TicketsCINCINNATI – Four members of the University of Cincinnati football team met with the media on Thursday to preview spring football. Redshirt junior quarterback Brendan Sorsby, redshirt senior offensive lineman Gavin Gerhardt, redshirt senior tight end Joe Royer, and redshirt senior defensive tackle Dontay Corleone all spoke on Thursday, previewing spring football practice.
Full Press Conference
Quarterback Brendan Sorsby
On excitement of spring practice and football
"I am excited about spring; it's been a very tough winter and pretty much every workout we go through is tough. I am just excited to get football going and see what these guys got that we brought in from the transfer portal. And I am excited to see the guys that we brought back, just see how they've grown and everything. I'm excited to see how we do as an offense and excel from last year."
On committing to coming back this season so early
"I think we were really close to being a really good team last year. We lost a lot of close games, and I felt like if we got the right pieces back then we could really take that jump as a team, especially as an offense. I feel like we left so much out there, and I was just excited to get back and see what we can do this year. We are going to go out there and see what happens, but I feel really good about where we are at right now."
Offensive Lineman Gavin Gerhardt
On using extra year of eligibility and the process
"I knew after redshirting my freshman year, and then with the COVID year, that I had another year. I committed to playing here when I was a sophomore in high school, I committed to playing here the whole time I'm in college, no matter if that's four, five or six years. When I had that opportunity to come back for a sixth year, there was no doubt that this was where I was going to be."
On spending time with the newer and younger players in offseason workouts
"We've been training for eight weeks now. I think the first week, we started having little meetings, but since then, we've been meeting three to four times a week regardless of if there are coaches in there or if it is just me in there with them. If I'm in there with them, it's just the young guys going over calls or what we make adjustments to, not necessarily game planning a defense right now, but are going against our defense, just the basics of what we do. So, we've been doing that for eight weeks now."
Defensive Tackle Dontay Corleone
On his message to local kids coming here and staying home to play football
"I tell them that it is the best feeling in the world, staying home and just building your foundation here. It is awesome to build that legacy here. This offseason, I'm buying a house here and even with my dreams of going to the next level, I'll always have a home here. I love this place so much. I try to tell them that you don't have to leave to go to the NFL. You can go to the NFL from Cincinnati. We are going to develop you and Coach Niko; Coach Satterfield and the rest of the staff are going to help you get to your goal."
Tight End Joe Royer
On his relationship with Brendan Sorsby and how high the ceiling is
"The ceiling can go a lot higher and we're still working through some things, but from this time last year to now, it is night and day. I understand a little bit of what he kind of wants me to do. A lot of the times route running-wise, you'll have certain depth on a route, but most of the time you're not hitting that. You have to find zones and Brendan [Sorsby] knows what I'm seeing, and I kind of know what he's seeing, so we kind of just build that bond. I'm super excited to get back to work with him and just build that bond again for next season."
On excitement of spring football starting soon
"I am super excited. Dontay [Corleone] and I are both older guys and this offseason stuff kind of gets a little old quick. I just want to go out there and play football. I know I'm really excited and I know he is as well. I think we got a great attitude going in the spring practice, starting next week."
Full Press Conference
Quarterback Brendan Sorsby
On excitement of spring practice and football
"I am excited about spring; it's been a very tough winter and pretty much every workout we go through is tough. I am just excited to get football going and see what these guys got that we brought in from the transfer portal. And I am excited to see the guys that we brought back, just see how they've grown and everything. I'm excited to see how we do as an offense and excel from last year."
On committing to coming back this season so early
"I think we were really close to being a really good team last year. We lost a lot of close games, and I felt like if we got the right pieces back then we could really take that jump as a team, especially as an offense. I feel like we left so much out there, and I was just excited to get back and see what we can do this year. We are going to go out there and see what happens, but I feel really good about where we are at right now."
Offensive Lineman Gavin Gerhardt
On using extra year of eligibility and the process
"I knew after redshirting my freshman year, and then with the COVID year, that I had another year. I committed to playing here when I was a sophomore in high school, I committed to playing here the whole time I'm in college, no matter if that's four, five or six years. When I had that opportunity to come back for a sixth year, there was no doubt that this was where I was going to be."
On spending time with the newer and younger players in offseason workouts
"We've been training for eight weeks now. I think the first week, we started having little meetings, but since then, we've been meeting three to four times a week regardless of if there are coaches in there or if it is just me in there with them. If I'm in there with them, it's just the young guys going over calls or what we make adjustments to, not necessarily game planning a defense right now, but are going against our defense, just the basics of what we do. So, we've been doing that for eight weeks now."
Defensive Tackle Dontay Corleone
On his message to local kids coming here and staying home to play football
"I tell them that it is the best feeling in the world, staying home and just building your foundation here. It is awesome to build that legacy here. This offseason, I'm buying a house here and even with my dreams of going to the next level, I'll always have a home here. I love this place so much. I try to tell them that you don't have to leave to go to the NFL. You can go to the NFL from Cincinnati. We are going to develop you and Coach Niko; Coach Satterfield and the rest of the staff are going to help you get to your goal."
Tight End Joe Royer
On his relationship with Brendan Sorsby and how high the ceiling is
"The ceiling can go a lot higher and we're still working through some things, but from this time last year to now, it is night and day. I understand a little bit of what he kind of wants me to do. A lot of the times route running-wise, you'll have certain depth on a route, but most of the time you're not hitting that. You have to find zones and Brendan [Sorsby] knows what I'm seeing, and I kind of know what he's seeing, so we kind of just build that bond. I'm super excited to get back to work with him and just build that bond again for next season."
On excitement of spring football starting soon
"I am super excited. Dontay [Corleone] and I are both older guys and this offseason stuff kind of gets a little old quick. I just want to go out there and play football. I know I'm really excited and I know he is as well. I think we got a great attitude going in the spring practice, starting next week."