BearcatTalk.com Confirms with Butch Jones

[Thegreatone]

1) That Zach Colloras will NOT be playing baseball this year.

He will be focusing completely on football. There was some debate on this but it seems he is 100% committed to the football team.

2) The biggest area of concern for next years team is the depth.

The team has great starters but maybe have some young backups that will need to learn in a hurry.

3) UC will be playing a 4-3 on defense.

Interesting. It will be fun to see if that changes some current starters position like Walter Stewart or a douple of the big D lineman.

4) When I asked him if there would be any visitors he said "Yes, my family looking for housing".

This is what we have right now. More to come but these are the questions BearcatTalk.com was able to ask CBJ (Coach Butch Jones) and was able to get direct responses.

 

[swg]

There you have it. Our first 'exclusive' with the UC coach. Well done, Oh Great One.

 

[Mopper]

I think moving back to the 4-3 is going to be a good thing for the defense as a whole. Finding a position for Walt will be interesting, he has the athletic ability to stand up in coverage on zone blitzes but regardless of where he plays, as an OLB, DE or a hybrid he needs to add about 25 to 30 pounds. The strength of this defense in terms of talent is still up front. Wolfe will be a force in this scheme, he racked up 41 tackles, 8 TFL's and even more impressively 5 sacks from a Nose Tackle in a scheme designed for him to eat up blocks and little else.

 

[Kingsley Court]

Just wondering, how did we get ahold of CBJ..NOT columbus Blue jackets, which I'm sure lead to some confusion in your post.

 

[swg]

He was available from 12-1 on Cincinnati.com to take questions about the program/recruits.

 

[Kingsley Court]

Oh, that's cool. Good work Great one, if it was you who asked the questions. Much Appreciated

 

[Thegreatone]

Just wondering, how did we get ahold of CBJ..NOT columbus Blue jackets, which I'm sure lead to some confusion in your post.

I was listed as "BearcatTalk.com" on the chat and submitted about 20 questions. Those are the ones he responded too.

As for the 4-3 I am excited to go back. The 3-4 is good is you have big beefy lineman and OLB but we never did.

Going to the 4-3 will help our run defense and hinder our pass defense a little bit.

Wolfe and Lorenzo will be big timers in the middle of the 4-3. Also Gordiono will flourish in the new scheme. I believe JK and Walter will be great OLB in the 4-3 with great speed.

Who will be the MLB? I am not sure. Maybe Soloman Tentman who can bench nearly 450 pounds and hasn't even walked onto campus yet.

 

[Thegreatone]

Butch also expressed his concern at RB. In the chat he said they will be looking nationally for a RB.

When asked if this class was done he said we are never done and will always look to improve our team.

 

[Thegreatone]

I think it is great that Butch takes the time to do this for the fans.

www.cincinnati.com has the chat still up if you missed it!

Remember I am BearcatTalk.com

 

[DontMissHim]

Good job Great1. Pretty good information, do you think Butch pushed colloras against baseball or it was all Zachs move? I wouldnt be shocked if CBJ pushed him towards focus on football and think BK would have done the same thing.

 

[Thegreatone]

I have a feeling it was mutual with a little extra "push" from Butch.

Although Butch coached at WVU when Pat White played baseball and was quarterback.

Still I think it is better to have Zach focus on football.

 

[Little Danny]

I have a feeling it was mutual with a little extra "push" from Butch.

Although Butch coached at WVU when Pat White played baseball and was quarterback.

Still I think it is better to have Zach focus on football.

There's a huge difference between Zach and Pat White. Zach primarily filled the roster for the baseball team and added an exta bat. Pat White was an all-conference baseball player who was highly sought after by many MLB teams. Remember, when Zach signed on for baseball last year he was about 3rd or 4th on UC's depth chart. Now that he is the likely starting QB for next season, it only makes sense he focuses on football.

 

[Thegreatone]

Oh no, I agree totally. I am just pointing out the fact that he has seen it done before and it turned out OK.

I think we all agree we would rather Zach focus 100% on football.