Cincinnati Football: Reese’s Senior Bowl watch list includes eight Bearcats

As the regular season kicks off for some teams this weekend, the annual Reese’s Senior Bowl watch list was revealed on Wednesday afternoon featuring eight Bearcats, headlined by defensive standouts Arquon Bush, Jowon Briggs and Ja’von Hicks.

In addition to three veteran defenders, the Bearcats offense had five players mentioned on the watch list including wide receiver Tre Tucker, quarterback Ben Bryant, right guard Lorenz Metz, and both tight ends in Josh Whyle and Leonard Taylor.

After having six representatives appear in the most recent Senior Bowl in February, the Bearcats are hoping to build on that success and having eight players included on the preseason watch list is a great indicator of where the program is headed.

Only seven schools in the country had more players than Cincinnati on the Senior Bowl watch list. There are four teams with double digit players including Alabama, LSU, Kentucky and NC State. Florida State, Michigan and Ole Miss each have nine.

Cincinnati Football: Reese’s Senior Bowl watch list includes eight Bearcats

The 74th Reese’s Senior Bowl is scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 4, 2023 at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama as the nation’s best seniors compete prior to the 2023 NFL Draft. The game will be televised on NFL Network.

We’ll see how many Bearcats actually end up in the Senior Bowl but several players have a great chance to stay in the discussion. If Metz and Whyle are able to repeat as All-AAC honorees, they would likely lock up a spot in the Senior Bowl as well.

All three aforementioned defensive players are expected to take over bigger roles this season so that will give them an opportunity to earn national recognition as their career comes to an end. The same can be said for Bryant, Taylor and Tucker.

The Bearcats that played in the Senior Bowl last season included Darrian Beavers, Coby Bryant, Jerome Ford, Alec Pierce, Desmond Ridder and Myjai Sanders. Ridder totaled 80 yards and two touchdowns as the National Team clinched a 20-10 win.