Several Early Enrollees Will Join Cincinnati Bearcats Football Team

The signing period for junior college recruits began Wednesday and runs through January 15th. The Cincinnati Bearcats took advantage of this by adding immediate depth via the JUCO ranks and signing several players. Recently committed linemen DeLonte Murray and Idarius Ray along with linebacker Antonio Kinard have inked their letters of intent.

But that’s not all. This is also the time the year when high school players graduate a semester before the rest of their classmates and can join their prospective colleges early. As a result, linebacker Bryce Jenkinson, receiver Daniel Cobb, and offensive guard Evan Mallory have decided to enroll at Cincinnati in the winter to be available to practice with the team in the spring after signing their letters of intent on February 4th.

Finally, Frank Labady, a former member of the 2014 recruiting class, will finally join the Bearcats after spending a year improving his grades at the Milford Academy. He too will sign in the next couple of months.

These early graduates and JUCO signees will have a major advantage over their peers in the 2015 class by being able to get familiar with their coaches and teammates six months before the others. This is especially beneficial for the junior college offensive linemen Murray and Ray who could be asked to take on starting roles on the first snap of game one.

DELONTE MURRAY – FULL RECRUIT PROFILE

Position: Offensive Guard
Hometown: Burtonsville, Maryland
Junior College: Lackawanna
Height, Weight: 6’5″, 311 lbs
Offers: Kansas, Toledo, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Akron, Southern Mississippi
Composite Rating: ** – 79
247 Sports Rating: ** – 76
ESPN Rating: *** – 74
Rivals Rating: *** – 5.5
Scout Rating: –

"DeLonte Murray looks every bit the 6’5″, 311 lbs offensive lineman on film. He does a nice job locking on his blocking assignment and either driving them upfield on run plays or owning his zone on drop backs. Murray doesn’t move all that well laterally is pass protection, which isn’t uncommon for most guards, but that’s why he’s an interior lineman and not a tackle. At the very least on passing plays he’s simply a big body that opposing blitzers struggle to move or plow through. On run plays, however, Murray is vicious when he rumbles to the second level, eating up helpless linebackers and defensive backs like so many grilled chickens and possibly small children throughout his life."

IDARIUS RAY – FULL RECRUIT PROFILE

Position: Offensive Tackle
Hometown: Van Nuys, California
Junior College: Los Angeles Valley
Height, Weight: 6’7″, 317 lbs
Offers: –
Composite Rating: –
247 Sports Rating: –
ESPN Rating: –
Rivals Rating: –
Scout Rating: –

"As logic dictates, Ray plays the left tackle position for LA Valley and moves pretty well for an offensive lineman who looks down on most mountain tops. He also has long arms which helps him control quicker defensive ends. Ray does need to ensure he pops out of his stance and slides faster when those edge rushers try crashing around the outside instead of the B gap. But that’s a limitation he can correct with time and proper coaching. On run plays Ray is a mauler, staying low and keeping his shoulder pads level to generate as much leverage on his blocking assignment as possible. This can be a challenge for linemen of his height but Ray seems to have this nuance down pat. Overall, this is a very talented future Bearcat."

ANTONIO KINARD – FULL RECRUIT PROFILE

Position: Linebacker
Hometown: Youngstown, Ohio
Junior College: Arizona Western
Height, Weight: 6’3″, 220 lbs
Offers: California, Louisville, Utah
Composite Rating: *** – 82
247 Sports Rating: *** – 88
ESPN Rating: *** – 76
Rivals Rating: –
Scout Rating: –

"Kinard was actually a Miami Hurricanes commit two years ago but for one reason or another he never made it to campus. So he signed with Arizona Western, piling up 106 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and an interception last season. He visited Cincinnati over the weekend and came away so impressed to choose the Bearcats over California, Louisville, and Utah. Like Minor, the appeal of early playing time may have swayed Kinard to cast his lot with UC. Starters Jeff Luc and Nick Temple along with rotational backup Clemente Casseus will be gone to graduation after this year. It’s unclear who among the relatively green players behind them will get most of the reps in 2015. Kinard probably sees that situation as a way to see the field from day one at Cincinnati."

