Cincinnati Bearcats Football 2025 Fall Camp Storylines

CINCINNATI — The offseason is over for Cincinnati Bearcats Football in Scott Satterfield's third season at the helm. UC starts fall camp at Higher Ground Conference Center in Indiana on Monday with what Satterfield deemed the best team he's had in his tenure at UC.

The team has a brand-new practice complex to operate in and strong continuity carrying over from 2024 to lean on for Big 12 success this fall.

Let's get to the top three storylines entering the next month of camp ahead of the opener against Nebraska on Aug. 28.

Right Tackle Locked In?

Cincinnati's biggest position question got an answer at Big 12 Media Days. Satterfield declared a starting offensive line of Deondre Buford at right tackle for the third-straight season to mix in with names like Evan Tengesdahl (guard), Gavin Gerhardt (center), Taran Tyo (other guard), and Joe Cotton (left tackle) up front.

Satterfield and O-line coach Nic Cardwell are sticking with the veteran path on the right side, despite his consistent struggles.

"I feel like our offensive line is in really good shape," UC's head coach said in Texas. "I think these guys could be one of the better O-lines in the Big 12 this year. We also have at least three or four other guys that can fill in and rotate. So I think we got really good depth up front and some really good young players too. I'm excited about some of the young guys who will be up and coming. So obviously your offensive line is where it all starts, and I feel like we're in good hands with the guys up front."

Cotton was one of the best left tackles in the FCS for South Dakota (81.2 PFF grade on 777 snaps, 712 snaps in 2023). He could immediately wall up that outside blocking corridor. Cotton and everyone besides Buford graded at 64 or better on Pro Football Focus last season.

Buford is another story as the run-it-back RT starter. He's played over 1,200 snaps for Cincinnati over the past two seasons, grading 55 or lower on PFF in both campaigns. How much of a stranglehold does he have on that job? Names like Ethan Green and Nolan Latulippe have been battling for a shot, but clearly, the staff is most comfortable with Buford right now.

2025 could be the season it all turns around for the Michigan native, and Cincinnati's offense would have few, if any, weak spots if so.

Special Teams Getting Special

The Bearcats' net field position this past season ranked 80th nationally, including a massive falloff in November. It's a big reason why Cincinnati moved on from Kerry Coombs and replaced him with new special teams coordinator Luke Paschall.

Paschall is trying to do what he did at Middle Tennessee State and turn around a terrible phase across the board.

"I'm excited to welcome Luke Paschall to our Cincinnati Bearcats team," Satterfield said about the hire in May. "Luke will focus solely on special teams, looking to give us an edge in the hidden yardage and field position battles that are crucial to winning. Luke has more than a decade of experience and success leading special teams units. He elevates our coaching staff. He is a great addition to our program."

Former UC punter Mason Fletcher's production completely tailed off in the final month of the 2024 season (a 42.6-yard punting average in 2024, a career low). On top of that, Cincinnati had no punt returns of 20-plus yards or kick returns of 30-plus yards this past season.

Corners, running backs, wide receivers. A long list of names got a test run at punt returning in the spring, and now the program will integrate the kickoff repetitions as well, after not having the space/time to do it earlier this year. New punter Max Fletcher and kicker Stephen Rusnak answered all the questions needed from their game in the spring, but the return options are still very murky.

Boosting The Pass Rush

Interceptions are tied to quarterback pressure, and it's no surprise that Cincinnati ranked near the bottom of the country last season in sacks (1.75 per game, 86th) and interceptions (0.42 per game, 118th).

Cincinnati has to find a way to cause more havoc in the backfield; everything else will start falling into place if so. No UC players hit eight sacks last season, and only three players had more than three in 2024 (Dontay Corleone, plus now-exited Jared Bartlett and Eric Phillips). Someone like Jaylon White-McClain, CJ McCray, Mikah Coleman, or Marquaze Parker will have to step up if Cincinnati's defense is going to take a leap.

A committee of attackers highlighting the push of Corleone could be the right elixir. The Godfather has had a completely healthy offseason following a blood-clot-interrupted 2024, and he could wreck interiors all season long. That should only make it easier for the edge names to fill in those open gaps and get to the quarterback more consistently.

Finding a way to close games with a strong pass rush will help UC bounce back from a 1-4 record in one-possession games last season.

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