TicketsCINCINNATI – Game Week has commenced for the Cincinnati football team, which practiced Monday morning in pads, for the final time, on campus ahead of Tuesday's departure for Boston.
The Bearcats will have a new head coach for Saturday's 11 a.m. kickoff against Louisville, but it sure won't be a new face. Interim head coach Kerry Coombs has been everything and more with his well-known energy that has shaped his renowned coaching career in the city.
"I count it as one of the great honors and privileges of my life to stand in front of those kids every day, every chance I get, and you don't know how many you get," Coombs said. "So I'm going to take full adgantage of it. I love those kids, and that to me is a highlight for me right now. I love being able to talk with them every day."
Coombs, UC's cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator this past season, was part of the Cincinnati staff that went to the Orange and Sugar Bowls for the 2008-09 seasons, the genesis of what the program has since become. His first waves in the Queen City were in his 16-year tenure at Colerain High School, where he led the team to 10 playoff appearances.
Past also met present post-practice with several former players from Coombs' previous UC tenure speaking to the upperclassmen.
"For me, I choose here," he said. "I choose here specifically because of those kids who were under me right there. I know the tradition, I know what they're like and who they are. I choose here because of them. That to me, in my life's journey, you get choices. For me, I'm really excited to get to continue to work with them."
Coombs also took time to speak on another Cincinnati native in redshirt-sophomore quarterback Evan Prater, who made his first-career start on Black Friday against Tulane and has full reigns for Fenway.
"Evan was the guy for the last game," Coombs said. "He had the week and the transition as the bowl takes place, where it's not a one-week deal. You're the guy, and we're gonna throw the ball and we're gonna let you go. He's taken full advantage of that. He is studying extra, working hard and is a great leader who the kids love. I can say that Evan Prater will give everything he has on Saturday."
Cincinnati is not only renewing its Keg of Nails rivalry for the 54th time, but it is also seeking its third-straight bowl win over an ACC team. While it came up short its last two trips against Georgia and Alabama (each of the last two national champions), it whipped Boston College in Birmingham in 2019 (38-7), and outlasted Virginia Tech in 2018 (35-31) for its first of three 11-win seasons since.
Three Bearcats are AP All-Americans
The Bearcats boasted a trio of Associated Press All-Americans in linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. (first team), defensive tackle Dontay Corleone (third team) and punter Mason Fletcher (third team).
Pace Jr., who joins Corleone as Colerain High School graduates, now has All-America accolades from three of the five NCAA-recognized official All-America squads with other honors from the FWAA and Walter Camp, garnering him consensus status.
Pace Jr. capped the 2022 season by ranking as the nation's highest-graded linebacker (93.1) according to Pro Football Focus. He was a finalist for the Butkus Award, given to the nation's top linebacker, and a finalist for the Bednarik Award, presented to the nation's top overall defensive player.
A Cincinnati native and Colerain High School product, Pace Jr. tallied 120 tackles to go along with 19.5 TFLs and 9.0 sacks in 2022, while leading a defense that ranked fifth nationally in yards per play allowed (4.52). His 19.5 TFLs rank third in the nation, while his 120 stops are the 10th-most in the country and his nine sacks sit 14th.
In Week 4, he was outstanding against Indiana, tallying 15 tackles, 4.5 TFLs (fifth-most in UC history), 2.5 sacks and three QB hurries en route to AAC Defensive Player of the Week, Bednarik National Player of the Week and PFF Defensive Player of the Week honors. Pace Jr. finished 10th in the nation with 125 tackles in 2021 while playing for Miami (Ohio). He had six sacks in a game for the Redhawks against Akron in 2019, as well.
Redshirt freshman nose tackle Dontay Corleone emerged as a star in his first season, finishing the season as the highest-graded defensive player in the entire country by Pro Football Focus College (93.9), while rotating with senior Jowon Briggs as the anchor of the Bearcats' defense.
Corleone grabbed Third Team All-America honors from PFF on Friday. He joins Pace Jr. as Cincinnati All-America selections in 2022.
He was also named First Team All-AAC last week after tallying 44 tackles, three sacks, 5.5 TFLs, two forced fumble and two fumble recoveries in 11 games this fall.
Fletcher became Cincinnati's second-ever Ray Guy Award finalist, joining fellow Australian Jimmy Smith (2018). He also became the school's first AAC Special Teams Player of the Year after ranking fourth nationally in average (46.7). He set UC and AAC records with an 84-yard punt and 65.0-yard average at SMU this season.
UC ranked second in the nation in net punting (44.69), while Fletcher finished with 28 punts inside the 20, 14 over 50-plus yards and two downed at the 1.