TicketsCINCINNATI – Tight end Gavin Grover’s touchdown and defensive back CJ Crite’s interception were among the highlights of Cincinnati football’s second scrimmage of the spring on Friday at Historic Nippert Stadium.
The Bearcats held their 12th practice of the offseason outside on a breezy, overcast afternoon, completing more than 100 plays in full pads over the two-plus-hour session.
The practice ended with a simulated two-minute drill beginning at the opponent’s 20-yard line. Transfer quarterback JC French quickly marched the offense down the field, completing several short throws and a red-zone fourth-down conversion to Grover to keep the drive alive. After a false start inside the 10-yard line, the defense kept the offense out of the end zone.
Still French had a standout day, finding redshirt freshman receiver Gio Kontosis for a 40-yard catch and threading the needle to transfer receiver JV Gibson for a touchdown. French has thrown four touchdowns with no turnovers over the two spring scrimmages, earning praise from fourth-year head coach Scott Satterfield.
“I think he’s been very impressive these 12 practices,” Satterfield said following the scrimmage. “I think he's gotten better and better as we've gone through. He’s gotten more comfortable. And again, we're throwing a lot of stuff at him right now, and the way we're coaching him, what we're wanting him to do, I think he's lived up to that. Today, he made a couple of errant throws, but I mean, the thing about JC that comes across, he throws a very good, catchable football and it's accurate, and he plays with a lot of poise. He runs probably better than I thought he could run when he got here. You can tell he's a veteran. You can tell he's played a lot of football. And so, it's been good to see, and really for him it's just about getting comfortable with the wide receivers and tight ends and the guys he's throwing it to.”
French and the Bearcats will practice twice next week before welcoming fans for the Spring Showcase open practice and scrimmage on Saturday at 12 p.m.
Other highlights during Friday’s scrimmage included transfer Malachi Henry hauling in a 50-yard pass from quarterback Liam O’Brien. Henry is proving to be a big-play threat after scoring three touchdowns in last weekend’s scrimmage.
Transfer running back Zylan Pery took a swing pass for a chunk play to set up a touchdown pass from redshirt sophomore quarterback Samaj Jones to Grover from the goal line, while running backs Zion Johnson and Gi’Bran Payne also found the end zone during the practice.
The biggest offensive play of the day came on an 80-yard touchdown toss from true freshman Brooks Goodman to fellow first-year player H’eij Jackson.
Jones found junior receiver Isaiah Johnson for a score during a red zone situational drill, too.
On defense, Crite’s interception came in the end zone to thwart a scoring drive, and redshirt freshman linebacker Terrell Holcomb blew up a run play for a huge tackle for loss near the end of practice.
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