TicketsCINCINNATI, Ohio – Cincinnati football head coach Scott Satterfield announced 19 additions on Early Signing Day on Wednesday.
Satterfield's third Early Signing Day with the Bearcats yielded a class with seven players from Ohio and a lot of size. Twelve of the 19 players signed on Wednesday are listed at 6-3 or taller and eight play on the line of scrimmage, four on the offensive line and four on the defensive line.
"I am excited about today," Satterfield said. "We finally get to have these guys sign up for our program. We've been recruiting these guys for a long time, and finally, officially, we can sign them and talk about these players. The thing about this class is that we went after size. We have eight offensive and defensive linemen, four and four on each side of the ball. I think we had 12 players that are 6'3" or taller that are going to look more like Big 12 type players when you think about that length and size. These guys will get into the program and will fill out a bunch."
"When we're thinking about recruiting high school as a whole, initially, we really want to go after big players," said Cincinnati's general manager Zach Grant. "We want to win in the trenches through high school. So, you think about this class, we had 12 players signed now that I would consider in the trenches, in the front seven. Two linebackers, four D-linemen, four O-linemen, and two tight ends. Typically, those are the hardest positions to acquire in the portal, big people are hard to find in the country. In terms of strategy, we want to sign big high school classes every year and then retain the ones that we really like as they develop."
Leading the crop of Ohioans in the recruiting class is quarterback Zeb Kinsey (Wellsville, Ohio/Toronto HS), a well-regarded dual threat prospect. Offensive lineman Jeremiah Kelly (Avon, Ohio/Avon) is one of four offensive linemen UC signed and will be playing for a state championship on Thursday night. He'll lead Avon High School against Cincinnati Anderson in the OHSAA DII State Championship Game, Avon's first title game appearance since 2011.
Running back signee Zion Johnson (Covington, Ga./Newton HS) is one of six players from Georgia in the class and recently capped a prolific prep career, totaling 5,130 rushing yards and 44 touchdowns. Six freshmen additions from Georgia makes 12 total in the last two recruiting classes, proving the Bearcats can go anywhere to bring talent to Clifton.
Dec. 4 is the earliest Early Signing Day since it was added to the recruiting calendar in 2017 and will be followed by another wave of player movement in the coming weeks as the transfer portal opens on Monday, Dec. 9.
"As you think about last year's class, we had so many guys that ended up playing," Satterfield said. "Four of the guys were over 900 snaps as freshmen. So, we will be counting on some of these guys to come in here and help us next year. I think this is the model that we want to follow. As you think about signing roughly 20 high school players every year and then getting into the portal, which will start next week, you're getting 12 to 14 players and filling in some gaps. So, I think that's a good formula to go about year after year, to help stabilize the team, but also bring in some really good players."
Last year, Cincinnati added a bevy of stars in the portal, including quarterback Brendan Sorsby, running back Evan Pryor, tight end Joe Royer and linebackers Jake Golday and Jared Bartlett.
The 2024 high school signing class also yielded several potential stars. Cincinnati saw true freshmen play more than 900 combined snaps on offense and defense with defensive back Jiquan Sanks, linebacker Simeon Coleman, linebacker Montay Weeden and tight end Gavin Grover all logging at least one start.
Satterfield's third Early Signing Day with the Bearcats yielded a class with seven players from Ohio and a lot of size. Twelve of the 19 players signed on Wednesday are listed at 6-3 or taller and eight play on the line of scrimmage, four on the offensive line and four on the defensive line.
"I am excited about today," Satterfield said. "We finally get to have these guys sign up for our program. We've been recruiting these guys for a long time, and finally, officially, we can sign them and talk about these players. The thing about this class is that we went after size. We have eight offensive and defensive linemen, four and four on each side of the ball. I think we had 12 players that are 6'3" or taller that are going to look more like Big 12 type players when you think about that length and size. These guys will get into the program and will fill out a bunch."
"When we're thinking about recruiting high school as a whole, initially, we really want to go after big players," said Cincinnati's general manager Zach Grant. "We want to win in the trenches through high school. So, you think about this class, we had 12 players signed now that I would consider in the trenches, in the front seven. Two linebackers, four D-linemen, four O-linemen, and two tight ends. Typically, those are the hardest positions to acquire in the portal, big people are hard to find in the country. In terms of strategy, we want to sign big high school classes every year and then retain the ones that we really like as they develop."
Leading the crop of Ohioans in the recruiting class is quarterback Zeb Kinsey (Wellsville, Ohio/Toronto HS), a well-regarded dual threat prospect. Offensive lineman Jeremiah Kelly (Avon, Ohio/Avon) is one of four offensive linemen UC signed and will be playing for a state championship on Thursday night. He'll lead Avon High School against Cincinnati Anderson in the OHSAA DII State Championship Game, Avon's first title game appearance since 2011.
Running back signee Zion Johnson (Covington, Ga./Newton HS) is one of six players from Georgia in the class and recently capped a prolific prep career, totaling 5,130 rushing yards and 44 touchdowns. Six freshmen additions from Georgia makes 12 total in the last two recruiting classes, proving the Bearcats can go anywhere to bring talent to Clifton.
Dec. 4 is the earliest Early Signing Day since it was added to the recruiting calendar in 2017 and will be followed by another wave of player movement in the coming weeks as the transfer portal opens on Monday, Dec. 9.
"As you think about last year's class, we had so many guys that ended up playing," Satterfield said. "Four of the guys were over 900 snaps as freshmen. So, we will be counting on some of these guys to come in here and help us next year. I think this is the model that we want to follow. As you think about signing roughly 20 high school players every year and then getting into the portal, which will start next week, you're getting 12 to 14 players and filling in some gaps. So, I think that's a good formula to go about year after year, to help stabilize the team, but also bring in some really good players."
Last year, Cincinnati added a bevy of stars in the portal, including quarterback Brendan Sorsby, running back Evan Pryor, tight end Joe Royer and linebackers Jake Golday and Jared Bartlett.
The 2024 high school signing class also yielded several potential stars. Cincinnati saw true freshmen play more than 900 combined snaps on offense and defense with defensive back Jiquan Sanks, linebacker Simeon Coleman, linebacker Montay Weeden and tight end Gavin Grover all logging at least one start.