TicketsSIGNING CLASS RELEASE | SIGNING DAY PAGE
By Bill Koch
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI – A year ago at this time, when Luke Fickell was just 11 days into his tenure as the University of Cincinnati's football coach, he and his staff were scrambling to assemble a recruiting class in a short period of time.
Fast forward to Thursday when Fickell stepped behind a podium in the Lindner Center's Bob Goin Team Room, he presented a 2018 class that has been ranked No. 46 nationally by 247Sports, No. 47 by Rivals, which also ranked the class No. 1 in the American Athletic Conference and No. 1 among all Group of Five conferences. According to UC's sports information department, it's the highest-ranked class in UC history.
"If they're going to keep track and they're going to rank them, then we want to win," Fickell said. "This was our first real opportunity. Last year we had basically three or four weeks, maybe five weeks to kind of prepare a class. A third of our class last year were guys that were already committed. This is the first full year of recruiting."
The NCAA instituted an early signing period this year that allowed high school recruits to sign in December instead of waiting for the traditional signing date during the second week of February.
"I love it," Fickell said. "I think it's really, really good. For us, because of the way recruit and get on guys early, we build those relationships. We're true to what we're doing. We don't want guys to waver. I think it clarifies a lot of things for the kids, a little bit for us too."
Fickell credited linebacker Ty Van Fossen and defensive lineman Blake Bacevich for setting the tone for the class with early commitments, followed by defensive lineman Malik Vann and tight end Josh Whyle, who, he said, "really took it over the top."
"They're the guys that really stepped out from the comfort zone and what a lot of people would say with the opinions of where they should go," Fickell said. "They were two guys who had an opportunity to go just about anywhere they'd like and they stood tall. They wanted to stay home and believed in what we're doing and where we're headed. That took us a long way. That was probably the catalyst to really motivate and move this class to where we are right now."
Van Fossen, a from Fickell's alma mater of Columbus St. Francis De Sales High School, is a 3-star prospect and first-team Division III All-Ohio selection. Bacevich is a 3-star prospect from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati.
Whyle, from Cincinnati's La Salle High School, and Vann, from Fairfield High School in Ohio, are considered the top two prospects in the class. Whyle picked UC over Auburn, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee and Wisconsin. Vann had offers from Alabama, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Oklahoma.
"There's six guys from the state of Cincinnati, the 50-mile radius that we're excited about," Fickell said, "and a bunch of guys from incredible programs. Yes, it's about rankings and where all these guys are, but it's not about who are the best ones, it's about who are the right ones. We have six guys coming in here with state titles under their belts, not just this past year but in their high school career. Winning is a habit. We want to bring that in our program. We want to be about that."
Fickell said UC's 4-8 record in his first year as head coach was not a detriment in recruiting.
"The record wasn't great," Fickell said. "It's not something we shy away from. But there's other things that these guys are looking for. They also believe that maybe that gives me a better opportunity to come in and play right away."
As an example, Fickell pointed to tight end Dylan O'Quinn from Millbury, Ohio, who visited the weekend in early October that UCF pounded the Bearcats, 51-23, at Nippert Stadium in a game that was shortened by rain, but still committed to the Bearcats.
"If you were here for the UCF game and committed afterwards, you've got to be able to believe in us," Fickell said. "He obviously saw some things that he really wanted to see."
UC signed one quarterback, Ben Bryant, from La Grange, Ill., who was rated a 4-star prospect by ESPN.com and the No. 6 player in Illinois.
"We got Ben early on," Fickell said, "maybe in the summer. After we got into the season, I kept challenging our recruiting department to keep watching these guys, watch them through their senior year. See what else is out there. Who knows what's going to happen? The great thing about Ben was that they watched his entire senior year and they continued to look around the country, and they said, there's not a better quarterback out there."
One of the goals in signing this class, Fickell said, was to add athleticism.
"If you really look at it, there's a lot of guys that probably should be listed as athletes, a lot of guys that played quarterback in high school," Fickell said. "You're going to continue to see that from us."
Running backs Charles McClelland and Ryan Montgomery, he said, "add a little bit of versatility. They're not the bigger, thicker guys like Mike Warren and Gerrid Doaks. Even some of the DBs and wide receivers, those are guys that played some quarterback in high school."
One of the more intriguing players in the class is Loren Metz, a 6-foot-9, 276-pound defensive end from Kirchdorf am Inn, Germany, who reportedly has run a 4.8-second 40.
The success the Bearcats had in tapping into some of the top local talent, Fickell said, "shows us that we're doing things the right way, that we're recruiting the right way. We're going to pay the most attention to this 50-mile radius. It doesn't matter who's offered those guys within 50 miles. In recruiting in general, you've got to find out where you want to spend your time. You don't want to spend your time spinning your tires and wasting an incredible amount of time on something that might not be realistic. But we truly believe it's not time wasted within this 50-mile radius."
