TicketsCINCINNATI – Cincinnati football stars Dontay "The Godfather" Corleone and Luke Kandra were named on Tuesday to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.
Corleone, a rising redshirt junior nose tackle from Cincinnati, collected All-Big 12 Second Team honors in 2023 after totaling 39 tackles, 6.5 TFLs and three sacks while starting all 12 games to anchor defense. The Colerain high school product capped the fall as the Big 12's third-rated defensive lineman (83.6), according to Pro Football Focus. Corleone makes the Preseason All-Big 12 Team for a second straight year. He collected consensus Freshman All-America and Associated Press Third Team All-America honors in 2022 after finishing as the nation's highest-graded defensive player by PFF. On Friday, it was announced that Corleone is out indefinitely with a non-football illness.
Kandra is also a Cincinnati native, having transferred back home to the Bearcats after playing at Louisville for three seasons. The Elder High School product proved to be one of the nation's top interior offensive linemen in 2023. He ranked as the third-best Power Five guard (81.8) according to PFF while starting all 12 games and leading UC with 79 knockdowns. He returns as the country's top-graded P4 right guard in 2024 and will anchor an offensive line that returns all five starters. Cincinnati finished fifth nationally in rushing (217.1 ypg) in 2023 behind Kandra and running back Corey Kiner (1,047 yards), who also returns.
Help us Keep the Streak Alive, Buy Season Tickets Today
UC ranks among the Top 25 winningest programs in the country over the last 10 years and Nippert Stadium's incredible home-field advantage is a major reason. Help the Bearcats keep their streak of 18 consecutive home sellouts alive by becoming a season ticket member HERE.
Season tickets are fans' best chance for the best seats to cheer on the Bearcats. However, single-game tickets are on sale now (starting as low as $30) for the first two games of the season: Towson (Aug. 31) and Pitt (Sept. 7).
Led by head coach Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati enters its second season in the Big 12 this fall. In 2023, the Bearcats ranked fifth in the country in rushing, returning 1,000-yard rusher Corey Kiner and their entire offensive line. Cincinnati also brings back All-Americans: right guard Luke Kandra, nose tackle Dontay "The Godfather" Corleone and punter Mason Fletcher.
A pair of historic rivalries return to Nippert Stadium with Pitt coming to town for the first time since 2012 and West Virginia heading to the Queen City for the first time since Isaiah Pead led the Bearcats to a 24-21 victory in 2009. Cincinnati will also open the season against Towson while hosting TCU for the first time since 2004 and Arizona State for the first time ever. Additionally, Houston returns to Nippert Stadium for the first time since the Bearcats' 35-20 victory in the 2021 AAC Championship, a triumph that secured Cincinnati's place in the 2021 College Football Playoff.
The complete 2024 Cincinnati football schedule can be found here: Web | Printable
Corleone, a rising redshirt junior nose tackle from Cincinnati, collected All-Big 12 Second Team honors in 2023 after totaling 39 tackles, 6.5 TFLs and three sacks while starting all 12 games to anchor defense. The Colerain high school product capped the fall as the Big 12's third-rated defensive lineman (83.6), according to Pro Football Focus. Corleone makes the Preseason All-Big 12 Team for a second straight year. He collected consensus Freshman All-America and Associated Press Third Team All-America honors in 2022 after finishing as the nation's highest-graded defensive player by PFF. On Friday, it was announced that Corleone is out indefinitely with a non-football illness.
Kandra is also a Cincinnati native, having transferred back home to the Bearcats after playing at Louisville for three seasons. The Elder High School product proved to be one of the nation's top interior offensive linemen in 2023. He ranked as the third-best Power Five guard (81.8) according to PFF while starting all 12 games and leading UC with 79 knockdowns. He returns as the country's top-graded P4 right guard in 2024 and will anchor an offensive line that returns all five starters. Cincinnati finished fifth nationally in rushing (217.1 ypg) in 2023 behind Kandra and running back Corey Kiner (1,047 yards), who also returns.
Help us Keep the Streak Alive, Buy Season Tickets Today
UC ranks among the Top 25 winningest programs in the country over the last 10 years and Nippert Stadium's incredible home-field advantage is a major reason. Help the Bearcats keep their streak of 18 consecutive home sellouts alive by becoming a season ticket member HERE.
Season tickets are fans' best chance for the best seats to cheer on the Bearcats. However, single-game tickets are on sale now (starting as low as $30) for the first two games of the season: Towson (Aug. 31) and Pitt (Sept. 7).
Led by head coach Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati enters its second season in the Big 12 this fall. In 2023, the Bearcats ranked fifth in the country in rushing, returning 1,000-yard rusher Corey Kiner and their entire offensive line. Cincinnati also brings back All-Americans: right guard Luke Kandra, nose tackle Dontay "The Godfather" Corleone and punter Mason Fletcher.
A pair of historic rivalries return to Nippert Stadium with Pitt coming to town for the first time since 2012 and West Virginia heading to the Queen City for the first time since Isaiah Pead led the Bearcats to a 24-21 victory in 2009. Cincinnati will also open the season against Towson while hosting TCU for the first time since 2004 and Arizona State for the first time ever. Additionally, Houston returns to Nippert Stadium for the first time since the Bearcats' 35-20 victory in the 2021 AAC Championship, a triumph that secured Cincinnati's place in the 2021 College Football Playoff.
The complete 2024 Cincinnati football schedule can be found here: Web | Printable