Cincinnati Bearcats Football Keeps Defensive Commitments Rolling With NIU Transfers Jacob Finley, Filip Maciorowski

CINCINNATI — The Bearcats football team landed a pair of transfer commitments from Northern Illinois transfer cornerback Jacob Finley and linebacker Filip Maciorowski on Thursday to make it seven transfer additions in the past 24 hours.

UC is making moves all over the roster as the secondary continues to get the most new names so far. Finley is entering his final year of eligibility after notching 57 tackles and seven pass breakups this past season.

It amounted to a 64.2 overall Pro Football Focus grade, but he did have 74.5 and 70.3 grades the prior two seasons. The 5-11, 184-pound playmaker has logged 1,682 career snaps as one of the most tested veterans on the roster entering UC's 2025 season. He will likely play wide corner, logging over 500 snaps there last season and is Cincinnati's third cornerback to get brought in this cycle.

Finley is the 539th-ranked transfer overall on 247Sports and the 55th-best transfer cornerback. The Birmingham, Alabama native is part of a transfer blitz put on by Scott Satterfield and his staff after losing the Liberty Bowl 35-13.

As for the linebacker, Maciorowski posted 87 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 FF and two PBUs as a sophomore this year. The 6-3, 225-pound talent's logged speeds as high as 22 MPH in game and has two years of eligibility left.

In 2025, he played 612 snaps and rolled it into a 65 PFF grade. It was his first full season of starting action and it led to 247Sports ranking him 749th overall and 49th among transfer linebackers. He's a versatile player who mostly lined up in the box but also played slot cornerback and some defensive front snaps.

Double-digit Bearcats opted out of the game for the transfer portal or NFL Draft reasons.

“As we turn the page to the transfer portal, we're looking for guys like these guys right here, guys with character," Satterfield said after Friday's loss in the Liberty Bowl. "They're going to show up, love football, love to compete. There’s one portal period, and we're going to get to work when we get back in town.”

Cincinnati still has plenty of scholarship spots open to keep adding talent.

LOCKED IN !! 😁 pic.twitter.com/ymDA9JO2FN
— Jacob Finley (@jacobfinley0) January 8, 2026

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