Bearcat Blitz: Higher Ground Practices Wrap Up For Cincinnati Football

[Music] a deep shot he's got Tyler Scott and he's into open space first throw of the year for Desmond Ritter touchdown be catch in a rhythm going to take a shot towards the end zone the touchdown Trey Tucker to The End Zone it goes caught touchdown [Music] Bearcat Blitz how are we doing everyone I'm your host Russ Helman he's my co-host Neil Meyer and we are presented by bet online right here on the believe Network you can catch bear caplets wherever you get your podcast whether that's Apple Spotify Google all those different mediums show is available there please subscribe rate and review help us grow this thing and of course you can watch us do the show as well on talking cats with Russ Helman the YouTube page throw a like there on all the shows And subscribe on YouTube fun weekend in store for Cincinnati Bearcats Athletics including a Friday scrimmage that Neil and I will both be at later on after we record this episode it's gonna be a lot of fun see what kind of improvements what kind of adjustments are being made by the Bearcats football Consortium we'll dive into kind of the preview of the show in just a moment after this message from BET online to the world's most trusted betting platform and your number one source for everything football from the preseason NFL to college kicking off in just a couple of weeks that online as every stat every matchup and even live odds and spreads while the games are being played think you know your stuff get in on our winner take all $300,000 NFL Survivor pool for the upcoming season when the game's over head on over to our online casino and get in on a game of blackjack or poker or unwind with one of our over 150 slots games head to the website today and use promo code to believe that's bav and get in on the action bet online the game starts here got a great show it's about to start up for everybody right here as well as the Bearcats as I mentioned getting ready for a Friday fall Camp scrimmage number two we're about two weeks away a little less than two weeks a little over two weeks away from the start of the 2024 for season for Cincinnati on top of that we have latest on Dante corleon how much action is he getting in on the barats defensive line a defensive line that's getting shredded by injury right now Jaylen Hunt went down with the season ending injury reportedly this week Neil now will discuss that also uh interesting 4 and eight record prediction from Stuart Mandel of the athletic he has Cincinnati near the bottom of the Barrel in the Big 12 just alongside Houston for the two worst teams in the conference then we'll close out the show with the tip off dinner announcement some special guests in store for everybody that goes to the tip off dinner ahead of the Bearcats basketball season 20242 Extravaganza it's going to be a lot of fun a couple months away from that take a quick break here and then we'll get into the show on bearcap Blitz bringing Neil Meyer now to this week's back half edition of Bearcat Blitz I'm of course your host Russ hman on Cincinnati Bearcats on SI and he is Neil Meyer with Rivals frontof news.com they are the rivals arm of Bearcats coverage moving forward very cool to see there you can check out both mediums on whatever uh web browser you use so Neil Higher Ground practice wrapping up they're done with sessions there at campire Ground kind of it seems like they ended it maybe a few days earlier than pre previous Seasons but obviously with school getting ready to start up in a couple weeks and the season in gameweek mode a week away it's uh it seems like a pretty good time to to put a kabash on on campire ground a campire ground that according to everything I've seen and heard has brought the team closer together and and is believing campire ground with a much tighter knit unit on both sides of the ball compared to last season yeah absolutely and the biggest importance Russ is you mentioned it the camaraderie is completely different from a season ago and I mean anybody who was out there yesterday saw it they saw the video they posted of dunking everybody into the ice bass we saw Carrie combes uh end his press conference and take off and jump into the ice bucket and it's worth noting for those who watch that video coach combms didn't just jump into that ice tub once he jumped in there multiple times with his guys fired up of energy so it's great to see the camaraderie and you can really sense too that this is a well-knit close Collective group and you can you can feel it completely different from a season ago maybe than where they were at Camp High Ground at this point last year and that's the biggest thing is the Brotherhood that they are embracing and we've even heard some of the guys talk about it we've asked them about their favorite h ground memories so far uh throughout their time obviously it's 48 new faces from a season ago so obviously there's a lot of growing to do you don't know quite everybody it's going to take some time to build those relationships but overall I mean Camp High Ground brought them closer than a lot of people probably anticipated especially because they we saw they went paintballing they had a cornhole tournament they're doing a lot of fun activities they went swimming yesterday it looked like via some social media posts so overall Camp High Ground is bringing these guys collectively together and I mean it's a great sighting to see them all bonding well I mean obviously uh you saw Armani Arnold get dunked into the uh ice tub yesterday with pads on during his media uh scrum so that was pretty cool to see but another great sight to see was Dante corleon running around with a big old smile on his face and it's worth noting he was the one who actually uh was doing the dunking of the uh the younger and the newer players there in the ice tub as well so it's great to Dante Corleone running around with a big smile on his face Smiles laughs great team building activities that's what high ground's all about and it seems like a positive very positive experience for the team coming off of the past couple of weeks