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.
By Bill Koch
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI – A year ago at this time, when Luke Fickell was just 11 days into his tenure as the University of Cincinnati's football coach, he and his staff were scrambling to assemble a recruiting class in a short period of time.
Fast forward to Thursday when Fickell stepped behind a podium in the Lindner Center's Bob Goin Team Room, he presented a 2018 class that has been ranked No. 46 nationally by 247Sports, No. 47 by Rivals, which also ranked the class No. 1 in the American Athletic Conference and No. 1 among all Group of Five conferences. According to UC's sports information department, it's the highest-ranked class in UC history.
"If they're going to keep track and they're going to rank them, then we want to win," Fickell said. "This was our first real opportunity. Last year we had basically three or four weeks, maybe five weeks to kind of prepare a class. A third of our class last year were guys that were already committed. This is the first full year of recruiting."
The NCAA instituted an early signing period this year that allowed high school recruits to sign in December instead of waiting for the traditional signing date during the second week of February.
"I love it," Fickell said. "I think it's really, really good. For us, because of the way recruit and get on guys early, we build those relationships. We're true to what we're doing. We don't want guys to waver. I think it clarifies a lot of things for the kids, a little bit for us too."
Fickell credited linebacker Ty Van Fossen and defensive lineman Blake Bacevich for setting the tone for the class with early commitments, followed by defensive lineman Malik Vann and tight end Josh Whyle, who, he said, "really took it over the top."
"They're the guys that really stepped out from the comfort zone and what a lot of people would say with the opinions of where they should go," Fickell said. "They were two guys who had an opportunity to go just about anywhere they'd like and they stood tall. They wanted to stay home and believed in what we're doing and where we're headed. That took us a long way. That was probably the catalyst to really motivate and move this class to where we are right now."
Van Fossen, a from Fickell's alma mater of Columbus St. Francis De Sales High School, is a 3-star prospect and first-team Division III All-Ohio selection. Bacevich is a 3-star prospect from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati.
Whyle, from Cincinnati's La Salle High School, and Vann, from Fairfield High School in Ohio, are considered the top two prospects in the class. Whyle picked UC over Auburn, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee and Wisconsin. Vann had offers from Alabama, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Oklahoma.
"There's six guys from the state of Cincinnati, the 50-mile radius that we're excited about," Fickell said, "and a bunch of guys from incredible programs. Yes, it's about rankings and where all these guys are, but it's not about who are the best ones, it's about who are the right ones. We have six guys coming in here with state titles under their belts, not just this past year but in their high school career. Winning is a habit. We want to bring that in our program. We want to be about that."
Fickell said UC's 4-8 record in his first year as head coach was not a detriment in recruiting.
"The record wasn't great," Fickell said. "It's not something we shy away from. But there's other things that these guys are looking for. They also believe that maybe that gives me a better opportunity to come in and play right away."
As an example, Fickell pointed to tight end Dylan O'Quinn from Millbury, Ohio, who visited the weekend in early October that UCF pounded the Bearcats, 51-23, at Nippert Stadium in a game that was shortened by rain, but still committed to the Bearcats.
"If you were here for the UCF game and committed afterwards, you've got to be able to believe in us," Fickell said. "He obviously saw some things that he really wanted to see."
UC signed one quarterback, Ben Bryant, from La Grange, Ill., who was rated a 4-star prospect by ESPN.com and the No. 6 player in Illinois.
"We got Ben early on," Fickell said, "maybe in the summer. After we got into the season, I kept challenging our recruiting department to keep watching these guys, watch them through their senior year. See what else is out there. Who knows what's going to happen? The great thing about Ben was that they watched his entire senior year and they continued to look around the country, and they said, there's not a better quarterback out there."
One of the goals in signing this class, Fickell said, was to add athleticism.
"If you really look at it, there's a lot of guys that probably should be listed as athletes, a lot of guys that played quarterback in high school," Fickell said. "You're going to continue to see that from us."
Running backs Charles McClelland and Ryan Montgomery, he said, "add a little bit of versatility. They're not the bigger, thicker guys like Mike Warren and Gerrid Doaks. Even some of the DBs and wide receivers, those are guys that played some quarterback in high school."
One of the more intriguing players in the class is Loren Metz, a 6-foot-9, 276-pound defensive end from Kirchdorf am Inn, Germany, who reportedly has run a 4.8-second 40.
The success the Bearcats had in tapping into some of the top local talent, Fickell said, "shows us that we're doing things the right way, that we're recruiting the right way. We're going to pay the most attention to this 50-mile radius. It doesn't matter who's offered those guys within 50 miles. In recruiting in general, you've got to find out where you want to spend your time. You don't want to spend your time spinning your tires and wasting an incredible amount of time on something that might not be realistic. But we truly believe it's not time wasted within this 50-mile radius."
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.