Evaluating the Needs for Cincinnati’s 2013 Recruiting Class

If there is one thing that Coach Butch Jones has proven since joining the Bearcats in late 2009 is that he is a recruiting guru. In a way he has benefited from an environment surrounding his team; the beauty and uniqueness of the University of Cincinnati’s campus, a pair of Big East championship trophies in his cabinet, practically brand new training facilities for his players, and nearly completed practice fields. But he also faced some tough challenges along the way. Cincinnati was still perceived as a second-tier program, a stepping-stone if you will, especially considering the Bearcats lost their second straight head coach to a bigger program after experiencing some semblance of success here. Jones has also had his own personal hurdles to jump such as following in the footsteps of arguably the most success coach in UC football history Brian Kelly.

As such, Jones has done a spectacular job emphasizing the positive and quieting his critics but in some ways he will always be compared to Kelly. Even so, Cincinnati’s current head coach has set himself apart from his predecessors by bringing in the most talented football players to ever set foot on UC’s campus. His 2010 class, despite being quickly put together, was full of underrated players like Deven Drane and Camaron Beard who could become the next Bearcat stars. He followed that up with a 2011 recruiting class that was ranked the best in UC history and a group of players in the 2012 class that was even better.

The key for Butch Jones is working tirelessly to win them over as soon as possible. His efforts have reeled in more highly rated recruits at a quicker rate than ever before. The 2013 class is no different and got off to a hot start with the verbal commitments of Kyle Kempt and A.J. Branisel in early April. Theoretically, this class should be even better than the previous two but it won’t be nearly as large. As a rule of thumb, coaches should average between 20 and 25 players per recruiting class. The Bearcats averaged 28.5 recruits over the past two and the upcoming group will top out between 15 and 20 signees spread out over various position groups:

[ QB – 1 | RB – 1 | TE – 2 | WR – 2 | OG/C – 2 | OT – 2 | DE – 2 | DT – 1 | LB – 1 | S/NB – 2 | CB – 2 | K/P – 1 ]

Quarterback

Cincinnati is pretty heavy on quarterbacks and only graduate one after the 2012 season. Munchie Legaux, Patrick Coyne, Bennie Coney, and Trenton Norvell as of now will still be on the roster in 2013 so there will be plenty of depth at this position. Kyle Kempt will add to that depth but there probably won’t be a need to add another quarterback to this class.

Runningback

Like the quarterback position, there will be plenty of runningbacks on the roster in the 2013 season. Jameel Poteat and Ralph David Abernathy IV will likely compete for the starting role but will be pushed by players like Aaron Harris, Deionte Buckley, and Tion Green. It’s uncertain if Green will stay at this position or move to the defensive secondary but I don’t think Cincinnati needs to add more than one runningback in the 2013 class.

Tight End

Depth at tight end is razor thin in 2012 and 2013. Two seniors, Travis Kelce and Demetrius Richardson, are currently 1-2 on the depth chart. If this remains unchanged the Bearcats will head into the 2013 season with a tight end by committee philosophy. The starting role will probably be Blake Annen’s to lose even though he only has a handful of reps to his name. The backup job will be up for grabs between Josh Russ, DeShawn Dowdy, and potentially true freshman A.J. Branisel. Butch Jones should bring in one more tight end along with Branisel in this class to add depth where it is sorely needed.

Wide Receiver

In a spread offense it’s a smart move to always add a couple of wide receivers every single year. Jones has done a nice job of constantly signing fresh wide outs and as a result there has never really been any issues with depth at this position. He will probably target 2-3 signees at this position with Kenbrell Thompkins and Damon Julian graduating after the 2012 season. I suspect he will go after taller players who can play on the outside considering there is a train of slot receivers waiting behind Anthony McClung inside currently on the roster.

Offensive Guard/Center

16 of the 17 offensive lineman on the current roster are non-seniors. That last guy is Sean Hooey who will be graduating after the 2012 season and hopefully wind up in an NFL camp. Of the remaining 16, 6 will become seniors in 2013 making the Bearcats very experienced along the offensive front. What this means from a recruiting standpoint is that Jones will have to prepare for the 2014 season with 6 OL graduating. Why am I concerned with 2014? Well if you read my blog regularly you know that I believe coaches should always redshirt freshman offensive linemen to prepare them to mentally and physically handle the college game. Therefore, Jones will have to load up on 2-3 interior linemen in anticipation of this mass exodus.

Offensive Tackle

Again, Jones will have to recruit a couple offensive tackles in the 2013 class to get ahead of the turnover he will have after that season. There isn’t much more to say here that I haven’t explained in the previous position group. The Bearcats should add two OT in the 2013 class.

Defensive End

Gone after the 2012 season will be the anchors of the edge of the defensive line for the past two seasons Walter Stewart and Dan Giordano. The Bearcats will also be without their sparkplug Brandon Mills. Cincinnati’s edge rushers will be very inexperienced in 2013 and as a result Jones will again have to add a couple defensive ends in this class. I doubt they would start right away but through their development at Cincinnati they can provide depth behind the starters down the road.

Defensive Tackle

Depth appears to be an issue at defensive tackle in 2012. The culprit is Brandon Mitchell who seems to be developing at a slower pace than I had expected. As a result, starters Jordan Stepp and Camaron Beard will be backed up by a converted linebacker Mitch Meador next season. It’s clear the replacement of Derek Wolfe and John Hughes is still a work in progress but I hope (cross your fingers) that UC will be dominant at this position in 2013 with Stepp, Beard, Mitchell, and 2012 recruit Alex Pace all in the rotation. I don’t think Jones will need to add more than one defensive tackle in this class.

Linebacker

For the first time in eons Cincinnati won’t need to sign a boatload of linebackers just to have enough players on the field at this position. With serious depth issues here in 2010 and 2011, Jones added seven (7) linebackers in the 2011 and 2012 classes. The Bearcats should be all set at this position for the next couple of years. Still the Bearcats could be on the market for an upper echelon linebacker such as Tim Kimbrough from Warren Central High School. He’s a stellar presence on the interior and would continue the pipeline Cincinnati has built with that powerhouse program.

Safety/Nickelback

The Bearcats graduate five safeties/nickelbacks after this upcoming season; Drew Frey, Malcolm Murray, Chris Williams, Rueben Johnson, and Pat Lambert. Jones has gotten ahead of this by adding Marcus Foster, Zach Edwards, and Kevin Brown in the 2012 class and moving Adrian Witty to safety. Still, it would be wise to bolster the ranks by adding 1-2 safeties in the class of 2013 to add depth here.

Cornerback

Starter Camerron Cheatham and rotational player Dominique Battle will be gone after 2012. Luckily the other starting cornerback spot will be locked down by Deven Drane and Trenier Orr appears to be next-in-line to start at corner. However depth will be an issue much like at safety/nickelback. Jones will probably add a couple cover corners in the 2013 class.

Kicker/Punter

Punter Pat O’Donnell will be graduating after next season and hopefully will head to the pros with OT Sean Hooey. He’s a heck of an athlete and one of the strongest players on the current roster. His #2 has been John Lloyd who will replace him beginning in 2013. I have extreme confidence in his abilities but Coach Jones will need to recruit another punter in the 2013 class to backup Lloyd in the future. There are no needs at kicker with Tony Miliano set as the starter and A.J. Fleak backing him up.