TicketsCINCINNATI – Five days away from the season opener against No. 19/23 Arkansas, No. 22/23 Cincinnati football head coach Luke Fickell held his first game week press conference of the 2022 season on Tuesday.
Fickell talked for more than 22 minutes about his sixth UC team, including naming captains, discussing the two-deep depth chart and the atmosphere he expects in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
The game will air on ESPN with Rod Gilmore, Dave Flemming and Tiffany Blackmon on the call.
Here are five takeaways from the Week 1 press conference to prepare fans for Game 1 as UC looks to win its 12th straight season opener.
1. FICKELL NAMES FIVE CAPTAINS
Leaders like Desmond Ridder, Coby Bryant and Joel Dublanko are gone. Fickell announced who some of the new leaders will be on Tuesday early in his press conference.
For those who follow the UC program closely, these five names should come as no surprise. All five players are senior leaders, including two who returned for sixth years. All five are expected to start – and some for the first time in their careers.
The 2022 Cincinnati football captains are:
"Having a lot of newer faces, these guys have been here, they just haven't been the recognizable faces," Fickell said. "It's been a long time coming, I know our guys have been incredibly excited; 24 practices against one another are so difficult, as you get to these last few days [before the game] it is tough to stay focused. I'm excited for them, I'm excited for us, it is going to be a great experience all around."
2. SHEPPARD REPLACES SAUCE FOR GAME 1
Senior cornerback Ja'Quan Sheppard earned the starting boundary cornerback position and the unenviable task of replacing Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner on Saturday against the Razorbacks. Gardner was the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NFL draft and the first position player to grab consensus All-America honors last season.
Sheppard is a senior out of Zephyrhills, Fla., who has bided his time as a backup and played in 26 games. He had a great camp and earned the trust of the staff.
"He believed, and he trusted us," Fickell said. "He's done a really good job all through camp. He's probably been the one guy in the back end outside Ja'Von Hicks that has played a lot of ball in all those positions that you're like, 'Okay, we're gonna roll these guys and we're gonna give them opportunities.' It's been the most consistent he's been at that spot the whole time, and he's never relinquished it."
Hicks and senior corner back Arquon Bush, two of the eight Bearcats on the Reese's Senior Bowl watch list, join fifth-year senior nickel back Taj Ward and sophomore safety Bryon Threats in rounding out the expected starting DB corpse.
3. A LOT OF "OR'S" ON THE TWO-DEEP
Cincinnati's first unofficial two-deep depth chart released to the media features nine OR's at starting positions including four slashes at the running back spot. That's not uncommon for week one as Fickell noted college football is one of the only sports that does not have joint practices, preseason games or exhibition matchups.
The running back spot is a good problem to have as the Bearcats seek production replacement from current Cleveland Browns rookie Jerome Ford, a First-Team All-AAC honoree in 2021 after rushing for 1,319 yards and 19 touchdowns. With the four contenders, it is a tale of two pairs. Fifth-year back Charles McClelland has remained healthy after two season-ending knee injuries in 2019 and 2020, and Ryan Montgomery is back for his fourth season. Myles Montgomery boasted a stellar camp after redshirting last fall, and former blue-chip recruit Corey Kiner has returned to the Queen City after seeing significant playing time at LSU as a true freshman.
Fickell said he expects all four RBs to play Week 1, but Ryan Montgomery is slated to start.
"It is the harder position to evaluate and really try to say who is going to be our guy, because you do not live tackle, you do not do some of those things, and you need a lot more of those guys in those opportunities and in game one in particular... I have always said, in that position, in particular, you have to have a one and a two and you have to know who you're riding."
There are three other "ors" each on the offensive and defensive sides as well, spanning left guard, tight end, quarterback, weakside linebacker, dollar and nickel.
The dollar position in particular features two of Cincinnati's top defensive players in junior Deshawn Pace and senior Ty Van Fossen. Both players split reps last year with Pace recording 94 tackles and a team-high four interceptions. Van Fossen tallied 70 stops.
