TicketsAfter being named the AAC Rookie of the Year in 2018, University of Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder fought through nagging injuries to lead Cincinnati to its second consecutive 11-win season last year. His sophomore year ended on a high note as Ridder ran for 105 yards and three touchdowns and added a TD pass in UC's 38-6 win over Boston College in the Birmingham Bowl.
I recently spoke to the junior from Louisville, KY.
Des, when I look back at last year, you didn't have a huge year statistically, but the offensive line was inconsistent, you battled some shoulder issues, and you still led the team to an 11-2 record in the games that you started – including a dominant victory in the Birmingham Bowl where you were the MVP. How do you look back at last season?
I look back at last year as a great season for us all around. Like you said, we won 11 games including the big win over Boston College in the Birmingham Bowl. But as you know, it was really just another learning year. Looking back on it, there are a lot of areas where we can grow and get better on both sides of the ball. So really, it was just another year to get better. And now we're out here at Higher Ground getting ready for the season.
Football players don't like to discuss their injuries – especially during the season. What did you deal with last year and how did it affect your play?
In week two against Ohio State I got driven into the ground and took a hard hit on my shoulder. And there was another one against USF where it was almost like the same thing. So dealing with shoulder injuries – especially at my position – that's rough. But I played through it and I was still able to do everything I could do. If there ever was an injury where it was going to affect the team and it would have been better to put Ben (Bryant) in or somebody else, then we would have done that. When I was able to go, I thought that would be a positive for the team so I kept with it.
Is there a statistical category or anything else that you are focused on improving this year?
My completion percentage. I think my redshirt freshman year I was around 63%. Last year, I might have been around 58%. We have a goal for quarterbacks this year of 68% during camp. So we really want to be at 68 to 70% throughout the season.
That's big jump.
Yes sir. But it's very achievable with all of the weapons I have around me who can catch balls and make plays.
Des, you're out in the middle of the woods in Indiana. Camp Higher Ground is basically a bubble. Has that given the team a sense of normalcy?
A little bit. Just being able to get back to football. Being able to put the pads on and throw the football around a little bit. It gives people a sense of how it used to be. But we still have to wear our masks out here, stay socially distant, and use a lot of hand sanitizer. But other than that, we're just out here playing football.
There's been a dramatic turnover at wide receiver, You've got two high profile transfers and five freshmen in the mix. Do these guys need name tags at this point?
We're all good. We've kind of had everyone for the past four or five weeks and now we're all at camp. We're really working on making that connection that we didn't get to have over the summer because of covid restrictions. So we're really trying to make up for lost time so that we can get the feel for each other. But we're going to have great receivers on the outside this year.
I have not seen the two high profile transfers yet. Tell us about Michael Young from Notre Dame and Jordan Jones from Arkansas.
Michael gives us speed. He's fast and gives us another weapon on the outside. And he's very smart both on the field and off the field. And coming from Notre Dame, a lot of Coach Denbrock's offense is very similar. So he picks it up very fast. You know, like I said, it just gives us another weapon on the outside. Jordan is also speedy and smart, but they are two different players. Jordan is more lanky and Mike is shorter. It really is best of both worlds.
Does anybody stand out from the freshman class yet?
Yeah, especially the wide receivers. Tyler Scott and Jadon Thompson are going to be huge for us this year and in the coming years forward. And then Jake Renfro and John Williams on the O-line. Those are two big guys in the freshmen class on the offensive line, so you know that's what I like to see.
You lost a great tight end in Josiah Deguara to the Green Bay Packers. But tight end is still a position of strength. Do you feel like that group is as good as any tight end group in the country?
Yes, I will put them up against anyone in the country. As quarterbacks, we're really close with the tight ends. I live with two of them – Josh Whyle and Lenny Taylor. And then I golf with Bruno (Labelle) about twice a week. So I know that they're a great group and they're probably one of the closest groups on the team. And they're just gonna keep working and making each other better every year.
Speaking of great groups, the defensive backs were ranked ninth-best in the country in one of the preseason magazines that I picked up. How hard is it to face Ahmad Gardner, James Wiggins, Darrick Forrest, Coby Bryant, etc…on a daily basis in practice.
It's very hard, but at the end of the day, it's going to make our offense better and make everyone else better. And that's what Coach Fick talks about. People get individual accolades because of team success. And as long as we all work together as a team; we're going to make each other better.
Coach Fickell always says no matter what you've accomplished, there's going to be competition at your position and that's obviously the case with you and Ben Bryant. Do you feel like you need to have a good camp to hold on to your starting job, even though you've led the team to 22 wins in two years?
Yes, sir. That's how I've gone into all of my camps – just always having someone on my heels that always wants to take my spot. So being able to come out here and work and have competition every day is just going to make both of us better. And that's what it does. It makes me and Ben better. We go back and forth and we help each other whether that's on field or via film.
It seems like you've been here for a long time. But you've got two years of eligibility left, so you're halfway through your career. What are some of the things that you would still most like to accomplish?
I need that championship ring. I need that on December 5. Once we get that championship ring it will be pretty satisfying. And then we can go after another one.
UC returns 16 of 22 starters on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, 55 letterwinners and 13 of the team's top 15 tacklers from the 2019 team which won 11 games, the AAC East Division title and the Birmingham Bowl. The Bearcats ended the season ranked No. 21 in all three major polls, won 11 games for only the fourth time in the program's 132 seasons and had back-to-back 11-win seasons for only the second time in school history.
