Cincy on the Prowl
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Ross Trail Is The Future at QB For Bearcats Football

By Bearcat Jones

Oct 16, 2015; Provo, UT, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Hayden Moore (8) recovers his own fumble against the Brigham Young Cougars in the fourth quarter at Lavell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 16, 2015; Provo, UT, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Hayden Moore (8) recovers his own fumble against the Brigham Young Cougars in the fourth quarter at Lavell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /
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With UC’s other quarterbacks turning the ball over at an alarming rate, the redshirt freshman is firmly in the race for playing time this Fall.

On paper, the Cincinnati Bearcats are set at quarterback this Fall.  UC returns fifth-year senior Gunner Kiel, as well as sophomore Hayden Moore, who stepped in to make 3 starts and 5 relief appearances in place of a battered Kiel in 2015.  Despite Tommy Tuberville saying that the QB job is wide open, I would anticipate that Kiel will be the starter for UC in as many games as he can be healthy for.  And I have no problem with that – Kiel has tons of talent, experience, and has shown flashes of brilliance during his time with the Bearcats.  But then there are times when he makes decisions with the ball that leave everyone shaking their heads.  Gunner definitely has a little Brett Favre gunslinger in him, and turns the ball over far too much for a veteran quarterback.  Can he be more consistent (in both health and play) in 2016?  We shall see, but I see Kiel as the best option at QB to start the season.

The question becomes, what happens when Kiel has to leave a game?  Let’s be honest, you and I both know that there’s a 99.9% chance it’s going to happen.  The guy has been absolutely beaten up over the last two years, and has missed a lot of time because of it.  I certainly hope that Gunner can make 14 starts in his senior season for the Bearcats and lead the team to an AAC title, but given his health issues, it seems unlikely.  He missed basically all of Spring ball with a shoulder injury, adding even more question marks to his durability.

Hayden Moore’s arm strength and ability to accurately throw the deep ball impressed me in 2015, but like Kiel, Moore was extremely careless with the ball.  He threw more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (9) last year, and fumbled 8 times, losing 4.  That’s 15 turnovers in 8 games.  You can’t win with your QB turning the ball over twice a game – you just can’t.  Look, Moore was a Freshman last year, and who knows – maybe he turns the corner, too.  But I’m not counting on it.  He tossed another two picks in the Spring Game, and completed just 7 of 18 passes.

Ross Trail has much more to bring to the table as UC’s #2 quarterback than Moore.  Trail was a much more highly-touted high school prospect (rated 4-stars by some sites), has prototypical size, still has four years of eligibility remaining, and vastly outperformed Moore in the Spring game (including leading two TD drives while Moore threw an interception in the red zone).  While unproven, Trail’s upside is tremendous, and Moore has displayed the same inconsistency and poor decision making that has stopped Gunner Kiel from becoming a superstar.

Trail absolutely has to be the guy if Kiel goes down.  If UC football has proven anything, it’s that high school star ratings are meaningless as it pertains to whether or not a player will pan out on the field.  Several 2-star recruits have gone on to become Bearcat legends and play in the NFL.  But Trail is too highly regarded of a prospect not to get a shot to play as the #2 quarterback.  UC just doesn’t get 4-star quarterbacks, so letting one sit behind Hayden Moore for potentially three of his four remaining years would be a waste of talent.  Trail quarterbacked the scout team last year while he red-shirted, and thus got experience going against UC’s first team defense in practice.  While that’s far from the game experience that Moore got last year, it counts for something, and makes Trail ready to step onto the field in 2016.