BRYCE JENKINSON – FULL RECRUIT PROFILE

Position: Linebacker
Hometown: Greenville, OH
High School: Greenville Senior
Height, Weight: 6’1″, 220 lbs
Offers: Air Force, Navy, Yale, several MAC programs
Composite Rating: *** – 85
247 Sports Rating: *** – 85
ESPN Rating: –
Rivals Rating: ** – 5.4
Scout Rating: –

"Jenkinson lines up at the strongside linebacker position for Greenville. And punter, if that’s of any relevance (it might be down the road). But back to linebacker, he’s tasked at being the first line of defense if his linemen in front of him can’t bottle up runningbacks on strongside plays. Even when offenses run away from him on backside plays, Jenkinson has the speed to run down ball carriers from behind. His above average lateral speed and lanky arms are especially valuable here. But the linebacker runs into issues when he encounters blockers, which will be more often than not. Jenkinson gets stood up rather easily and doesn’t use his hands to attempt to shed the block. He’ll need to add more tools to his repertoire if he wants to see playing time at the next level. Additionally, he needs wrap up more consistently on his tackles. Jenkinson is a strong, speedy athlete but he tends to shoulder ball carriers to the ground on some occasions and use his arms on others, which is the proper technique. The 6’1″ 220 lbs linebacker has all the raw tools to excel but he needs to improve on the finer points of the game."

DANIEL COBB – FULL RECRUIT PROFILE

"The recruiting highlight video site HUDL lists Daniel Cobb’s Forty time at 4.30. That’s probably a little inaccurate but I’m sure an official laser-measured time would be pretty darn close. Cobb is a burner on the football field. He’s just a difficult player to track down and tackle. Defenses and coverage teams have a difficult time getting aligned off the snap before Cobb hits the edge. If he gains position, more often than not he’s as good as gone. Most importantly, opposing players know he’s lightning quick causing them to hesitate before trying to make contact. At that point Cobb’s already won the mental battle and his legs and flexible hips to the rest. Overall this is just an extremely dynamic, dangerous football player for any team."

EVAN MALLORY – FULL RECRUIT PROFILE

Position: Offensive Guard
Hometown: Brownsburg, IN
High School: IMG Academy
Height, Weight: 6’5″, 302 lbs
Offers: Louisville, UCF, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Purdue, South Florida
Composite Rating: *** – 85
247 Sports Rating: *** – 84
ESPN Rating: *** – 75
Rivals Rating: *** – 5.6
Scout Rating: ***

"Mallory played across the offensive line for his Brownsburg team before transferring to IMG Academy and excels in run blocking. He explodes quickly out of his stance, keeps his hands on the chest of the defender, and drives constantly with his legs. While Mallory has an intrinsic advantage because of his size now, it’s clear he’s well-coached on the fundamentals of the position. He is fairly agile when he’s being asked to pull and has decent enough speed to get upfield for blocks at the second level. However Mallory is a little on the inflexible side when it comes to pass protection. But that’s OK, the young man is built like a guard which is where he will wind up at the collegiate level."

FRANK LABADY – FULL RECRUIT PROFILE

"Labady is clearly the best player on his team and his high school coach tries to put the ball in his hands whenever possible. That’s why you see him taking snaps out of the shotgun as well out of the backfield. He really thrives in the dual role as linebackers have to cheat up to prevent him for taking off with his legs for big gains on the ground. As a result receivers run free behind them for easy completions. When he does take the ball as a regular runningback Labady displays excellent one-cut ability with the speed to hit the openings in the offensive line and outrun defenders at the second level. He seems to take a bit too long turning the edge but when he finally does run North-South the back is difficult to catch."