Cincy on the Prowl
Fansided

Cincinnati’s 2016 Recruiting Class Coming Together Nicely

By Chris Bains

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Over the last month Cincinnati’s 2016 recruiting class has ballooned from two to ten. It may even grow to 11 tonight. Honestly, it’s been a quite a whirlwind, as this time of the year tends to go.

The Summer is of course when UC does most of its damage on the recruiting trail. The coaches hit the road during the Spring to see high school and JUCO prospects but it’s these months when most of the scholarship offers and commitments start flowing. The reason being is the camps Tommy Tuberville and his coaches put on this time of the year.

With the ability to see players with their own eyes and utilizing their decades of experience, they can evaluate every nuance of each recruit’s strengths and weaknesses to fully understand how they might fit in and benefit this program. It’s a time tested strategy that’s yielded several diamonds in the rough over the last few years. Tuberville and co. have implemented the same system in the 2016 cycle and as a result have put together a solid class.

So far there’s been quite a few themes we’ve been able to extrapolate from the recruits who have wanted to call themselves Bearcats thus far.

Sticking To The Script

The 2016 recruiting class is going to be on the smaller side but there were definitely areas of need in this cycle. Cincinnati had to have a quarterback and they got one. They needed a few receivers to replace the six they’re losing after this season and did that too.

Overall, it’s another well-balanced class. The name of the game is building depth. With an experienced staff and established system, there hasn’t been a need to find impact players early. The coaching staff didn’t do anything crazy like add three JUCO quarterbacks or not recruit defensive backs. They simply found players who can accept a redshirt in year one, learn the collegiate game at their own pace, and would be more than prepared for when their name was called sometime down the road.

Loading Up On The Line

The Bearcats lost a whopping four offensive linemen to graduation after last season. Eric Lefeld, Kevin Schloemer, Chris Burwell, and Cory Keebler played in several games in 2014 and will never step onto the field as Bearcats ever again. That’s going to be a major key for Cincinnati this Fall, if they can maintain the same dominance along the offensive front despite losing so many key cogs. That’s a question we won’t have answered until September 5th, at least.

But for 2016 and beyond, the staff did a nice job adding not only warm bodies but talented players to the roster. Zach Bycznski is a stud on the interior of the line who could step in for Deyshawn Bond at center when he graduates and not miss a beat. Sean Bailey clocks in at a massive 330 lbs. Both he and Bycznski already have college-level bodies. Finally there’s Liam O’Sullivan who’s a little on the lanky side but scrapes the clouds with his 6’7″ frame. His redshirt year will be spent adding muscle and getting up into the 290-300 lbs range.

As mentioned, Bycznski, Bailey, and O’Sullivan won’t be asked to come in and play from day one. Maybe Bycznski if Bond has injury problems next season. But for the most part these are intriguing linemen who bring several strengths to the table and should allow Cincinnati to continue to maul up front for years to come.

Locking Down Locals

The challenge for Tommy Tuberville and co. since UC’s been relegated to the AAC is attracting recruits from the Cincinnati area. It doesn’t help that their experience comes from the deep South and Mid-Atlantic regions. The coaches have done OK with what they have to work with but I understand their frustrations if Indiana or Minnesota comes in and steals a local player they’ve been shadowing for months.

But change seems to be in the air. Cincinnati’s coaches were able to get a verbal commitment from La Salle star Jeremy Larkin, who rushed for over 2,500 yards and 38 touchdowns his junior year. Even during the Brian Kelly or Butch Jones days UC struggled to snag local players with such a sparkling resume. The fact that this staff was able to bring in Larkin given the AAC shadow that’s hanging over them is darn near miraculous.

Not only that but they were able to actually go outside of the I-275 loop and add Ty Sponseller from the Cincinnati suburb of Mason. There’s been a negative perception of UC in these areas, that it’s an urban commuter school located near a ghetto, and it’s mighty impressive that the coaches were able to shatter that misconception. Sponseller has said he wants to start recruiting for the Bearcats, which will do wonders for this team’s image in the suburbs.