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In college football recruiting is a non-stop grind. Typically when signing day comes around on February 2nd of every year, college coaches have already filled out their recruiting boards for the following years’ class. For Cincinnati, since the hiring of Coach Butch Jones, the Bearcats’ recruiting classes have grown more talented and been filled out earlier and earlier each year. It’s only midway through October and UC boasts 20 verbal commitments. So for the most part the Bearcats are just about finished recruiting for the 2012 class but there are some holes to fill, particularly at linebacker and on the offensive line. The future of the latter got a bit brighter with the fact that Ryan Leahy, a defensive end/tackle at LaSalle high school, has moved to offensive tackle for his senior season. In addition, the Bearcats also have verbals from guard Deyshawn Bond and tackle Kyle Williamson. Not to mention Ohio State transfer Sam Longo will be available to play next season so you can basically count him a member of the 2012 class.
However, linebacker is still a concern as there is a noticable gap between the upperclassmen (Schaffer, Pooler, Bomar) and the newbies (Temple, Jackson, Tentman, etc.). You can thank Brian Kelly’s 2009 class for that. Anyways, it’s important that the Bearcats still add a couple of these guys to the 2012 class to help build the future at this position. Currently, Cincinnati has verbals from Errol Clarke, Lester Liston Jr., and John Law. These are all very fine additions but snagging, in particular, McClain and Bynum (see below) would put this class over the top.
Thankfully Butch Jones is a terrific recruiter and has scheduled a number of prospects to visit during the Louisville game. Just take a look at this impressive list of visitors among others:
- Alton Howard (WR) – 4*, 43rd ranked WR from Orlando, FL
- Ey’Shawn McClain (OLB) – 3*, 23rd ranked LB from Gainesville, FL
- Kenneth Bynum (OLB) – 3*, 65th ranked LB from Gainesville, FL (McClain’s teammate)
- Ti’on Green (ATH) – 3*, 44th ranked ATH from Altamonte Springs, FL
- Pedro Sibiea (DE) – 3*, also offered from Florida and from Homestead, FL
- Joey Jones (OLB) – 3*, teammate of Pedro Sibea
- Karl Joseph (S) – 3*, 28th ranked S from Orlando, FL
- Trenton Norvell (QB) – 3*, 27th ranked QB from Daytona Beach, FL (Marshall verbal)
That looks pretty good huh? Imagine if these guys strapped on the C-Paw helmet next fall? That’d be even better. In order to do that, it’s important for them to get a great first impression of the Cincinnati Bearcats fanbase as well as UC’s facilities. Coach Jones has those covered as he’s recently installed a nutrition bar as well as a players lounge. These recruits will also be impressed by the state of the art strength and conditioning facility, the medical rooms, the refurbished locker room, and the JASC practice fields.
But it’s equally important for fans to do their part this weekend. You can always count on University of Cincinnati students to do their part who have sold out the student section three years in a row and quite frankly need more places to sit. They are among the loudest fans in college football and are an imposing 12th man. I’m hoping the rest of the stadium fills out and is just as menacing as the students will be. Paul Brown Stadium seats upwards of 66,000 and the Oklahoma-UC game last season drew about 58,000. If the Louisville game can draw 50,000+, I’d be very happy and I’m sure the recruits above will be equally impressed with such a turnout.
Regardless of their experience at the actual game, I think these recruits will be very pleased when they finally see UC’s campus. Many times visiting prospects tend to come away extremely ‘wowed’ by the beauty of the campus and how top-notch the athletic facilities are. More importantly they seem to appreciate the family atmosphere of the staff. Remember, most of these kids are from Florida and probably don’t have a lick of family within 500 miles of Cincinnati. The Bearcats’ staff takes it upon themselves to make sure these recruits can view UC as a second home with the football team being their second family.
Overall, I think a few of these prospects, McClain and Bynum namely, could end up giving their verbal to Coach Jones when the weekend is up. Some of the members of the 2012 class will be enrolling early so overall the final number of signees next February will probably be around 27 or 28. With so few spots available, Cincinnati is in the position to only sign the best possible athletes available, further improving the quality and talent level of the incoming freshman. It’s a fantastic problem to have.