4. GAME LIKELY WILL BE PHYSICAL, DECIDED UP FRONT
Cincinnati is one of eight teams nationally to return all five of its offensive line starters, including 94 combined starts to rank eighth. The three down defensive linemen include Jabari Taylor, Jowon Briggs and Malik Vann. Vann has 21 TFLs and nine sacks over his four years at his hometown school, including 3.5 sacks last fall despite battling an injury, to which Briggs and Taylor provided a major boost in his place.
Arkansas returns 99 career starts on the offensive line, including preseason All-American center Ricky Stromberg. The Razorbacks led the SEC in rushing last season, covering more than 220 yards on the ground per game last fall. Arkansas also had a Top 50 defense.
Fickell, a 50-game starter at nose tackle in college, said he and Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman, a former offensive line coach, do not share much personal history, but did acknowledge that the two share a lot of roots and passion regarding the trenches.
"I would imagine they pride themselves in things like (physicality)," Fickell said. "We pride ourselves in things like that. In Week One, you are always trying to figure out who you exactly are, and I think it is going to be like that. It is going to be a tough, nasty game, and just like the environment is going to be. We have prepared ourselves for that, that is what the expectation is. If something would change, then obviously, you got to adapt and adjust, but if there is anything, we got a pretty good idea of the type of physical game that it is going to be."
5. BEARCATS WILL BE READY FOR THE ATMOSPHERE
Not only did 2021 bring back the sweet sounds of fandom again: the Bearcats were ready in their first two road games of the year, winning 38-27 at Indiana and 24-13 at No. 9 Notre Dame. The former included the Hoosiers' largest crowd for a non-conference home game since 1987. UC finished its dream season with 76,313 fans inside Arlington's AT&T Stadium for the CFP Semifinal.
Fickell did acknowledge that he thought the atmosphere may have affected the Bearcats at the beginning of the Cotton Bowl, however.
Still, he has made sure to drill in his squad this offseason to be ready for the crowd and raucous Arkansas fans this Saturday. He expects his team to rise to the challenge.
"We can pump music in, and we want it to be loud, but the reality is that you want to have good practices, so there is a balance there," Fickell said. "We started last week talking about the environment, talking about the atmosphere, making sure that we are aware of what it is going to be like [in Fayetteville]. It is hard to prepare for. There are a lot of other things that you must prepare for as well, and the atmosphere sometimes gets put in the secondary."
But not this week.
// THE BEARCATS ARE READY TO RELOAD
Led by Fickell, the reigning consensus National Coach of the Year, and 12 returning starters, the Bearcats are the two-time defending AAC Champions and are coming off of a 13-1 season that culminated in a trip to the 2021 College Football Playoff. With a 44-7 mark since the start of 2018, Cincinnati's 86% winning percentage ranks among the nation's Top 5 winning percentages over the last four years.
While season tickets are sold out for the first time in school history, fans can still purchase single-game tickets for as low as $25. Fans can also join the waiting list for 2023 season tickets.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati Athletics, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati Athletics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
// ABOUT CINCINNATI ATHLETICS
The University of Cincinnati Department of Athletics competes at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics with the vision to reach Next Level Success for all 18 varsity teams and more than 500 student-athletes. The Bearcats have a proud athletics history, winning eight national championships and 117 conference titles. The Cincinnati men's basketball team is among the 15 winningest programs all-time, while the football team became the first American Athletic Conference program to compete in the College Football Playoff in 2021. Olympic gold medalist volleyball player Jordan Thompson, NBA Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson and Major League Baseball legend Sandy Koufax are among the several luminaries who have competed as Bearcats.
UC student-athletes collectively posted a 3.369 overall GPA in the spring of 2021 with 77 percent earning spots on the Honor Roll, while six student-athletes collected CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades.
Under the leadership of Director of Athletics John Cunningham, and supported by more than 150 full-time staff members, UC Athletics' mission is to connect our community, enhance our University and impact the lives of student-athletes as they prepare to change the world on and off the field.
For more information visit gobearcats.com.
