TicketsCINCINNATI -- There are two sides to every coin, and for Cincinnati's opposing defenses, it is about picking your poison out of the tight-end position.
Leonard Taylor and Josh Whyle are fifth-year vets of a program that has gone 44-7 since their arrival in 2018. Both also earned nods on the 2022 John Mackey Award's preseason watch list, given annually to the nation's best tight end. UC is one of five schools (Georgia, Michigan, Penn State, South Carolina) to accomplish that feat.
Sure, this is a new team after nine NFL draft picks, including the third-winningest quarterback in the sport's history (Desmond Ridder), a trip to the hallowed College Football Playoff and more, but that is simply history at this point. Besides, it's not about having a great team, it's about a great program.
"We are one band and one sound," Taylor said of head coach Luke Fickell's T.E.A.M. mantra. "We're all on the same page, and we communicate and trust each other. Everyone knows what they're doing and their job description."
Taylor had career-high marks in every stat category last season: 28 catches, 268 yards and four touchdowns. By comparison, he had 23 catches for 259 yards and two touchdowns his first three years. Even more coincidental, his first score was on a four-yarder from Ben Bryant at Memphis, a grad transfer from Eastern Michigan after spending his first three years in Clifton.
Another interesting thing to know about Taylor? His 24-game reception streak (the entirety of the 2020 and 2021 seasons) ranks as the Bearcats' best heading into this fall.
The other side of the tight-end room is hometown product Josh Whyle, a Third-Team All-American in 2020 who has had six touchdowns in each of the last two years. Like Taylor, he too graduated this past year but elected one final lap.
"It was something I told myself I'd think about at the end of the (2021) season," Whyle said. "If I were to put my thoughts, time and energy into that decision-making process, it would have taken away from the team. I pushed it off till the end of the year, and when I got hurt the decision was made for me.
"I think only good things can come, like [Ridder] always said he wanted to leave this place better than he found it. I don't think I did a good job of it last year, and I want to be more of a leader, and a vocal one too, and that's what I want to do this year."
Whyle's motivation is also a personal one, a reflection of Fickell's emphasis on the 300-mile recruiting emphasis that also hammers home talent-rich Southwest Ohio.
"I really wanted to stay close," Whyle said. "Coach Fick has that thing about the 300-mile radius, and I think it means a lot more to these guys now. They're playing for something bigger than winning or losing games. They're playing for their city."
Taylor, a native of Springfield, was also incentivized by the chance to play for what he, and many others will deservedly call "Tight End U."
"This is where I was going to develop the best as a tight end," he said. "This is Tight End U. It's the best place to be in the country, right here."
Indeed it is. Brent Celek (2003-06) is also a La Salle HS graduate who played 11 years for the Philadelphia Eagles. Travis Kelce (2008-12) has a Super Bowl ring to go with seven-straight Pro Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs.
"Being so young, I can't remember much [of Kelce] during his time at UC, but I seem to watch him every Sunday and love to see him dominate in each game," Whyle said. "Lenny and I had the chance to hang out with him this past year. We couldn't stop asking him questions about football and how he got to where he is now."
Then there is also Josiah Deguara (2015-19), a second-year member of the Green Bay Packers who overlapped with Taylor and Whyle for two seasons.
"Being able to have two years with Josiah was a blessing," Whyle said. "I'm not sure he realized how much I saw him as a big brother. He was somebody that you see as an incoming freshman and say to yourself, 'I want to be like him in a couple years.'"
While the two will compete for snaps, the Bearcats are sure to utilize plenty of two-tight end sets. Fickell and offensive coordinator Gino Guidugli are certain to get two of their best playmakers and veteran leaders on the field as much as possible.
"For Lenny, I think it stems from what we call healthy competition, pushing each other every day," Whyle said. "We came from opposite worlds out of high school, but we lived together for two years and are best buddies now. The relationship I have with him is pretty cool on and off the field."
In fact, Taylor did not hesitate when asked what his favorite college moment was to date, even ahead of the College Football Playoff.
"My favorite moment would have to be when Josh Whyle, Wilson Huber and Desmond Ridder, and me moved into our house together," he said.
There is no crystal ball to say how Cincinnati's 2022 season will go. But if there's one universal takeaway that we all saw on New Year's Eve at the Cotton Bowl, it's this:
Together, Everyone Achieves More.