The Bearcats are slated to open 2020 on Saturday, Sept. 19 against Austin Peay inside Nippert Stadium.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati football, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati football (@GoBearcatsFB) and Coach Fickell (@CoachFick) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.
I recently spoke to the junior from Louisville, KY.
Des, when I look back at last year, you didn't have a huge year statistically, but the offensive line was inconsistent, you battled some shoulder issues, and you still led the team to an 11-2 record in the games that you started – including a dominant victory in the Birmingham Bowl where you were the MVP. How do you look back at last season?
I look back at last year as a great season for us all around. Like you said, we won 11 games including the big win over Boston College in the Birmingham Bowl. But as you know, it was really just another learning year. Looking back on it, there are a lot of areas where we can grow and get better on both sides of the ball. So really, it was just another year to get better. And now we're out here at Higher Ground getting ready for the season.
Football players don't like to discuss their injuries – especially during the season. What did you deal with last year and how did it affect your play?
In week two against Ohio State I got driven into the ground and took a hard hit on my shoulder. And there was another one against USF where it was almost like the same thing. So dealing with shoulder injuries – especially at my position – that's rough. But I played through it and I was still able to do everything I could do. If there ever was an injury where it was going to affect the team and it would have been better to put Ben (Bryant) in or somebody else, then we would have done that. When I was able to go, I thought that would be a positive for the team so I kept with it.
Is there a statistical category or anything else that you are focused on improving this year?
My completion percentage. I think my redshirt freshman year I was around 63%. Last year, I might have been around 58%. We have a goal for quarterbacks this year of 68% during camp. So we really want to be at 68 to 70% throughout the season.
That's big jump.
Yes sir. But it's very achievable with all of the weapons I have around me who can catch balls and make plays.
Des, you're out in the middle of the woods in Indiana. Camp Higher Ground is basically a bubble. Has that given the team a sense of normalcy?
A little bit. Just being able to get back to football. Being able to put the pads on and throw the football around a little bit. It gives people a sense of how it used to be. But we still have to wear our masks out here, stay socially distant, and use a lot of hand sanitizer. But other than that, we're just out here playing football.
There's been a dramatic turnover at wide receiver, You've got two high profile transfers and five freshmen in the mix. Do these guys need name tags at this point?
We're all good. We've kind of had everyone for the past four or five weeks and now we're all at camp. We're really working on making that connection that we didn't get to have over the summer because of covid restrictions. So we're really trying to make up for lost time so that we can get the feel for each other. But we're going to have great receivers on the outside this year.
I have not seen the two high profile transfers yet. Tell us about Michael Young from Notre Dame and Jordan Jones from Arkansas.
Michael gives us speed. He's fast and gives us another weapon on the outside. And he's very smart both on the field and off the field. And coming from Notre Dame, a lot of Coach Denbrock's offense is very similar. So he picks it up very fast. You know, like I said, it just gives us another weapon on the outside. Jordan is also speedy and smart, but they are two different players. Jordan is more lanky and Mike is shorter. It really is best of both worlds.
Does anybody stand out from the freshman class yet?
Yeah, especially the wide receivers. Tyler Scott and Jadon Thompson are going to be huge for us this year and in the coming years forward. And then Jake Renfro and John Williams on the O-line. Those are two big guys in the freshmen class on the offensive line, so you know that's what I like to see.
You lost a great tight end in Josiah Deguara to the Green Bay Packers. But tight end is still a position of strength. Do you feel like that group is as good as any tight end group in the country?
Yes, I will put them up against anyone in the country. As quarterbacks, we're really close with the tight ends. I live with two of them – Josh Whyle and Lenny Taylor. And then I golf with Bruno (Labelle) about twice a week. So I know that they're a great group and they're probably one of the closest groups on the team. And they're just gonna keep working and making each other better every year.
Speaking of great groups, the defensive backs were ranked ninth-best in the country in one of the preseason magazines that I picked up. How hard is it to face Ahmad Gardner, James Wiggins, Darrick Forrest, Coby Bryant, etc…on a daily basis in practice.
It's very hard, but at the end of the day, it's going to make our offense better and make everyone else better. And that's what Coach Fick talks about. People get individual accolades because of team success. And as long as we all work together as a team; we're going to make each other better.
Coach Fickell always says no matter what you've accomplished, there's going to be competition at your position and that's obviously the case with you and Ben Bryant. Do you feel like you need to have a good camp to hold on to your starting job, even though you've led the team to 22 wins in two years?
Yes, sir. That's how I've gone into all of my camps – just always having someone on my heels that always wants to take my spot. So being able to come out here and work and have competition every day is just going to make both of us better. And that's what it does. It makes me and Ben better. We go back and forth and we help each other whether that's on field or via film.
It seems like you've been here for a long time. But you've got two years of eligibility left, so you're halfway through your career. What are some of the things that you would still most like to accomplish?
I need that championship ring. I need that on December 5. Once we get that championship ring it will be pretty satisfying. And then we can go after another one.
UC returns 16 of 22 starters on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, 55 letterwinners and 13 of the team's top 15 tacklers from the 2019 team which won 11 games, the AAC East Division title and the Birmingham Bowl. The Bearcats ended the season ranked No. 21 in all three major polls, won 11 games for only the fourth time in the program's 132 seasons and had back-to-back 11-win seasons for only the second time in school history.
The Bearcats are slated to open 2020 on Saturday, Sept. 19 against Austin Peay inside Nippert Stadium.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati football, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati football (@GoBearcatsFB) and Coach Fickell (@CoachFick) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.