it's going from positives to a negative here Neil obviously there's been a lot of good work gotten in by this team they're coming together as much as they can especially as much as this defensive line can amidst all of the injuries obviously we talked about Dante Corleone he has not practiced in team drills has not tackled officially so far this camp in organized team activities and on top of that the guy who was his main rotational backup last year the guy who was going to be the starter filling in for him in the rotation jayen hunt goes down with a season ending leg injury this is just brutal Neil you you feel for Jaylen hunt he was solid last year in the rotation for Cincinnati along that defensive line played a career high uh 202 snaps had three tackles five pressures and on top of that just was great at owning his Gap great at doing his job snap to snap I would say great but solid just solid you knew you could rely on him as a big 12 formidable opponent that could go up against these offensive lines across from you and be able to give him some problems at least finishing out with a 67.2 PFF grade that was one of the higher uh higher numbers along the defensive line Neil and now this leaves them largely with no proven power conference Talent at any spot on the defensive line with Dante Corone and Jaylen hunt out yes Eric Phillips got some time last year in the Big 12 but he didn't make an impact at all so you can't really say he's a proven player there Daren Barner has had time in the Big 10 with Wisconsin but he's yet to make an impact in his career in any season he's played in the power conference level Neil this leaves Cincinnati in a real tough spot in a spot where ultimately some sophomores and maybe some freshman are going to have to be called upon to answer the Bell a little bit earlier than maybe they would have been if these injuries and obviously Dante cor Leon's pending issues into the season stick around with us yeah and and as you mentioned a guy like Eric Phillips there on the edge position Dante corleon status is still to be determined so then you mentioned a guy and Jaylen hunt goes down who Russ that's a it's a brutal blow because coach saterfield said it right before they broke for fall camp that Jaylen hunt has had a significantly great offseason transition transformed his body a little bit and Scott safield even noted that Jaylen walked into the office and said he's feeling in the best shape of his career and he was ready to go and then all of a sudden he suffers a knee injury that is now going to keep him out for the 2024 season so it's a brutal blow there because he was having a fantastic Camp as well then you turn the things on the defensive line now it's you look at who they have left Cameron Wilson the Louisville Transfer it's worth noting that he has saw some significant time at Louisville but he will be one of those guys where they brought in Via transfer portal so he could be a name to keep an eye on alongside Eric Phillips and Daren Varner as well Dar Wilson yeah good point Neil Wilson Wilson solid last year at the at the ACC level 189 snaps had 14 pressures you'd like to see a little bit more than that on 189 snaps three sacks a 60.1 PFF grade he he was decent and I and I short changed Eric Phillips a little bit Eric Eric was decent in rotation for this squad last year had 27 pressures and did amount to uh let's see here a 63.5 PFF grade across 418 snap so he's I think he Phillips you can safely say he has a good solid part of the rotation and then outside of that you got Cameron Wilson probably right below him and then as you mentioned Daren Barner but those guys a little bit less proven than Phillips on the whole and not a lot of proven names out there at all in in the defensive line but continue yeah and then another name to keep an eye on is Scott saterfield has mentioned him quite a few times this off season is Marquez Parker the true freshman he's got great Sid great twitch he's had a great fall camp and he does not look like a freshman guys he really does not he has had a fantastic fantastic fall Camp as well and then you have the other members of the freshman class and Derek Barber Garrison Butler there's a couple guys there on the defensive line now with the depth being trimmed do the jayen Hunts injury the status of Dante corleon still up in the air that depth is going to be crucial they at the defensive line so it's going to be interesting to see how these freshmen can really develop from the high school level to the college level here as things get underway they're going to see more reps throughout practice throughout camp and transpiring over the next few weeks so it's going to be interesting what that defensive line Looks like heading into uh just two weeks away from talson on the 31st so they don't have much time to really prepare now like camps ending it's here so it's going to be real interesting to see how that defensive line shapes up but the Jaylen hunt injury is an injury that is going to be a lot bigger than people might have expected although he didn't see that much significant time last season hunt has had a fantastic fall a fantastic offseason and was poised to have a a significantly bigger role this upcoming season compared the last season as well and this was his final season of college football so you don't know what could happen does he go for the medical that's something that they the medical red search so still something that they could figure out with him but it's going to be interesting to see at least as well biggest name I'm looking at here NE Neil is is biggest opportunity for a big opportunity for Harris Adams the transfer defensive tackle there's a runway for him to to get a lot of snaps this fall especially if Dante Corone is continuing to they just continue to take it slow justifiably they they're in the right to do that and don't necessarily play him for the first couple weeks Harris Adams might be your your go-to guy in that first kind of wave of rotations along that defensive defensive line at that nose tackle spot in the 335 system solid last year at Southeast Missouri did only play 196 