TicketsFifteen former UC players earned spots on active rosters or practice squads.
P Kevin Huber enters his 12th season with the Cincinnati Bengals. A year ago, the Cincinnati native posted a career-high and Bengals-record 42.11-yard net average in 2019 and had 30 inside-20 kicks to just five touchbacks. View his NFL bio HERE.
C Jason Kelce starts his 10th NFL season with the Philadelphia Eagles, leading all active NFL centers with 89 consecutive starts, dating to 2014. He is a three-time first-team All-Pro (2017, 2018, and 2019), three-time Pro Bowler (2015, 2017, and 2020) and Super Bowl LII Champion. View his full bio HERE.
TE Travis Kelce, who has established himself as one of the best tight ends in the NFL inked a six-year extension with the Kansas City Chiefs prior to starting his eighth season with the club. He earned a spot on the NFL's All-Decade Team in July 2020. Since 2013, Kelce is a five-time Pro Bowler and a four-time All-Pro. He holds the NFL record for most seasons with 1,000 yards receiving by a tight end (4). Kelce had six receptions for 43 yards in the Super Bowl LIV win over San Francisco, including a 1-yard TD grab, the first touchdown by a former UC player in the Super Bowl. Overall, Kelce has 507 NFL receptions for 6,465 yards and 37 TDs. The Chiefs website posted a recent story on him HERE and he was mic'd up during training camp HERE.
Sports Illustrated did a recent feature on the Kelce brothers HERE, calling them the most accomplished siblings in the NFL.
DT Derek Wolfe signed a free-agent deal with Baltimore in the offseason, joining WR Chris Moore on the Ravens roster. Wolfe enters his ninth season in the league and Moore his fifth. Read about Wolfe's NFL journey HERE. Moore has established himself as a top special teams player for the Ravens and his bio can be found HERE.
The Minnesota Vikings feature a pair of former UC players in RB Mike Boone and LB Eric Wilson. Wilson starts his fourth season with the team and the Vikings website featured him as a potential 2020 X Factor HERE. Boone appeared in a career-high 16 games a year ago, setting career highs in carries (17) and rushing yards (148) in Week 17 of the 2019 season vs. Chicago.
OL Korey Cunningham was traded to New England late in training camp a year ago and starts his third NFL season in 2020. PatsPulpit.com broke down the Patriots roster entering training camp and published a piece on Cunningham HERE.
OL Justin Murray starts his third NFL season with the Arizona Cardinals. Murray enters 2020 as the backup at both right tackle and right guard. He started 12 games at RT a year ago and the Cardinals website did a recent piece on his versatility HERE.
DT Cortez Broughton enters his second season with the Los Angeles Chargers and returns to the Queen City for the team's 2020 opener against the Bengals. He has his rookie season cut short by illness but reportedly had a strong camp according to this article by ChargersWire.com. View his Chargers story HERE.
TE Josiah Deguara just wrapped his first NFL training camp with the Green Bay Packers after the team drafted him in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. View his NFL bio HERE.
DT Marquise Copeland, WR Johnny Holton, CB Linden Stephens and RB Michael Warren II earned practice squad spots for the Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively.
FORMER UC PLAYERS COACHING IN THE NFL
Former defensive back Chris Hewitt (1993-96) is the Baltimore Ravens pass defense coordinator.
Jacksonville offensive line coach and longtime NFL assistant George Warhop played at UC in the early 1980s. Warhop, a center during his time at UC, has coached in the NFL for almost 20 seasons during stints for Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Arizona, Dallas and St. Louis.
QB Danny Barrett spent six years as the head coach of the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders (2000-06). Barrett is now the running backs coach for the Houston Texans.
Bill Davis, a quarterback at UC (1985-88) has spent nearly 25 years as an NFL assistant, currently works on the Arizona Cardinals staff.
2020 BEARCATS IN THE NFL
PLAYERS
Mike Boone - Minnesota
Cortez Broughton - LA Chargers
Marquise Copeland - LA Rams (PS)
Korey Cunningham - New England
Josiah Deguara - Green Bay
Johnny Holton - NY Giants (PS)
Kevin Huber - Cincinnati
Jason Kelce - Philadelphia
Travis Kelce - Kansas City
Chris Moore - Baltimore
Justin Murray - Arizona
Linden Stephens - Seattle (PS)
Michael Warren II - Philadelphia (PS)
Eric Wilson - Minnesota
Derek Wolfe - Baltimore
COACHES
Danny Barrett - Houston
Bill Davis - Arizona
Chris Hewitt - Baltimore
George Warhop - Jacksonville
UC OPENS 2020 ON SATURDAY, SEPT. 19
UC, ranked No. 20 in the AP preseason poll and No. 22 in the USA Today poll, return 16 of 22 starters on the offensive and defensive side of the ball 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 at Noon ET inside Nippert Stadium. The game will be televised by ESPN+ and air on 700 WLW AM.
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.