Where Are They Now: The Warren Central 5
By Chris Bains
Between the 2011 and 2012 recruiting classes, the Cincinnati Bearcats cleaned up at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. When I was writing for Down the Drive, I noted how UC was establishing a pipeline at the Central Indiana powerhouse and was the key to future success for the ‘Cats. It started with the 5 Warriors UC signed between those two classes.
Nick Temple blasted the door wide open for the UC football program when he verballed to Cincinnati back in June, 2010. Deionte Buckley was next, kicking off the Bearcats’ 2012 recruiting class with a commitment on April 11th, 2011. His teammate Josh Posley followed a few days later with Jonathan Burt verballing a month after that. Offensive guard Deyshawn Bond rounded out the quintet a month later and all of a sudden within a year Cincinnati boasted five players from the same high school program.
Unfortunately, that pipeline has since run dry and Cincinnati’s recruiting success now verges on Tommy Tuberville’s ability to continue to cultivate the South and Mid-Atlantic well. For the five players who ultimately signed with UC, some have taken paths away from the program while others have stayed.
Nick Temple: Linebacker, Cincinnati Bearcats
He’s the biggest success story of the bunch. Temple played safety at Warren Central in a hybrid role that tasked him at stopping the run and blitzing as much as he was covering receivers. It served him well when he arrived at Cincinnati and was placed at outside linebacker. He’s just 5’10”, 220 lbs on a good day but plays bigger than his measured size. Temple led all Bearcats with 13.5 tackles for loss last season and came into his senior year with a head of steam. Unfortunately he, like the rest of the defense, have gotten off to a slow start.
Temple’s averaging 2 more tackles per game this season but that’s a testament to the other team averaging 87 plays an outing. Still, as bad as the UC defense has been this year, it would be a scary proposition to envision how much worse they would be without Nick Temple lining up at outside linebacker.
Deionte Buckley: Running Back, Indiana State Sycamores
Warren Central’s stud ball carrier came to Cincinnati in the hopes of supplanting George Winn. Outside of special teams, Buckley saw playing time as a true freshman at running back during UC’s blowout against Miami (OH) in 2012, carrying 4 times for 32 yards. But with heavy competition the follow season between Jameel Poteat, Tion Green, and Ralph David Abernathy, the former Warrior struggled to climb the depth chart. He wound up transferring to Indiana State after 2013 with the apparent intentions of finishing off his career there. Buckley has yet to see the field this season for the Sycamores.
Josh Posley: Defensive End, Ball State Cardinals
The defensive end came to Cincinnati with a solid resume, notching 13 quarterback hurries, 10 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and 3 fumble recoveries his senior year with the Warriors. But Posley struggled to rise higher than second or third on the depth chart at UC. He wound up transferring to the Ball State Cardinals after the 2013 season. Due to NCAA rules, Posley is sitting out this season and accepting a redshirt to allow him an extra year of eligibility. Hopefully a new environment, and one closer to home especially, will allow him to blossom with the Cardinals.
Jonathan Burt: ???
The fourth commitment from Warren Central between the two recruiting cycles was defensive end/tackle Jonathan Burt. When he arrived on campus, the coaches weren’t quite sure where to place him. They tried defense end, then slide him inside to tackle, then experimented with him along the offensive line. But Burt never really seemed to gain a footing at any position when he was redshirted in 2012 and since then it’s like he fell of the face of the planet. I’m not quite sure where Burt wound up but all I know is he’s no longer on the Bearcats football team.
Deyshawn Bond: Center, Cincinnati Bearcats
The Warren Central guard was thrust into a starting role at Cincinnati far earlier than most had predicted last season when senior Dan Sprague was lost for the year with an injury. Bond played like the redshirt freshman he was but improved throughout the season and entered 2014 with a lock on the starting role. However a lingering injury has forced him to play sparingly in recent weeks. Hopefully Bond can get healthy and provide the stability in the middle of the offensive line like the Rimington Award Watch List center he is.