Leonard Taylor and Josh Whyle are fifth-year vets of a program that has gone 44-7 since their arrival in 2018. Both also earned nods on the 2022 John Mackey Award's preseason watch list, given annually to the nation's best tight end. UC is one of five schools (Georgia, Michigan, Penn State, South Carolina) to accomplish that feat.
Sure, this is a new team after nine NFL draft picks, including the third-winningest quarterback in the sport's history (Desmond Ridder), a trip to the hallowed College Football Playoff and more, but that is simply history at this point. Besides, it's not about having a great team, it's about a great program.
"We are one band and one sound," Taylor said of head coach Luke Fickell's T.E.A.M. mantra. "We're all on the same page, and we communicate and trust each other. Everyone knows what they're doing and their job description."
Taylor had career-high marks in every stat category last season: 28 catches, 268 yards and four touchdowns. By comparison, he had 23 catches for 259 yards and two touchdowns his first three years. Even more coincidental, his first score was on a four-yarder from Ben Bryant at Memphis, a grad transfer from Eastern Michigan after spending his first three years in Clifton.
Another interesting thing to know about Taylor? His 24-game reception streak (the entirety of the 2020 and 2021 seasons) ranks as the Bearcats' best heading into this fall.
The other side of the tight-end room is hometown product Josh Whyle, a Third-Team All-American in 2020 who has had six touchdowns in each of the last two years. Like Taylor, he too graduated this past year but elected one final lap.
"It was something I told myself I'd think about at the end of the (2021) season," Whyle said. "If I were to put my thoughts, time and energy into that decision-making process, it would have taken away from the team. I pushed it off till the end of the year, and when I got hurt the decision was made for me.
"I think only good things can come, like [Ridder] always said he wanted to leave this place better than he found it. I don't think I did a good job of it last year, and I want to be more of a leader, and a vocal one too, and that's what I want to do this year."
Whyle's motivation is also a personal one, a reflection of Fickell's emphasis on the 300-mile recruiting emphasis that also hammers home talent-rich Southwest Ohio.
"The reason I chose UC is because I have the city at my back. I grew up here [graduating from La Salle High School] and I'm playing in front of them on Saturdays, which is a very unique feeling that you can't replicate at another school." - Josh Whyle
"I really wanted to stay close," Whyle said. "Coach Fick has that thing about the 300-mile radius, and I think it means a lot more to these guys now. They're playing for something bigger than winning or losing games. They're playing for their city."
Taylor, a native of Springfield, was also incentivized by the chance to play for what he, and many others will deservedly call "Tight End U."
"This is where I was going to develop the best as a tight end," he said. "This is Tight End U. It's the best place to be in the country, right here."
Indeed it is. Brent Celek (2003-06) is also a La Salle HS graduate who played 11 years for the Philadelphia Eagles. Travis Kelce (2008-12) has a Super Bowl ring to go with seven-straight Pro Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs.
"Being so young, I can't remember much [of Kelce] during his time at UC, but I seem to watch him every Sunday and love to see him dominate in each game," Whyle said. "Lenny and I had the chance to hang out with him this past year. We couldn't stop asking him questions about football and how he got to where he is now."
Then there is also Josiah Deguara (2015-19), a second-year member of the Green Bay Packers who overlapped with Taylor and Whyle for two seasons.
"Being able to have two years with Josiah was a blessing," Whyle said. "I'm not sure he realized how much I saw him as a big brother. He was somebody that you see as an incoming freshman and say to yourself, 'I want to be like him in a couple years.'"
While the two will compete for snaps, the Bearcats are sure to utilize plenty of two-tight end sets. Fickell and offensive coordinator Gino Guidugli are certain to get two of their best playmakers and veteran leaders on the field as much as possible.
"For Lenny, I think it stems from what we call healthy competition, pushing each other every day," Whyle said. "We came from opposite worlds out of high school, but we lived together for two years and are best buddies now. The relationship I have with him is pretty cool on and off the field."
In fact, Taylor did not hesitate when asked what his favorite college moment was to date, even ahead of the College Football Playoff.
"My favorite moment would have to be when Josh Whyle, Wilson Huber and Desmond Ridder, and me moved into our house together," he said.
There is no crystal ball to say how Cincinnati's 2022 season will go. But if there's one universal takeaway that we all saw on New Year's Eve at the Cotton Bowl, it's this:
Together, Everyone Achieves More.