Cincinnati Football: Player grades from Bearcats season-opening loss

In the season-opening loss last night, the Bearcats had several players make a significant impact. Some performances were more positive than others but there was an impact nonetheless. Here are a few player grades from the loss at Arkansas.

Cincinnati Football: Player grades from Bearcats season-opening loss

Ivan Pace Player Grade: A-

It’s hard not to be impressed with Pace’s intensity and persistence throughout the entire game. Even when Wil Huber exited with a minor injury, he was shifted to middle linebacker and continued to lead the defense and make plays all over the field.

Luke Fickell mentioned Pace’s impact in his postgame press conference via Cincinnati Athletics.

"“He’s an aggressive football player. We had to move him around a bit when Wil Huber went down early. I give him a lot of credit. He is a football guy with really good instincts. We’re going to find way to keep moving him around and giving him opportunities to make plays.”"

Pace provided a spark and helped keep the Bearcats within striking distance when the offense was sputtering. The Cincinnati native finished his debut with a team-high 12 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack that looked he shot out of a cannon.

Charles McClelland Player Grade: A-

Most of the offseason attention went to the other running backs as Corey Kiner came back home, Ryan Montgomery returned for his senior season and Myles Montgomery created buzz with an impressive camp but Charles McClelland can’t be ignored.

The redshirt senior running back was really good against Arkansas, creating several big plays on the ground and through the air. His presence became even more important when Ryan Montgomery left with an injury in the first half.

McClelland compiled 44 rushing yards on five carries for a team-best 8.8 yards per rush, along with four catches for 42 receiving yards as he tied Tre Tucker with the second most receptions on the team.

Tyler Scott Player Grade: B+

Even though the offense struggled to move the ball at times, it wasn’t because the receivers were out of sync. Eight players caught at least one pass including six players with 3+ receptions as Tyler Scott led the way with a team-high five catches for 77 yards.

In the first half, Scott made a nice move to shake his defender and was open for a touchdown but Ben Bryant overthrew him. The junior receiver burned the Razorbacks’ defense on multiple occasions and found a way to get open on a consistent basis.

A few weeks ago, Scott appeared on our five under the radar players to watch this season and he showed exactly why against Arkansas. As the offense continues to develop, Scott should get more and more opportunities to make an impact.

Ja’Quan Sheppard Player Grade: B+

Another defensive player that stood out on Saturday was senior cornerback Ja’Quan Sheppard. We mentioned him on our under the radar players to watch as well because of his quickness that was demonstrated versus the Razorbacks.

Sheppard used that elite speed to cover multiple positions and blitz from the secondary, racking up a team-high eight solo tackles, one tackle for loss and one sack. Immediately after Pace picked up a sack in the fourth quarter, Sheppard sprinted into the backfield for a huge hit on KJ Jefferson.

In addition to creating pressure, Sheppard had the only two pass deflections on the team and played well at boundary cornerback. There’s no doubt he’s going to continue to make a difference for the Bearcats moving forward.

Ben Bryant Player Grade: C+

There were several reasons why the Bearcats couldn’t overcome a slow start and upset the 19th ranked Razorbacks so Ben Bryant can’t get too much of the blame but a handful of errant throws and two turnovers were extremely detrimental.

The senior quarterback was put into a difficult situation and should bounce back next week as he continues to get more comfortable running the show. Bryant threw for 325 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on a 60.5% completion rate.

Fickell discussed Bryant’s performance in the press conference per Cincinnati Athletics.

"“I thought Ben did a good job. First games are tough as we know. I thought Ben was really poised and under control. Obviously the big turnover early in the first half and the strip sack but he took some shots and kept ticking. There’s going to be a great connection with that crew.”"