Scott Satterfield's Top Comments From 2023 Big 12 Media Days

Cincinnati revealed a big position change on Thursday.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Jul 13, 2023 12:43 PM EDT

In this story:

CINCINNATI — UC head football coach Scott Satterfield had some interesting comments during his Big 12 Media Days podium trip.

From Evan Prater's position change to the impact of a big transfer haul, check out his top thoughts below.

On Status of Receiver Room:

Yeah, we have one scholarship player on our team now that was with the team last fall. And you mentioned that we had a couple of guys get drafted. And several others that got in the portal before we got the transition for getting hired. And we have now gotten many guys in the room. And guys that are going to come in to really help us. I think this summer has been huge for our wide receiver room. When you think about some of the guys we brought in. We brought two players in that were with me at the University of Louisville. Started for us over there. We brought in Xzavier Henderson who started at Florida and we've moved Evan Prater, who was our quarterback and started the last couple games, out to wide receiver this summer as well. He's looking really, really good, very athletic player. Good hands, strong, competitive so that that room is really I think, now in a position to go out compete in the Big 12 And I think with some guys that have played a lot of football, that's the thing too. We also had not only good players but guys that have experience playing in big contests not just for Cincinnati. So this fall camp will be big for them to get acclimated with the offense.

On The Progression of The 21 Transfers Since Taking Over Program:

Yeah, as a coach, you're always looking at the transfer piece. How these guys are going to fit into your team? Ultimately, it's a team game and you have to play together and play as a team. So when we go out and we're looking for guys to bring in like that's what we're looking for, you know, obviously these guys are individuals, and they want to do the best they can do for themselves. But I want guys who want to come in and play for Cincinnati. And these guys, they've all done that. That is the challenge.

We bought several in this January and then obviously the rest of this summer. The guys that come into the summer have some catching up to do. They've done a good job with that in the month of June. And to get acclimated to how we work in the weight room, how we do our things, and then also what we do offensively and defensively and the kicking game. I like our mix of players that we brought in. I feel like most all the guys that we've brought in will help us this year, will play if not start, they'll have extensive roles through our football team and a lot of different positions. You don't normally like to have that many come through the portal, but you know in the transition we had a lot of players leave, and so you have to fill those needs to be competitive.

On Big 12 Media Days at AT&T Stadium And Conference as a Whole:

Yeah, I think it's been awesome. Last four years in the ACC. We did it at a hotel venue. I love doing it at this venue here. This is where most of our players aspire to be playing on Sundays, and to be able to bring our players into this venue. And then what a great turnout here with all the media presence. I think it's been tremendous for me to be a part of this for our players to be a part of this.

I think it's a home run, part of that for us and our school to be able to come to this new conference, such a competitive conference. This is just kind of the start of it. They kick things off for us, and man, very impressed so far about what's going on with this conference. And now for us our first big 12 game is Oklahoma coming to Nippert and playing in Cincinnati, that's gonna be an outstanding game, a great atmosphere, one of the best stadiums in the country to host a football game, and one of the harder places to come play. So yeah, we're very excited about it.

On How Long It'll Take to be Competitive:

Well, according to the media, (We're) not going to be competitive. I think most of us (were) voted pretty low. That's the interesting thing, right? I mean, we're bringing the four schools in, I think all four schools are outstanding football programs. I do think all four schools will be competitive in this league. I think one of the great things about this conference is the parity from top to bottom. Last year some of the teams that were at the bottom could be the teams at the top. You just got to show up and play on that particular day. The thing as a newcomer into the league, you don't know, the makeup of the teams, we haven't played in this league, we haven't played the teams that are in this league. So you don't really understand the ins and outs of the teams that we're getting ready to play.

The travel piece is going to be different. We bought several land in January and then obviously the rest of this summer. Here we have teams all over the country in different time zones. I mean, so that's going to be different if you have to plan on a short week. Those types of things are going to be things that we're gonna have to learn, so I think you mentioned in the revenue piece that's going to take a few years. I also think that really understanding the league is going to take a few years. For us now, at the power five level in the Big 12 we're out telling and selling recruits, hey, this is where we're headed. This is where we're going. We haven't played a game there yet. So I do think that's going to take a few years and sort of had to get ingrained into high school players and coaches to say now they're playing at the highest level of football, and one of the best leagues in the country.

So I mean, I think that it will take time. I mean, there's no question about it. But we're also in the football world where you don't have a lot of time. You got to be good now. So for us trying to get the best players we can get to come play for us and be a part of our program. That is the challenge in itself. So yeah, but we are excited about it and can't wait to get this started.

On Impact of Daniel Grzesiak and Jordan Young:

Yeah, DG and Jordan Young and they both of those guys. They're really good football players. DGs a guy, man, he's got a great attitude every single day, and he brings it with a smile on his face working extremely hard. He's a big-time leader for us even though he just got here in January. You know, he'll be an outside backer for us coming off the edge very productive player at Utah State. I'm really excited about watching him play this fall. You know, in Jordan's a guy that came in from Florida. Didn't play a ton at Florida but a lot of talent, and a lot of ability.

He will be a really good corner for us and potentially inside playing a little bit in the nickel position. Adding those two guys, along with what we have along the defensive line, our strength is the defensive line on our football team. You know, a couple of guys that are here with us today, plug that middle up and allow our linebackers to run and make plays. We're a 3-4 scheme and you know, they allow those linebackers to go make plays. (Deshawn) Pace will be a great player, we've moved Pace down to the outside backer to the field side that utilizes his athleticism to be able to bring him off the edge, also dropping in coverage, do a lot of different things with him. He's a very versatile player. Excited to watch him. I think he can have a breakout year at that position as well. So really excited about our defense and what they're gonna bring to the table this year.

On Dontay Corleone Handling The Hype:

He's just a great person, a great spirit to be around. Has an infectious personality. He's a big team guy. He's a team player. But he is as strong a player as I've ever been around. He's extremely wide, a big body, exactly what you want to be on the inside of, you know, overtop of a center you know, he's right around 325 pounds right now. That's lean. I mean, he's trimmed down to get to that point. He's moving extremely well. He can run with some of our linebackers at that size, which is remarkable. You know, and he's hungry.

I think that's what I love most about him and our players on our team is that they're hungry, and they want to prove something every single day. And he really brings that, coming back down to this building, being able to get to that point in the program history, to be able to play in the (CFP) Final Four is a tremendous accolade, for our program. I think more than anything, our guys are looking toward the future. I think they're looking toward the plan in the Big 12. To compete for championships at the highest level that's probably more than anything because they want to come back and play in this building again at the end of the season.

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