Top Three Positions To Watch Heading Into UC Spring Football 2023

The Bearcats have plenty of new faces at the start of a new spring cycle.

CINCINNATI — The warm weather is approaching, and that means it's time for UC football's Spring Period. Things look a lot different compared to last year as the Bearcats face turnover all over the roster and on it's coaching staff.

Luke Fickell is out, and Scott Satterfield is in as the former Louisville coach makes his mark on the Cincinnati program. He and his staff have plenty of positions to figure out before the regular season kicks off in a few months.

Now, that work begins. Let's take a look at the three most intriguing position battles heading into spring ball next week.

Quarterback

The Cincinnati QB room is chock full right now, with five scholarship players vying for playing time. Arizona State transfer Emory Jones is the heavy favorite to win the starting job, which goes without saying.

It's just like last year—veteran QBs don't transfer somewhere not to start. He struggled mightily in a wonky ASU offense, but has shown strong flashes of talent at Florida in a tougher league than the Big 12.

Jones will have to win the job of course, but given all of the turnover, starting a veteran with multiple years of Power Five experience makes a ton of sense in Satterfield's first year. In my eyes, Jones would have to be pretty lackluster, or one of the young players would have to take a big leap for him not to start against Eastern Kentucky.

Behind Jones, Ben Bryant is not fully healthy as he recovers from foot surgery. His status will be a huge storyline in the opening weeks. Does he progress faster and really push Jones? Or does he take longer than expected to get healthy and miss his chance?

Bryant is a question mark, as is Evan Prater. The highly-ranked recruit was flat-out terrible in his two starts last season. His improvement from that nadir will decide his chance in this race. I'd be a little shocked if anyone else contends for the job.

Brady Drogosh has a ton of talent and was a major priority for this staff, but he'd have to wow everyone as a true freshman to start. Brady Lichtenberg is someone I am very interested to check out. He's put in a ton of extra night-throwing work this offseason with freshman Ty Perkins.

Lichtenberg has the work ethic, but does he have the all-around talent to match? We'll start to get answers in a few days.

Offensive Line

The major strength of last year's offense heading into the season is now just another conundrum on the roster. We know one starter is pretty much locked in. Gavin Gerhardt started all of 2022 at center and will likely man one of those three interior spots.

All-Ivy League Penn transfer Trevor Radosevic is expected to lock down the center spot, but he played very well at right tackle last year and could be more useful outside at 6-foot-4, 290 pounds. Tying up the interior, It seems like Gerhardt will flash to left guard, Radosevic at center, and Louisville transfer Luke Kandra at right guard.

The Cincinnati native started two games at right guard for Louisville last year. Anyone else starting there would be a surprise unless his play falls off a cliff.

On the outside, Radosevic could mix in at right tackle, but I'd expect new WWE NIL member Cam Jones to take control of that spot. The redshirt senior has slowly developed into a starting-level talent after appearing in nine games last year. 

Opposite him is the most intriguing trench battle.

John Williams or Southeast Missouri transfer Philip Wilder? That's the big question at left tackle. Williams has been with the program for three years, starting the first three games of the year in 2021. Wilder started two games last year in a topsy-turvy year after starting seven games in 2021.

Whoever can acclimate to the system faster should have a leg up once the Spring game rolls around.

Secondary Roles

The back end of the UC's defense is the biggest mystery for that unit heading into spring.

One safety spot should be locked down by Bryon Threats. Next to him, it could be Armorion Smith, Jacob Dingle, Cincear Lewis, or Isiah Cox. One wild card? Deshawn Pace.

I expect Bryan Brown and the defensive staff to use Pace like a roving chess piece all season, and that could involve some snaps at safety.

Two transfers add their talents to the cornerback room: Jordan Young from Florida and D.J. Taylor out of Arizona State.

The former should be a Day-One replacement for Arquon Bush on the outside. Young appeared in 10 games for the Gators last season, finishing with 10 tackles, a pass breakup, and a blocked kick. He has three years of eligibility, with the potential to be a long-term answer.

Taylor will likely mix in at nickel cornerback with Taj Ward and expect him to be the early leader for return duties. He returned 42 kicks and 22 punts at ASU, including a 2020 season where he averaged 34.9 yards per return.

The other outside cornerback spot is up for grabs with three names and maybe more involved. Redshirt juniors Sammy Anderson and Todd Bumphis deserve a shot. Younger players like Malik Rainey and Ken Willis could get involved as well.

All Bearcats will have you covered on all of the key position battles throughout Spring Football.

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