Cincinnati Bearcats

Over the course of the 2013 regular season, Cincinnati was a tough all-around competitor, especially in conference matchups, and won 10 of their 12 games. The Bearcats had earned a bowl game bid against North Carolina, but could not come out victorious. They nearly earned a conference title bid previous to the bowl game, but then 15th ranked Louisville stood in there way, defeated them, and shut them out from a shot at the tile, which Louisville then played against Central Florida. The conclusion to Cincinnati’s 2013 campaign was not ideal, though, as a whole, the season was a success.

Despite the overall success, in a sense, the final product of the season was a let down. Cincinnati had the most efficient and productive offense in the conference, as well as the second ranked defense. Although, oddly enough, something did not click in major conference games against USF and, more importantly, Louisville. As dominant as they were on both sides, relative to the conference, that is, it is a tragedy that Cincinnati did not have quite the overall success to follow that. That said, 2013 was an impressive season.

Top Newcomers

Chris Murphy, Cornerback: Athletically, Murphy may be a bit limited, but his vision and awareness of where the ball is will make him a scary defensive back to throw at. Murphy is the ideal zone cornerback.

Kevin Mouhon, Inside Linebacker: Mouhon is a powerful, yet fairly rangy and aware linebacker. He can deliver a stunning hit to a running back trying to get through the A-gap, then brilliantly defend a pass on the next play.

Top Returning Players

Hosey Williams, Running Back: Though his size is not ideal at 5’9” and 200 pounds, he is a powerful runner that runs with a low center of gravity. Oddly enough, he did not even get the most carries on the team last season. Granted, the margin was not large, but still. This season, expect Williams to get more responsibility and prove his worth.

Zach Edwards, Safety: Despite being just a freshman, Edwards was the second best, if not the best, player on Cincinnati’s defense last season. While his stats are impressive last season, it is not about what he did last season, but what he is about to do.

Position Breakdown

Quarterback: Much of what Cincinnati will be able to achieve hinges on Gunner Kiel’s shoulders. Although, Kiel has yet to throw a single collegiate pass. He will be entering his redshirt sophomore season after having been a star recruit that lost hype after switching schools multiple times. The raw talent is certainly there, but Kiel remains to be an unknown.

Running Back: As stated, Williams will see more carries than he did last season and become more of the feature back than Ralph Abernathy IV. For both players, that is the best situation considering that Abernathy IV does not have the talent to be a full time back.

Wide Receiver: Though the loss of Anthony McClung will not be an easy fix, but his production can be replaced. That sounds as if the problem is solved, but really, the production is being spread out to more players, yet their is no No.1. Chris Moore, the team’s third leading receiver, will step into a bigger role, while Shaq Washington continues to do what he did last season and Mekale McKay steps into a starting role.

Tight End: Just two years ago, Cincinnati had one of the best tight ends in the nation in Travis Kelce. Now, they will be relying on freshman Tyler Cogswell. While he could certainly replicate Blake Annen’s production, he will not be a Kelce type.

Offensive Tackle: Left tackle Eric Lefeld will be back as the blind side protector. Luckily, he was the best player on Cincinnati’s line. On the other edge will be Cory Keebler, who was the next-man-up last season if anyone had gone down.

Offensive Guard: Kevin Schloemer will be filling in at left guard, but he has yet to be anything more than a depth player in his previous three years. To a surprise, former right tackle Parker Ehringer is moving to right guard, seeing as that may be his better fit.

Center: Deyshawn Bond, who was a shock to play last season, will step into a full time role as the core of the Bearcats offensive line. with two new players at guard, he will be taking on a ton of responsibility.

Defensive End: No other defensive lineman was as disruptive as Silverberry Mouhon, who is the brother of soon-to-be freshman linebacker Kevin Mouhon. As just a sophomore, he pumped out 9.5 sacks in 2013, and an increase to that number in 2013 would not be shocking. Terrell Hartsfield will be the end opposite of him, but do not expect near the same production.

Defensive Tackle: Losing Jordan Stepp is going to be one of the defenses toughest fixes. Both defensive tackles will be first year starters for Cincinnati. Camaron Beard and Allonce Hakeem, who are both upper classmen that have yet to prove much, will be stepping into key roles.

Linebacker: In replace of Greg Blair, Kevin Mouhon will be starting as a freshman. The notion of doing so is typically heeded with caution,  but Mouhon will be a capable player. Alongside him will be Jeff Luc and Nick Temple, who was the team’s second leading tackler behind Blair.

Defensive Back: Cincinnati’s young pair of safeties in Edwards and Mike Tyson (no, not that Mike Tyson) will be the best safety duo in the conference. Edwards is a menacing strong safety while Tyson flashed wonderful coverage ability last season, though he was not a starter. On the boundaries, Howard Wilder and Adrian Witty are being promoted to starting roles, but a duo of new cornerbacks will be unreliable. Though the talent may be there, three new starters will cause issues.

Biggest Strength

Though they will only be two players of 22, the Mouhon brothers will be a “lite” version of what Ole Miss has with their Nkemdiche brothers. Silverberry Mouhon will be a threat off the edge, forcing the quarterback to panic and throw up a prayer, that is if he can get the ball out at all. Meanwhile, Kevin Mouhon will be poaching- waiting for those poor throws to happen. Also, Kevin will be a key piece to the run defense seeing that the interior defensive line will be shaky. Thankfully, Kevin has the range and strength to handle such responsibilities.

Biggest Weakness

The Bearcats passing offense is a huge unknown. Most importantly, a new quarterback, Kiel, leaves room for a ton of concern, especially considering his questionable history. The quarterback situation alone makes the passing offense a mystery. Although, on top of that, they lost their top receiver and the second leading receiver does not have the size or skill set to be a true No.1. As if things could not get worse, there will not be much of a tight end threat in Cogswell.