TicketsCINCINNATI – As the Cincinnati football program reached the 50-day countdown until its 2023 season opener, it was all glitz, glamour and gear at the Big 12 Football Media Day in Arlington's AT&T Stadium, the site of the league's annual championship game.
The Bearcats officially joined the Big 12 on July 1, but this felt like the kick off for UC in the new league.
Three of Cincinnati's four student-athlete representatives: defensive standouts: Jowon Briggs, Dontay Corleone and Deshawn Pace, represented their hometown Bearcats to go with starting quarterback Emory Jones, previously of Florida and Arizona State.
𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐈𝐍' 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐇 🧼#Bearcats | #Big12FB pic.twitter.com/XScDvtzulM
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) July 13, 2023
The foursome joined first-year head coach Scott Satterfield for several stations of photoshoots and on-camera interviews, in addition to one-off radio hits among other scenes on the turf.
Director of Athletics John Cunningham also made the rounds, meeting with national media and participating in interviews on radio row.
First up for the Bearcats on Thursday was a uniformed photo and video shoot, with the latter including opportunities to draw opponent logos off memory. After a quick wardrobe change into their tailored suits, the runway was truly set from bowties to Balenciaga and pocket squares.
Pace, a Colerain High School alum who played a major role on the 2021 CFP team as a first-year starter, has undergone a slight body transformation to prepare for Bryan Brown's defense in the "star" position, a hybrid linebacker-defensive back role.
"We're a 3-4 scheme, and they allow those linebackers to go make plays," Satterfield said. "Pace will be a great player. We've moved Pace down to the outside backer to the field size to be able to utilize his athleticism, be able to bring him off the edge, and also to drop him in coverage, do a lot of different things with him. He's a very versatile player, and I'm excited to watch him."
Pace had four interceptions and 94 tackles on that 2021 squad, and he played in all 13 games with eight starts last season while sharing the field with older brother Ivan Pace Jr., who became UC's first unanimous All-American in his lone season at UC.
Jones, the team's lone offensive rep, has started 20 games over his career, throwing for 33 touchdowns among several accomplishments. He credited his first impressions with the staff, from Satterfield to strength and conditioning coach Niko Palazeti, as keys to his Cincinnati transition.
"Coming in and seeing how well the whole staff operates as one is a big takeaway," Jones said. "They've been together for a while. That's something that's really important, and especially for me in my career right now. That's an important thing for recruits too in building relationships and having people around you who are honest."
My mama say she 🅿️rada me
— Emory Jones (@eXjones6) July 14, 2023
Big 12 Media Day ✅ pic.twitter.com/s7yFqZ1ifw
UC's next step toward the season is Camp Higher Ground in West Harrison, Ind., marking the silver 25th-year anniversary with the first-class conference and retreat center for the first two weeks of fall camp.
"My favorite part about Camp Higher Ground is the team bonding," Pace said. "There are no distractions and just ball and the guys. It's how we get along."
Cincinnati kicks off its campaign at home, Saturday, Sept. 2 against Eastern Kentucky at 3:30 p.m.
Guys did a great job!! Won't be long now!!!! @GoBearcatsFB https://t.co/Fn3gjnTSQZ
— Coach Satterfield (@CoachSattUC) July 13, 2023