Four Players to Watch From Cincinnati's 2024 Recruiting Class

Cincinnati signed 21 players on Signing Day this week.

Author:
Neil Meyer
Dec 23, 2023 9:48 AM EST

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CINCINNATI — Wednesday marked a big day for Scott Satterfield and the Bearcats after inking 29 new members to the Cincinnati football program. 21 of those players were high school recruits, while the other 8 members were added via the transfer portal. The Bearcats 2024 recruiting class comes in ranked 51st in the country per 247 Sports highlighted by four-star prospects in defensive back Daniel James and quarterback Samaj Jones.

Amongst the 21 incoming freshmen check out a brief list of who I am excited to watch and whether or not they could impact the team right away and make an immediate impact for the Bearcats this upcoming season.

DB Daniel James: James, a 5-foot-11', 175-pound defensive back highlights the Bearcats recruiting class.

James is ranked 232nd nationally and the 17th-rated defensive back in the class of 2024 per 247Sports. What stands out the most about him is his blazing speed. James also ran track during his high school career, where he excelled and became one of the top runners in the state of Georgia.

James was the first member of the 2024 recruiting class and has remained committed to the Bearcats ever since announcing his commitment back in April. The Bearcats secondary struggled a season ago, but James now has an opportunity to come in and battle for playing time right away after seeing Sammy Anderson, Justin Harris, Bryon Threats all transfer, while Taj Ward exhausted all of his eligibility. For James though when you turn on the tape what stands out the most is his versatility and athleticism which Bearcats head coach Scott Satterfield mentioned earlier this week following national signing day.

"Daniel James is everything you are looking for character-wise. He is very athletic, runs track, one of the best track runners in the state of Georgia," said Satterfield. "Take his athleticism along with his size, the way he moves his hips, we see him as a really great player with so much versatility in the secondary. He will be one of those guys that we can't wait to get on campus."

TE Gavin Grover: Grover, a 6'6" Tight end, is a massive grab for the Bearcats in the 2024 recruiting class for many reasons. His size and frame stand out the most, at 6'6" he is already a prototypical size for a tight end. Grover is coming off a senior season where he hauled in 63 receptions for 853 yards and 10 touchdowns at Olentangy High School. Grover can come in and make an immediate impact because of his size and frame, but also his ability to go out and be a number-one receiving target.

The Bearcats tight ends struggled this past season after Joey Beljan the Western Kentucky transfer missed the season due to injury. Chamon Mateyer flashed in limited opportunities and has since transferred to Colorado. Payten Singletary was banged up at the end of the year with an ankle injury as well but is returning for the 2024 season. Grover now comes in and can be one of those guys who can immediately make an impact at that position just due to the numbers being slim right now, but his size is very intriguing, especially with the known history of tight ends at Cincinnati.

LB Simeon Coleman: Coleman is a 6-foot, 227-pound linebacker who has turned a lot of heads throughout his high school playing career. The big, hard-hitting patroller has been featured on Overtime quite a few times for some of the hit sticks laid down during his career. Coleman not only possesses great size, but great speed as well. He is flashy in the run game and someone I definitely wouldn't want to meet in the "A" gap as the opposing team's running back.

"Simeon has had some hits where he has taken the heads off of people, It kind of looks illegal because he hits them so hard, I have seen helmets fly off after some of the tackles he has made," said Scott Satterfield. "His physicality is what stands out the most to me."

Despite being a hard hitter on the field Satterfield described Coleman as one of the nicest kids. Satterfield mentioned he always wears a smile on his face. Satterfield described the freshman linebacker as a giant teddy bear. But, that all changes once Coleman puts on the pads it appears because some of the hits, he has laid during his high school career have left a lot of people speechless at times due to his quick speed and physicality.

Coleman is one of the 10 members along with Grover and James, that will be early enrollees this winter. However, you give him a couple extra months with strength and conditioning coach Niko Palazeti in the weight room and there's a very strong chance Coleman will be able to add more muscle and be an impact player in 2024 as a true freshman in my opinion.

CB Zaravion "Gravy" Johnson: Johnson is a very interesting cornerback prospect just due to his size alone. Johnson stands 6'3", 180 pounds but has great speed and length at that cornerback position.

Zaravion has earned the nickname "Gravy" but just like another former Bearcat with his build and physique, has earned a very interesting nickname as well. When you watch the film of Zaravion Johnson you see a lot of comparisons to Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner due to his long arms and his general length. He can disrupt a lot of passes in the secondary and that is something that stands out the most on tape.

Like James, Johnson has an opportunity to come in and make an immediate impact with his size and physicality. Johnson is also among the early enrollees and the opportunity to come in early and get that extra work with Kerry Coombs will be huge for a guy like Johnson who has quickly turned a lot of heads by the Bearcats coaching staff. If all goes well it could be very possible to see Zaravion "Gravy" Johnson compete for some early playing time as a freshman, to say the least.

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