TicketsBy Bill Koch
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI – One of the biggest questions surrounding the University of Cincinnati defense this season was how the Bearcats would replace prolific tackler Eric Wilson at middle linebacker.
Wilson, who now plays for the NFL Minnesota Vikings, was a first-team all-American Athletic Conference selection last season when he led the league in tackles with 10.8 per game, which ranked fifth nationally. He was also one of the spiritual leaders of the defense.
Now it's Jaylyin Minor's turn to fill those roles. He's off to a promising start.
Except for some cramping in his first start at Wilson's old position last week in the season opener against Austin Peay, Minor was happy with the way he played. He was credited with 10 tackles and recovered a fumble in the Bearcats' 26-14 victory at Nippert Stadium.
"Jaylyin played well," said UC coach Luke Fickell. "He really did. The stats showed he had a lot of tackles, but I think he had even more tackles than what the official stats might have had him for. And he provided leadership. That's one of the things when you say what did you learn about your team, we've got leaders. We've got guys that understand what leadership is about, the ability to make others around you better, the ability to handle those tougher situations, to not show panic and continue to fight. I think Jaylyin did as a good a job as I would have expected."
The ability not to panic could come in handy this week on the road against No. 8 Michigan in front of a crowd of more than 100,000, most of them expecting their Wolverines to roll to an easy win over an unranked opponent playing its first road game under a new head coach.
"I have to be that guy that when things are going wrong I've got to keep all the guys on the same page and keep things positive in case we have a busted play," Minor said. "You've got to go to the next play. You've got to keep going, got to keep it rolling, keep going forward and learn how to handle adversity. Every play is effort and attitude. That's one of our core values here. No matter what, whether you're tired, you're hurt, you've got to go all out and give it everything."
This will be Minor's first chance as a starter to put his game on display on national television against one of the traditional blue bloods of college football. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Minor relishes the chance to play on such a big stage and thrives on the fact that few expect the Bearcats to have a chance to win.
"I love being the underdog no matter what," Minor said. "It just gives you that much more fire when it comes down to playing. It's another game. Everybody says it's a big game. I'm taking it just like I took Austin Peay. It's another team we're playing, no different from any other team that we've played in the past or that we're gonna play in the future."
Michigan gained 433 yards last week in its 33-17 win over Florida, chewing up 215 yards on the ground and recording 19 first downs to just nine for the Gators. The Wolverines held the ball for 34:13 to Florida's 25:31. Those aren't encouraging stats for a UC defense that had trouble getting off the field against Austin Peay, which had the ball for 15 more minutes than the Bearcats did.
But Minor says the UC defense will be ready.
"They run a lot of different formations," Minor said. "We've been watching a lot of film to be ready. We have to win the match across from us, that's all that really matters when it comes down to it."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January, 2015.
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI – One of the biggest questions surrounding the University of Cincinnati defense this season was how the Bearcats would replace prolific tackler Eric Wilson at middle linebacker.
Wilson, who now plays for the NFL Minnesota Vikings, was a first-team all-American Athletic Conference selection last season when he led the league in tackles with 10.8 per game, which ranked fifth nationally. He was also one of the spiritual leaders of the defense.
Now it's Jaylyin Minor's turn to fill those roles. He's off to a promising start.
Except for some cramping in his first start at Wilson's old position last week in the season opener against Austin Peay, Minor was happy with the way he played. He was credited with 10 tackles and recovered a fumble in the Bearcats' 26-14 victory at Nippert Stadium.
"Jaylyin played well," said UC coach Luke Fickell. "He really did. The stats showed he had a lot of tackles, but I think he had even more tackles than what the official stats might have had him for. And he provided leadership. That's one of the things when you say what did you learn about your team, we've got leaders. We've got guys that understand what leadership is about, the ability to make others around you better, the ability to handle those tougher situations, to not show panic and continue to fight. I think Jaylyin did as a good a job as I would have expected."
The ability not to panic could come in handy this week on the road against No. 8 Michigan in front of a crowd of more than 100,000, most of them expecting their Wolverines to roll to an easy win over an unranked opponent playing its first road game under a new head coach.
"I have to be that guy that when things are going wrong I've got to keep all the guys on the same page and keep things positive in case we have a busted play," Minor said. "You've got to go to the next play. You've got to keep going, got to keep it rolling, keep going forward and learn how to handle adversity. Every play is effort and attitude. That's one of our core values here. No matter what, whether you're tired, you're hurt, you've got to go all out and give it everything."
This will be Minor's first chance as a starter to put his game on display on national television against one of the traditional blue bloods of college football. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Minor relishes the chance to play on such a big stage and thrives on the fact that few expect the Bearcats to have a chance to win.
"I love being the underdog no matter what," Minor said. "It just gives you that much more fire when it comes down to playing. It's another game. Everybody says it's a big game. I'm taking it just like I took Austin Peay. It's another team we're playing, no different from any other team that we've played in the past or that we're gonna play in the future."
Michigan gained 433 yards last week in its 33-17 win over Florida, chewing up 215 yards on the ground and recording 19 first downs to just nine for the Gators. The Wolverines held the ball for 34:13 to Florida's 25:31. Those aren't encouraging stats for a UC defense that had trouble getting off the field against Austin Peay, which had the ball for 15 more minutes than the Bearcats did.
But Minor says the UC defense will be ready.
"They run a lot of different formations," Minor said. "We've been watching a lot of film to be ready. We have to win the match across from us, that's all that really matters when it comes down to it."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January, 2015.