(Courtesy Boston Herald)
The first depth chart has been officially released by the Bearcats. Chances are this will look entirely different by the end of August than it does now as Cincinnati’s new staff gets a better feel for the players they’re coaching. However it is still extremely interesting to see where everyone stacks up before camp opens in a few days. There’s a lot to be excited about with the upcoming team but there’s still a number of questions surrounding specific positions. Some of those are answered in the full two-deep you can see after the jump.
Starters are listed first, backups are italicized.
[OFFENSE]
- Quarterback: Brendon Kay -or- Munchie Legaux, Bennie Coney
- Runningback: Ralph David Abernathy, Tion Green
- Fullback: Jared Golden, Deionte Buckley, Jordan Luallen
- Outside Receiver (X/Z): Alex Chisum, Max Morrison
- Outside Receiver (X/Z): Chris Moore, Nate Cole -or- Jeremy Graves
- Slot Receiver (Y): Anthony McClung, Shaq Washington
- Tight End: Blake Annen, DJ Dowdy
- Right Offensive Tackle: Parker Ehinger, Justin Murray
- Right Offensive Guard: Sam Longo, Andre Cureton
- Center: Dan Sprague, Deyshawn Bond
- Left Offensive Guard: Austen Bujnoch, Kevin Schloemer
- Left Offensive Tackle: Eric Lefeld, Corey Keebler
Analysis of Offensive Two-Deep
- The offensive line is exactly the same as last season. This position group should be the strongest unit on the team and the best OL in the AAC. Seeing all starters listed in their same slots as 2012 is extremely encouraging. Let’s hope they stay healthy!
- Brendon Kay and Munchie Legaux are separated by the infamous “-or-” statement on the two deep at QB-1. Nevermind that, and I can’t emphasize this enough, Brendon Kay is the starter. Brendon Kay is the starter. BRENDON KAY IS THE STARTER.
- Ralph David Abernathy is listed as the starting runningback with Tion Green backing him up. Like quarterback, this is misleading. RDAIV will line up all over the field, not just at runningback. Also, I fully believe Tion Green will be getting more carries from this position between the two of them over the course of the season.
- The starting wide receiver corps is a good mix of experienced vets and young-but-talented players with McClung, Chisum, and Moore filling out the X, Y, Z slots. As a cohesive unit, they are somewhat of an unknown but their ceiling is very high.
[DEFENSE]
- Right Defensive End: Jerrell Jordan -or- Brad Harrah
- Defensive Tackle: Mitch Meador, Brandon Mitchell
- Nose Guard: Jordan Stepp, Adam Dempsey
- Left Defensive End: Silverberry Mouhon, Josh Posley
- Strongside Linebacker (SAM): Nick Temple, Corey Mason
- Middle Linebacker (MIKE): Greg Blair, Solomon Tentman
- Weakside Linebacker (WILL): Jeff Luc, Clemente Casseus
- Field Corner: Deven Drane, Darren Dosten
- Nickelback: Adrian Witty, Zach Edwards
- Strong Safety: Andre Jones, Marcus Foster
- Free Safety: Arryn Chenault, Kevin Brown
- Boundary Corner: Trenier Orr -or- Leviticus Payne
Analysis of Defensive Two-Deep
- The linebacker corps is shaping up about how it was projected with Temple, Blair, and Luc assuming starting roles. Their backups aren’t too shabby either in players who have at least some in-game experience. Essentially the two-deep here lines up almost perfectly for the Bearcats.
- JUCO’s are popping up all over the depth chart on defense. Firstly, Jerrell Jordan is in a heated battled with Brad Harrah for one of the defensive end positions and Darren Dosten appears to be backing up Deven Drane at field corner. With these two areas in need of immediate depth heading into the 2013 season, it only makes sense that JUCO’s are showing up here.
- Cincinnati is crazy young at strong safety. With Drew Frey graduating it seems like at this juncture UC’s new staff has opted to make redshirt freshman Andre Jones a starter. Maybe that just shows how much upside the youngster from Colerain truly has.
- Adrian Witty taking over the starting nickelback role means bad news for opposing offenses. He can straight up lay the wood and isn’t too shabby in coverage either. He’ll fit in like a glove at nickelback.
- Marshall transfer Marques Aiken doesn’t show up anywhere on the two-deep at defensive tackle. I’m not sure what that means but hopefully he finds a place there this Fall.
[SPECIAL TEAMS]
- Long Snapper: Kirk Willis
- Holder: John Lloyd
- Place Kicker: Tony Miliano
- Kickoff Specialist: Tony Miliano
- Punter: John Lloyd
- Kickoff Returner: Ralph David Abernathy
- Punt Returner: Anthony McClung
Analysis of Special Teams Two-Deep
- The kickoff specialist role worries me with Pat O’Donnell having transferred to Miami (FL). Unless Tony Milano somehow gained the strength to boot the ball 5-10 yards deeper in 2013, this could be an area of weakness for the Bearcats. It certainly was last year when Pat O’Donnell was inexplicably sidelined against Toledo. This will definitely be something to keep an eye on this season.
- Also a side effect of O’Donnell leaving the program is John Lloyd sliding into the punter role. Good luck to you, CHCA grad!