Bye Bye Bearcats Seniors: #10 Jake Golic

As we move along in our series (yes, we’re still trying to do these), we at Cincy on the Prowl say goodbye to senior tight end Jake Golic.

The other #10 on Cincinnati’s football team this past fall transferred into UC from Notre Dame. Golic played sparingly for the Irish in his four years in South Bend and when he got his graduate degree, opted to depart for greener pastures (read: playing time) further South.

The Bearcats were recently replacing Travis Kelce at the tight end, who led all UC players in receptions, yards, and touchdowns in his final season in red and black. The performance eventually got him selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the ensuing NFL Draft and left a massive void at the position heading into the 2013 season. Thus entered Jake Golic, whose only major competition was Blake Annen.

But season ending back surgery halted Golic’s plans to play as a fifth year senior in his tracks.

Luckily, following a successful surgery the tight end was eligible for a medical redshirt to return to the Bearcats for a sixth year this past season. Annen had graduated at that point and Golic was plugged in right away at Cincinnati. With a wealth of talented receivers at their disposal, UC didn’t utilize the tight end in the passing game as they had as recently as 2012. It was just a fact of life.

But Golic found a niche in heavy packages and along the goal line, clearing a path allow for Mike Boone and Rod Moore to cruise through the defense. He even caught a touchdown pass from Gunner Kiel in Cincinnati’s blowout of UConn on November 22nd. You can see that clip below and while I’m sure Golic would have liked to have had more like these during his Bearcat career, it’s great that he was able to get at least a little moment in the spotlight to himself.