TicketsApril 8, 2006
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The University of Cincinnati football team had its first dress rehearsal of the year on Saturday in Nippert Stadium as the Bearcats battled in their first intrasquad scrimmage of the 2006 spring.
Both the offense and defense shined several times during the 115-play scrimmage, while several veteran players who were in backup roles a year ago, stood out individually for the Bearcats, who return 44 lettermen, including 17 starters from 2005.
"We need to protect the passer and run the ball better on offense, but we did make some plays down the field with our tight ends," said head coach Mark Dantonio. "Defensively, we played pretty well at the point of attack, but gave up some big plays that hurt us."
The offense was paced by junior quarterback Nick Davila, who completed 13 of 17 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown. He also threw an interception at the goal line late in the scrimmage. Davila, who served as the backup to redshirt freshman Dustin Grutza last year, impressed his head coach on Saturday.
"I think Nick Davila played real well. He looked comfortable and made some good reads out there," Dantonio explained. "At the same time, I thought Dustin got more comfortable as time went on and played well later in the scrimmage.
Grutza completed 7 of 13 passes for 125 yards with a TD and a INT. The top receiving targets on the day were freshman wide receiver Dominick Goodman, who caught five passes for 71 yards and a TD, and the trio of tight ends who combined for 10 catches and 152 yards receiving. Junior honors candidate Brent Celek (3-54), along with freshmen Kazeem Alli (4-54) and Connor Barwin (3-44) form a talented group of athletic tight ends.
Defensively, junior defensive lineman Tony Carvitti continues to excel this spring and was a dominant force on Saturday, collecting four quarterback sacks and two other tackles for loss. "Tony plays so hard and he is so smart. He is a winner who makes plays and has made himself a starter this spring," Dantonio said.
The defense, which played well against the run during the scrimmage, also got interceptions from sophomore outside linebacker Anthony Williams and sophomore free safety Haruki Nakamura.
Junior kicker Kevin Lovell was also solid on Saturday, converting on all four of his field goal attempts in game conditions, including a 43-yarder.
"Today will give us a good opportunity to continue evaluating where we are and how we need to get better," Dantonio added.
The Bearcats have two more weeks of spring practice before the annual Red-Black Spring game on Saturday, April 22 at 1 p.m.