Fickell talked for more than 22 minutes about his sixth UC team, including naming captains, discussing the two-deep depth chart and the atmosphere he expects in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
The game will air on ESPN with Rod Gilmore, Dave Flemming and Tiffany Blackmon on the call.
Here are five takeaways from the Week 1 press conference to prepare fans for Game 1 as UC looks to win its 12th straight season opener.
1. FICKELL NAMES FIVE CAPTAINS
Leaders like Desmond Ridder, Coby Bryant and Joel Dublanko are gone. Fickell announced who some of the new leaders will be on Tuesday early in his press conference.
For those who follow the UC program closely, these five names should come as no surprise. All five players are senior leaders, including two who returned for sixth years. All five are expected to start – and some for the first time in their careers.
The 2022 Cincinnati football captains are:
- Fifth-year senior offensive lineman Dylan O'Quinn
- Senior wide receiver/kick returner Tre Tucker
- Fifth-year senior tight end Josh Whyle
- Sixth-year senior defensive lineman Jabari Taylor
- Sixth-year linebacker Wil Huber
"Having a lot of newer faces, these guys have been here, they just haven't been the recognizable faces," Fickell said. "It's been a long time coming, I know our guys have been incredibly excited; 24 practices against one another are so difficult, as you get to these last few days [before the game] it is tough to stay focused. I'm excited for them, I'm excited for us, it is going to be a great experience all around."
2. SHEPPARD REPLACES SAUCE FOR GAME 1
Senior cornerback Ja'Quan Sheppard earned the starting boundary cornerback position and the unenviable task of replacing Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner on Saturday against the Razorbacks. Gardner was the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NFL draft and the first position player to grab consensus All-America honors last season.
Sheppard is a senior out of Zephyrhills, Fla., who has bided his time as a backup and played in 26 games. He had a great camp and earned the trust of the staff.
"He believed, and he trusted us," Fickell said. "He's done a really good job all through camp. He's probably been the one guy in the back end outside Ja'Von Hicks that has played a lot of ball in all those positions that you're like, 'Okay, we're gonna roll these guys and we're gonna give them opportunities.' It's been the most consistent he's been at that spot the whole time, and he's never relinquished it."
Hicks and senior corner back Arquon Bush, two of the eight Bearcats on the Reese's Senior Bowl watch list, join fifth-year senior nickel back Taj Ward and sophomore safety Bryon Threats in rounding out the expected starting DB corpse.
3. A LOT OF "OR'S" ON THE TWO-DEEP
Cincinnati's first unofficial two-deep depth chart released to the media features nine OR's at starting positions including four slashes at the running back spot. That's not uncommon for week one as Fickell noted college football is one of the only sports that does not have joint practices, preseason games or exhibition matchups.
The running back spot is a good problem to have as the Bearcats seek production replacement from current Cleveland Browns rookie Jerome Ford, a First-Team All-AAC honoree in 2021 after rushing for 1,319 yards and 19 touchdowns. With the four contenders, it is a tale of two pairs. Fifth-year back Charles McClelland has remained healthy after two season-ending knee injuries in 2019 and 2020, and Ryan Montgomery is back for his fourth season. Myles Montgomery boasted a stellar camp after redshirting last fall, and former blue-chip recruit Corey Kiner has returned to the Queen City after seeing significant playing time at LSU as a true freshman.
Fickell said he expects all four RBs to play Week 1, but Ryan Montgomery is slated to start.
"It is the harder position to evaluate and really try to say who is going to be our guy, because you do not live tackle, you do not do some of those things, and you need a lot more of those guys in those opportunities and in game one in particular... I have always said, in that position, in particular, you have to have a one and a two and you have to know who you're riding."
There are three other "ors" each on the offensive and defensive sides as well, spanning left guard, tight end, quarterback, weakside linebacker, dollar and nickel.
The dollar position in particular features two of Cincinnati's top defensive players in junior Deshawn Pace and senior Ty Van Fossen. Both players split reps last year with Pace recording 94 tackles and a team-high four interceptions. Van Fossen tallied 70 stops.
