A month ago we took the pulse of Cincinnati’s 2016 recruiting class, one that would be a bit smaller than in previous years. UC graduates just 19 seniors this upcoming offseason, which is a little on the lighter side compared to the average class. Plus, the Bearcats’ last two recruiting classes were monstrous, composing of 43 freshmen and 11 sophomore or junior transfers.
Out of a roster of 104, that’s 55 players (over half) who have spent time in the program for two years or less. But don’t let that inexperience concern you. There’s several talented underclassmen filling UC’s ranks including Kevin Mouhon, Mark Wilson, and Kahlil Lewis.
That trend has continued in the 2016 class and while it’s short on quantity, that’s certainly not the case from a quality standpoint. Center Zach Bycznski is a big-bodied interior lineman with offers from Maryland, Illinois, and Minnesota. Running back Jeremy Larkin from La Salle High School ran for 2,584 yards and 38 touchdowns as a junior last season. Florida wide out Andrew Parchment measures in with the ideal size for an incoming receiver at 6’4″, 180 lbs.
Since then Tommy Tuberville and crew have add four more verbal commitments to the 2016 class.
- K’von Wallace: Athlete
- Eric Jenkins: Cornerback
- Marcel Paul: Wide Receiver
- Michael Pitts: Defensive End
The most encouraging new addition has to be Michael Pitts. His highlight tape shows a player with impressive athletic ability and an explosiveness that should overwhelm slower offensive tackles more times than not. But I’ve also liked the pickup of Marcel Paul from Cass Tech in Detroit Michigan. Not only is it a good thing that Cincinnati’s broken into the de facto feeder school of Michigan and Michigan State but the Bearcats snagged a player with true upside. In a run-heavy system at Cass Tech, Paul finished his junior season with 101 receiving yards (3rd on the team) and led his team in touchdowns.
As we head into football season the scholarship offers and verbals should be slowing down. Cincinnati does most of its damage over the Summer when they host a slew of camps, bringing in hundreds of high school prospects from across the country, and providing the coaches to evaluate them with their own eyes.
The Fall is for the locking down those handful of recruits who haven’t yet made up their mind. With UC’s class 5-7 players away from completion, you can expect Tuberville and his coaches to only accept commitments from players near the top of their recruiting board. That means the quality of this class, already solid at this point, will only improve.
Among those areas that still need to be addressed, linebacker has got to be top of mind for Tuberville. Mason’s Ty Sponseller is in the fold, at least for now, but UC graduates four seniors at this position following the upcoming season. Another three could be seniors by the time linebackers like Sponseller finally arrive on campus. Including him, there will only be five total players at this position during that season in 2016. Of course this doesn’t account for players moving from other positions like safety and filling the ranks that way but to be safe Cincinnati should probably add another linebacker in this cycle.
Additionally, another couple of wide receivers would certainly help fill the void that six seniors are leaving after this season. Andrew Parchment and Marcel Paul have committed to become Bearcats and Gerrid Doaks can certainly line up outside but UC is going to get mighty short on guys to catch footballs really soon if the coaches don’t add one or two more recruits in this class.