UC FB Practice Report: Bearcats Wrap Fall Camp with Competitive Second Scrimmage

CINCINNATI — The University of Cincinnati football team held its second scrimmage of training camp on Friday morning, a competitive session that lasted a little over two hours at Nippert Stadium. The scrimmage marked the end of fall camp for the Bearcats with classes starting Monday and the season opener just two weeks away.

Early in the action, sophomore safety CJ Crite impressed by jumping a short pass route for an interception that likely would have gone for a pick-six in a live game.

Crite gained national recognition earlier this summer when teammate Evan Tengesdahl shouted him out for Bruce Feldman’s annual "Freaks List," highlighting his remarkable physical strength.

"He’s lifting like three times his body weight. It’s crazy how strong he is," Tengesdahl said in Feldman’s article.

When asked about the shoutout by his teammate, Crite was quick to show appreciation saying, "That's love right there. That's all love. Hey, shout out [Tengesdahl]," Crite said. "He definitely put me on the radar, and once he put me on the radar, it was like, man, I got to show up. I have no choice but to show up."

Crite has taken advantage of an expanded role in the Bearcats secondary following an injury to transfer safety Ty Goodwill.

"Once I seen him go down, I was like, 'Yeah, I got to step up. I got to,'" Crite said.

Despite being sidelined, Goodwill has remained an active presence in the safety room.

"He’s been a big leader," Crite said. "Just because he's injured, he also keeps going. He doesn't like just sit around, none of that. He actually motivates us. Sometimes at night I'll text him asking about a play. He'll respond back to me just like that."

Head coach Scott Satterfield was pleased with Crite's progression and performance on the day.

"I thought Crite had some good plays today," Satterfield said. "Had a nice pick there early in the scrimmage."

As the scrimmage progressed, quarterback Liam O’Brien, who continues to battle Samaj Jones for the backup quarterback role—showcased impressive connection on back-to-back throws with freshman wideout Jalen Williams. Williams, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound receiver from Bloomington, Indiana, ran two vertical routes to the outside and won both contested matchups over the cornerback. The first went for an intermediate gain, while the second was a contested go-ball touchdown.

Satterfield addressed the backup quarterback battle following practice.

"It's been good," Satterfield said. "I mean, I think Liam's had some really good days the last probably three or four practices. He's a guy who's smart, but he's learning the offense better, more and more as he's going along. Today was big. So, we'll go back and grade this film right here and see how they ended up doing, but it's been a battle between him and Samaj."

Starting quarterback JC French IV reflected on the unit's growth coming out of fall camp.

"I think I kept growing throughout fall camp on offense," French said. "I thought we established good chemistry as it went on. We're all excited to play another team and not keep playing our own defense, but I'm really excited for what we have this season."

The depth of the running back room came to life later in the scrimmage when Stanford transfer Cole Tabb broke loose on an estimated 70-yard run, setting up the first-string offense inside the goal line.

French praised Tabb and the talent stacked in the backfield room.

"I think Cole Tabb, who was a little hurt early in camp, had a really strong finish to camp," French said. "Like you said, that room is really deep. I think they can all play at a really high level. They're going to rotate a lot, and I think they're all going to have special years."

During the subsequent goal-line team drills, both units delivered standout plays. French found wide receiver Malachi Henry on a rollout pass for a score.

French emphasized the mindset required when operating near the goal line.

"It's about having that heart," French said. "When we're on the goal line, everybody knows what we're doing, they're going to load the box, and you've just got to do your job and get the ball in."

Shortly after, cornerback Zay “Gravy” Johnson delivered a hard hit on a running back to force and recover a fumble, sending the defensive sideline into an eruption.

Satterfield praised the defensive unit's bounce-back effort and situational execution to close out the session.

"I thought defense had a really good day today," Satterfield said. "I thought they tackled better than they did the first scrimmage, which you want to see better tackling because we hadn't tackled a ton this camp. So, for them to come out today, make some corrections from last scrimmage, I thought was really good."

"I thought they did a good job of holding them out of the end zone here, especially when the ball was down inside the two-yard line," Satterfield added. "That's a great goal-line stand. You know, that's the stuff you want to see."

Cincinnati opens the 2026 season at home at Nippert Stadium on Saturday, September 5, against Boston College. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on FOX.