati has to get things pretty dialed in quickly to handle a Power Conference home game they should win against Boston College to open the season on Sept. 5.

The Work Continues

Jul 8, 2026; Frisco, TX, USA; Cincinnati quarterback JC French IV during Big 12 Conference Football Media Days at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The 3-4 blitzing scheme from new DC Nate Woody is getting fine-tuned over the next month.

"Many reasons, but I do think it's a multiple defense. We're doing a lot of different things defensively. We'll be able to bring pressure from all over the field, every position," Satterfield said about thwy the defense will be better. "It's a sound defense as well. So we're going to present a lot of different looks to the offense."

Meanwhile,French has plenty of support in the program and motivation from the outside to buck the noise away and post his best CFB season.

"JC's been here now all semester and all summer, and I think he's worked extremely hard to earn the respect of his teammates," Satterfield said. "And now he's really showing that leadership role that I think he can certainly fill for this team, and we're excited ... I'm sure he's going to learn some more about our offense and about his teammates as we go through August. And we got to do as much as as we can before we play our first game."

The veteran brings 26 career starts to the table and has fully transitioned into a main team leader throughout his lone offseason at the school. He's trying to dial into the offensive side of things, while Antwan Peek Jr. and his running mates try to fix the defense

Peek dove into why the unit will improve as he transitions to a starting role closer to the line of scrimmage.

"I feel like it starts with the coaches," Peek said. "The way that we we approach meetings, the way that we approach the weight room. So I feel like it definitely starts with the coaches. Them bringing the energy every single day, and then that trickles down."

Check out the full Day 1 session with Satterfield below:

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