4. GAME LIKELY WILL BE PHYSICAL, DECIDED UP FRONT
Cincinnati is one of eight teams nationally to return all five of its offensive line starters, including 94 combined starts to rank eighth. The three down defensive linemen include Jabari Taylor, Jowon Briggs and Malik Vann. Vann has 21 TFLs and nine sacks over his four years at his hometown school, including 3.5 sacks last fall despite battling an injury, to which Briggs and Taylor provided a major boost in his place.
Arkansas returns 99 career starts on the offensive line, including preseason All-American center Ricky Stromberg. The Razorbacks led the SEC in rushing last season, covering more than 220 yards on the ground per game last fall. Arkansas also had a Top 50 defense.
Fickell, a 50-game starter at nose tackle in college, said he and Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman, a former offensive line coach, do not share much personal history, but did acknowledge that the two share a lot of roots and passion regarding the trenches.
"I would imagine they pride themselves in things like (physicality)," Fickell said. "We pride ourselves in things like that. In Week One, you are always trying to figure out who you exactly are, and I think it is going to be like that. It is going to be a tough, nasty game, and just like the environment is going to be. We have prepared ourselves for that, that is what the expectation is. If something would change, then obviously, you got to adapt and adjust, but if there is anything, we got a pretty good idea of the type of physical game that it is going to be."
5. BEARCATS WILL BE READY FOR THE ATMOSPHERE
Not only did 2021 bring back the sweet sounds of fandom again: the Bearcats were ready in their first two road games of the year, winning 38-27 at Indiana and 24-13 at No. 9 Notre Dame. The former included the Hoosiers' largest crowd for a non-conference home game since 1987. UC finished its dream season with 76,313 fans inside Arlington's AT&T Stadium for the CFP Semifinal.
Fickell did acknowledge that he thought the atmosphere may have affected the Bearcats at the beginning of the Cotton Bowl, however.
Still, he has made sure to drill in his squad this offseason to be ready for the crowd and raucous Arkansas fans this Saturday. He expects his team to rise to the challenge.
"We can pump music in, and we want it to be loud, but the reality is that you want to have good practices, so there is a balance there," Fickell said. "We started last week talking about the environment, talking about the atmosphere, making sure that we are aware of what it is going to be like [in Fayetteville]. It is hard to prepare for. There are a lot of other things that you must prepare for as well, and the atmosphere sometimes gets put in the secondary."
But not this week.
// THE BEARCATS ARE READY TO RELOAD
Led by Fickell, the reigning consensus National Coach of the Year, and 12 returning starters, the Bearcats are the two-time defending AAC Champions and are coming off of a 13-1 season that culminated in a trip to the 2021 College Football Playoff. With a 44-7 mark since the start of 2018, Cincinnati's 86% winning percentage ranks among the nation's Top 5 winning percentages over the last four years.
While season tickets are sold out for the first time in school history, fans can still purchase single-game tickets for as low as $25. Fans can also join the waiting list for 2023 season tickets.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati Athletics, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati Athletics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
// ABOUT CINCINNATI ATHLETICS
The University of Cincinnati Department of Athletics competes at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics with the vision to reach Next Level Success for all 18 varsity teams and more than 500 student-athletes. The Bearcats have a proud athletics history, winning eight national championships and 117 conference titles. The Cincinnati men's basketball team is among the 15 winningest programs all-time, while the football team became the first American Athletic Conference program to compete in the College Football Playoff in 2021. Olympic gold medalist volleyball player Jordan Thompson, NBA Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson and Major League Baseball legend Sandy Koufax are among the several luminaries who have competed as Bearcats.
UC student-athletes collectively posted a 3.369 overall GPA in the spring of 2021 with 77 percent earning spots on the Honor Roll, while six student-athletes collected CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades.
Under the leadership of Director of Athletics John Cunningham, and supported by more than 150 full-time staff members, UC Athletics' mission is to connect our community, enhance our University and impact the lives of student-athletes as they prepare to change the world on and off the field.
For more information visit gobearcats.com.