snaps what kind of elevated snap count can he take on in 2024 that's my biggest question for him what kind of just overall stamina does he have to be able to go as a rotational first string type of player for 12 games but 74.8 PFF grade had 10 pressures on 196 snaps as a def as an interior defensive lineman that's pretty good didn't have a SN sack but did have those 10 pressures had a couple of QB hits and uh had had seven tackles overall including six run stops for Southeast Missouri State at the FCS level last year so there's some some players down the line that I think could fill in well but ultimately you got you gota hope that Dante Corleone can get back to spearhead this defensive tackle room to spearhead this nose tackled position because it's just you're getting you're getting thin on proven players and the The Proven guys we've mentioned Neil outside of The Proven guys in conference we've mentioned in power conference level Eric Phillips Cameron Wilson you're not sticking them on the interior at at at the nose tackle spot that's just not that's not going to happen just based on their body size and what they've they've learned to do throughout their football career so Harris Adams you and I have saw him make a couple plays in the scrimmage this past weekend could see him make a couple plays later on today I think Aris Adams is a solid candidate to maybe put some glue around the paper Madness that's going on with the Cincinnati nose tackle defensive line spot yeah absolutely and another name worth mentioning is uh red shirt freshman Kamari Burns that's another name to keep an eye on obviously he has played that position throughout high school he didn't see time in 2023 but he has had a great fall Camp as well so that could be another name to keep an eye on but the nose the nose tackle depth Russ it's it's taking a hit it's taking a hit with Dante Corleone still to be determined then you lose Jaylen hunt but but Harris Adams Kamari Burns whoever they decide to throw up there at that nose tackle position they're poised to to be in a very tough situation this year obviously uh Kamari burns never saw significant playing time in his freshman season that's why the red shirt came in and then Harris Adams is coming from the FCS level so whoever is at that nose tackle position it's going to be an interesting sight to see come week one but that's that's fall Camp man it's fall camp they're getting the Reps early so it's going to be an interesting development heading forward Harris Adams name to know for sure moving forward this year along the barcat defensive line especially if Dante Corleone is held out of any type of game action moving forward we about two weeks away and he has not had full team activity participation yet so it's getting closer and closer to that becoming a reality of him at least not suiting up for the talson game and you can definitely get you should be able to get plenty of young guys all across that defensive line roster some reps in that opening game just to prepare them for possible need down the line it's not I I wouldn't say it's it's panic mode for the defensive tackle spot one more injury though maybe if Harris Adams goes down or you have one or two more injuries that that throw a wrench into that position then you're you're really in in a world of hurt but as of now we are we're fingers crossed hoping for a return from Dante corleon you mix that with Harris Adams a guy who I think can give you a similar production to what Jaylen hunt gave you last year and you're you're shorted back up along the defensive line if Dante Corone ultimately comes back and plays knock on wood that does happen for the Bearcats take a quick break here and get to a heads scratching for me at least record prediction from the athletic Stuart mandal as National media seems like the barats are just going to fully have to prove it to them for them to get any respect in 2024 and Beyond this is barcat Blitz here on the believe Network presented by bet online so Neil the Athletics Stuart Mandel released his big 12 projections record projections earlier in the week and he has Cincinnati right near the bottom with Houston Cincinnati got them going two- seven in conference and 4-8 overall only besting Houston's one and8 record in conference and three and9 overall record projection from Mandel I just think four and eight man like that would be an unmitigated even if Dante Kon doesn't play a snap this season 4-8 is an unmitigated disaster of a year I would be shocked if they played that poorly enough to go 4- eight if they had the close game bad luck continue like they had last year where they went one and four in one- score games you'd assume that evens out to about 500 2-2 or three and three if they're in some closer games more often this year but four and eight man it just that that seems way too low to me especially when you think about this team in Cincinnati given what we just saw on the first AP Top 25 preseason poll we know that poll is going to change a ton we know it doesn't mean a whole lot but it's all we have to go off of right now and going off of that face one ranked team on that list the entire season and that's number 18 Kansas State and you look at their their strength of schedule overall Neil 60th most difficult schedule in the country among every FBS team that's all 133 teams they have the they're basically a middle of the- pack schedule difficulty and when you look at in the Big 12 it's the 10th easiest schedule in the Big 12 according to ESPN's F pii so to me Neil 4 and eight it's just things would have to go more injuries would have to hit things would have to go even more Haywire for for a result like that to happen we we'll give our our predictions probably this show this time next week uh ahead of gameweek against talson but that four and eight so that that would just be that would be a brutal season and I don't just don't see that happening yeah no and I don't I don't see four and eight happening either and the reason I say that is obviously Scott safield has even said this himself in press conferences how could you judge a team that has basically 50 