UC Football Signs 4 Players During Junior College Signing Period

The official signing period for schools to reach into the Junior College ranks opened a few days before Christmas. For some schools this is as important as the regular National Signing Day in early February when college coaches can ink their high school recruits. It’s such a big deal for them because those schools tend to make a practice of almost exclusively recruiting heavily from JUCOs. Louisville did so quite a bit under Steve Kragthorpe and Kansas State is infamous for filling up their roster with JUCO prospects.

Cincinnati has even gotten into the game a bit, signing a couple each year. The purpose for UC, and most programs, is to add instant depth to the roster in form of physically mature players who are generally good-to-go in filling out a two-deep. But JUCOs can be hit or miss. For Cincinnati some have worked out great, namely Greg Blair and Kenbrell Thompkins. Some didn’t quite work out as well such as Jamar Howard and to a lesser extent Malcolm Murray (although he was inhibited by a severe injury). And others flat out didn’t make it to UC after signing day such as Aaron Harris and Robert Martin.

But this time around Tommy Tuberville is banking on filling the ranks of the Bearcats with some experienced players he has been keeping tabs on at Texas Tech. All four of the JUCOs who signed with Cincinnati had offers from the Red Raiders. While it’s difficult right now to say how they will pan out adding healthy bodies, and talented players no less, is always a welcomed sight.

Let’s get to the freshly signed Bearcats.

Rodriguez Moore

He is clearly the

star of this group

and near the top of Cincinnati’s 2013 class depending upon which recruiting site you reference. As a sophomore in his final year at East Mississippi Community College Moore put up some pretty solid numbers. In ten games Moore ran for 902 yards averaging 6.1 yard per carry and crossing the goal line 11 times. He’s a powerfully built runningback filling out his 5’9″ frame with loads of muscle. I would characterize him as an all-purpose back who is shifty enough to juke defenders out of their shoes but powerful enough to bulldoze them if necessary. He displays solid vision and most importantly the 1-cut ability to hit the gaps in the offensive line to drive to the second level. Don’t be surprised if he battles for a spot on the two-deep this coming Fall.

Darren Doston

A

former teammate of current UC quarterback Trenton Norvell

, Doston is an impressive cornerback out of the College of the Sequoias. He didn’t rack up a ton of stats during his time there but his height and length are impressive. Cornerbacks aren’t truly measured on the sexy stats like interceptions and pick 6’s anyways. They are primarily measured ontheir hip flexibility, i.e. their quickness in transitioning from a backwards run to a forward stride, as well as their ability to break up passes. If Doston can show he can perform both roles well he should find a place on this team despite there being a logjam at cornerback. However he could wind up at safety in the future.

I couldn’t find an in-game highlight reel of him but here’s a clip of him and Stormy Butler (another UC commit?) doing some drills:

Terrell Hartsfield

Hartsfield was a highly rated linebacker coming out of high school and had effectively been a

verbal commitment to Texas Tech

for about two years. But it appears, like most recruits, his loyalty to the head coach was stronger than to the school and now he’s

heading to Cincinnati

. Even though Hartsfield was a linebacker in high school he added some weight and moved to the edge of the defensive line while at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. Clearly it was an outstanding decision. The 245 lb end picked up 62 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles in his final season playing for the Wolfpack. On a Cincinnati Bearcats team that will be losing Walter Stewart, Dan Giordano, and Brandon Mills at defensive end, Hartsfield is a welcomed signing and could compete for starting time right away.

Jerrell Jordan

Joining Hartsfeld at Cincinnati is fellow

Copiah-Lincoln player Jerrell Jordan

. Statistically this guy had an even better sophomore season than his teammate on the other side of the defensive line. Jordan led the Wolfpack with an incredible 13.5 sacks which was 2nd best in all of JUCO football to go along with 78 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 interceptions. That’s one heck of a resume. Like Hartsfield, he will have an opportunity to start next year with the Bearcats experiencing so much turnover on the edge of the defensive line.