Cincy on the Prowl
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Cincinnati Football: Bearcats boost 2023 class with six verbal commits

By Charles Post

Cincinnati Bearcats react after a turnover during a game against the Georgia Bulldogs. Getty Images.
Cincinnati Bearcats react after a turnover during a game against the Georgia Bulldogs. Getty Images. /
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Luke Fickell and the Cincinnati coaching staff continued to make noise on the recruiting trail with an impressive run today, picking up six verbal commits this weekend from defensive backs Daeh McCullough and Jonas Duclona, running back Manny Covey, and offensive tackles Joshua Gregory, James Jenkins and Nick Oliveira.

According to 247 Sports, the Bearcats 2023 recruiting class is now ranked 11th in the country and are on the heels of USC after recently surpassing Baylor, Iowa, Oregon and others. Khamari Anderson, Trevor Carter, Brady Drogosh, Braedyn Moore and others make up an intriguing class that is hoping to add more commits in the coming days.

Cincinnati Football: Bearcats boost 2023 class with six verbal commits

McCullough became the second highest ranked recruit in school history with a commitment alongside family on his birthday. The 4-star safety from South Bend chose Cincinnati after decommiting from Indiana, where both his older brothers play. Their father left the Hoosiers to become running backs coach at Notre Dame this year.

Joshua Gregory, a 3-star offensive tackle from Saint Louis, joined the party with an announcement just moments later. The 6’7, 270-pound tackle earned an offer from Cincinnati in late May and made a commitment on June 4 during his official visit. Gregory was also heavily considering Minnesota and Northwestern.

Over the next couple hours, a trio of Florida products picked the Bearcats as Jenkins, Covey and Duclona were in town for visits as well. Jenkins is a 6’5, 270-pound tackle from Tampa that has offers from Miami, Ole Miss, Penn State, Purdue and more. Covey is a 5’11 running back that is also planning to visit Iowa State and Minnesota this month.

Duclona wrapped up the dominant Saturday as the 3-star cornerback from Naples visited Clifton for the second time in two weeks. The Bearcats continued to climb the rankings on Sunday afternoon with another verbal commitment from Oliveira, a 6’5 offensive tackle from New Jersey that talked to me about his decision and visit this weekend.