Three Cincinnati Bearcats Stars Receive Senior Bowl Invitations

No surprises here. These three will play on Sunday's.

Sep 6, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats defensive lineman Dontay Corleone (2) stands on the field against the Bowling Green Falcons in the first half at Nippert Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — Three Cincinnati Bearcats football players were invited to the Panini Senior Bowl on Thursday.

The prestigious game will be played on Jan. 31 in Mobile, Alabama. Dontay Corleone, Jake Golday and Joe Royer received invites.

Golday was the lone Bearcats player to be named to the All-Big 12 Conference First Team. The senior led UC with 105 tackles (six for loss), 3.5 sacks, and three pass breakups. He’s the first Bearcat to post a 100-tackle season since Ivan Pace Jr. in 2022. He averaged 8.8 tackles per game and had eight games with 10+ tackles.

Royer and Corleone are both Cincinnati natives that are poised to continue their football careers in the NFL.

Corleone is a two-time All American. He was named to the All-Conference second team this season. He's an all-conference performer for the fourth straight season, joining former Bearcats Mike Mickens (2005-08) and James Smith (2017-20) as the only players in Cincinnati football history to earn all-conference honors in four straight seasons.

Royer was a First-Team All-Big 12 tight end last year after breaking Travis Kelce's school record for catches at the position with 50. This year, he had four touchdown receptions and two separate catches for 67 and 73 yards, again earning All-Big 12 accolades. Royer caught 29 passes this season for 416 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 14.3 yards-per-catch, which is certainly something NFL teams like to see from tight end prospects.

The Bearcats started the season 7-1, but lost their final four games to end the season 7-5. Despite the poor ending, Cincinnati will participate in a bowl game for the first time in the Scott Satterfield era.

The Bearcats signed 22 players to their 2026 recruiting class on Wednesday. They're hoping their success this season propels them forward.

"I’m excited about this class," Satterfield said. "We want to start in the state of Ohio. We know some of the greatest coaches in the country are right here. This year we got seven guys that were signing from the state of Ohio, which we're thrilled to have those guys here, and one from Cincinnati."

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