new faces like you didn't see those guys a year ago 50 this team is basically a it's not basically it's a completely different team from a season ago so there's no tape to judge the Cincinnati team on you might be able to watch a couple games from last season to see guys like Jordan young Xavier Henderson the returners but most of these guys not many people have film on them at this big 12 level so it's going to be it's going to be different but at 4 and8 I don't see it happening R especially with how the schedule planned out because you're looking at how the schedule planned out you have talson week one you have Pittsburgh year two who from what everything we are seeing is struggling right now through fall Camp then you have Miami in week three who let's be honest Miami lost their best receiver engag larvan in the transfer portal this offseason so Miami it's obviously there's a lot of bad taste in the mouth from last season but overall there's a good chance that they could have three go 3 and0 heading into Houston in week one and there's a chance they could start 4-0 so it's going to be interesting to see but 4 and8 I do not see happening ba especially based off everything we've seen at fall Camp 4 and8 I do not see them happening the projections are five and a half wins there is definitely promise that this team could be bll eligible by the end of the season and I misspoke Neil I short changed them a little bit they don't have the 10th easiest schedule when you look at ESPN FBI FBI remaining strength of schedule it's the seventh easiest 60th nationally is the seventh easiest schedule behind Kansas Utah Kansas State Texas Tech UCF and Oklahoma State there's just there's there's no real marking reasons out there why you would think this team is going to go one win better compared to last year when so many things had to go wrong for them to go three and N we mentioned the one and four record a play here a play there the quarterback play was just not up to par and we think it's going to be much much not I wouldn't say much much better but on a different level a full grade level higher than it was in 2023 so yeah Neil and I will not be projecting any records with a four or worse I don't think going into this season that being said you never know what's gonna happen I thought they'd win six seven games for sure last year they started off that way and things went uh went down the tube they can start off very well this season though and continue that momentum and I think that's much more likely than what we saw in 2023 speaking of seeing some new things Neil some new faces inside Fifth Third Arena coming for the tip off dinner the basketball tip off dinner announced this week the second annual tip off dinner for Bearcats fans on October 2nd from 6:00 to 8m inside of Fifth Third Arena pretty cool we're going to have Marty they're gonna have Marty Brenham in there as master of ceremonies and then West Miller's old ball coach Roy Williams The Nay Smith Memorial Hall of Fame coach is the featured speaker H for fans and they'll also get to check out all the players get to get to get autographs from them get to see um some some cool interactions with Cincinnati's new faces as they get ready for a highly anticipated the most anticipated season this decade I would uh I I think I'm safe to say for Cincinnati barats basketball it should be a fun evening meal yeah no absolutely and this is the second uh tip off dinner they did the first one last season it was a great a great event and Russ it's also worth noting that the tickets are on sale for this event already and a reserve ticket for $75 and the VIP ticket is $250 the reserve ticket will include a seat buffet dinner and a cash bar the VIP tickets include reserve seating at a preferred a a parking pass buffet dinner access to a VIP bar and VIP reception with the UC men's basketball coaching staff and players but it's also the biggest thing to worth noting about this event is all proceeds from the exclusive night will directly benefit Cincinnati student athletes through the Cincinnati Reigns Collective so obviously this is a big night for Cincy Reigns as well but it's worth noting to Russ with I know a couple people were surprised it seemed to see that Roy Williams would be the featured speaker but it's worth noting Russ that uh Roy Williams has been on campus a couple times since uh his retirement West Miller has taken over for them so it's it's an interesting site to see and Roy Williams actually gave a statement per press release that states as a player at North Carolina West Miller came closer to reaching his full potential than any player I have ever coached he said upon West Miller's hiring his energy his determination intelligence and his for young people convinces me that he will continue at this dominance uh throughout the college level I'm so happy for him in the University of Cincinnati program so it's great to see Roy Williams the Hall of Famer come back and really get involved with a guy like Wes Miller who is a former player of his but really Embrace what he is doing here at Cincinnati and anytime you can have a Hall of Famer with a guy especially of the caliber of Roy Williams get involved in your program it's a fantastic opportunity so a really big event come place on uh October so fans if you haven't bought your tickets they are on sale now and we I think Russ and I both can uh both say this that we highly encourage you guys to go buy these tickets as well for this uh one-of aind event exciting exciting month in store coming up exciting stretch the calendar coming up this is our time Neil this is when we love it all the game action getting ready to start up and all the story lines to follow from that from Neil Meyer I'm Russ upman this has been Bearcat Blitz on the believe Network presented by bet [Music] online R to the end zone looking for Pierce did he hang on yes touchdown back as I've been around here he goes again busts free Jerome forward down the sideline foot race house call touchdown 79 yd big one in the peach this is a big one too and it's going to go all the way to the house on the first play from SC he