Huge news out of Bearcats pre-game camp is that Deven Drane will start at cornerback. He has apparently impressed Coach Jones and Kerry Coombs enough to warrant the starting role. Drane saw some playing time last season as a true freshman but by all indications it seemed like the two starting cornerback jobs would go to a combination of Cam Cheatham, Rueben Johnson, or Dominique Battle. With Battle recovering from a season ending knee injury, I fully expected the jobs to be won by Cheatham and Johnson. Drane, Demitri Beal, and Adrian Witty would be rotated in as backups. Battle would probably need a few games to get up to speed but I thought he would retain his role quickly. This move for Drane to the starting role could also be because Johnson had some minor foot injuries near the end of fall camp and might not fully be recovered.
Regardless of the reason, this shows how highly the coaching staff thinks of Drane who as a true sophomore only has a small amount of snaps under his belt, at least compared to his competition. Cornerbacks are also left on an island quite a bit, especially in man coverage, so they have to have the confidence to stick to their man and mentally rebound whenever they get beat. It seems like Drane is mature enough to handle both the physical and mental aspects of the position on the college level. If this move ends up upgrading the secondary, I’m all for it and if Drane lives up to his expectations could give Cincinnati a lockdown corner for the next three years.