UC Spring Football 2011

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--- Over the course of this spring the Bearcats will have completed 14 practices and Bearcat Bowl IV. That game, of course, comes on Saturday at 7 p.m.

It will be the closest thing to a game-time environment the coaching staff has to evaluate the players. The question is, when it comes to evaluating, how much more attention is placed on the game in comparison to the 14 practices that come before.

You would think that at least a little more respect would be given to players making plays in the game Saturday, but Butch Jones didn't view it that way.

"We evaluate everything, even all individual periods are filmed. And I don't believe in game time players or gamers, you are going to perform on gameday with the hard work you put in in practice. Everything is evaluated from the time we walked in here in strength and conditioning all the way to the spring game and it is a combination of everything."

--- Jones has plenty on his plate these days. In the midst of completing his first spring season, still getting acclimated to his new surroundings and evaluating every player on the UC roster.

Worrying about the hot-button issue of conference expansion, particularly how it could affect the Big East, is not among his concerns.

"I haven't given it much thought," he said. "I am concerned with bringing out the potential in our players."

The concept of this expansion was first broached back in December, right around the time Jones was hired at UC. In this uncertain time frame, was that something that played at all in weighing his options of schools?

"You look at everything," Jones said. "Level of competition, where they compete, opportunity to win, commitment to resources, you look at all that."

http://cnati.com/blogs/paul/2010/04/notes-goebel-has-the-power-jones-talks-bearcat-bowl-expansion-sort-of.php
 
Cincinnati's final practice before the spring game ended with the team taking several minutes to practice the way it comes out for stretching and various warm-up routines, including a cheer to get the team pumped up.

The spring game, which will be televised by Fox Sports, will feature four 10-minute periods, the last two of which will have running clocks. Jones will match the first-teamers against the second-teamers, and he'll go into the stands and allow selected fans to call plays from the team's playbook. He said the game will only show about 20 to 25 percent of the team's offense and defense, and it's likely that offensive stars Armon Binns and Isaiah Pead won't play or will be severely limited because of injuries.


http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/9288/cincinnati-rutgers-spring-games-this-weekend
 
Spring game..Collaros looks secure

Under head coach Butch Jones' spring game scoring system, the offense beat the defense, 60-55.

Collaros completed his first 11 passes and led the first-team offense to three touchdowns in the first half against the second-team defense.

He finished with 18 completions in 20 attempts for 218 yards and two touchdowns.

"We had a good rhythm going," Collaros said. "I felt really comfortable out there today. I thought it was a great outing for our offense. I feel really good going into the summer. I'm just going to keep working my butt off to keep getting better."

Obviously, it won't be that easy during the regular season against opponents' first-team defenses, but Collaros was impressive nonetheless. So was wide receiver D.J. Woods, leading all receivers with six catches for 88 yards and one touchdown.

"He did a great job of advancing the ball (after the catch)," Jones said. "We've talked about in our offense that you've got to be able to catch and advance the ball and I thought he did a great job that way."

Woods also threw a 60-yard pass to Vidal Hazelton after taking a pitch from Chazz Anderson in a bit of razzle-dazzle that a fan selected out of Jones' playbook.

"I told Zach he better watch his spot," Woods said. "I might take it. I just tried to get the ball out there. He's a playmaker. I knew he was going to go get it."

Hazelton caught four passes for 88 yards and running back Darrin Williams led all rushers with 64 yards on 12 carries. Williams received the bulk of the carries with Isaiah Pead nursing a knee injury.

The first-team defense played well enough to prevent the second-team offense from scoring, but Jones was not happy with the tackling.

"A lot of our mistakes occurred with our second defense and we've got to get that corrected because you're one snap away," Jones said. "We've just got to be a better tackling team overall."

The defensive highlight of the game was a Sean McClellan interception that he returned 33 yards

SPT0101/4250357/1062/SPT/UC+QB+sharp+in+scrimmage
 
espn blog...spring game review

Cincinnati coach Butch Jones still hasn't officially named Zach Collaros his starting quarterback yet. Chalk that up to a motivational tactic, because there's no way Collaros won't be under center when the Bearcats open the season.

The junior was razor sharp in Saturday's Bearcats Bowl, hitting his first 11 passes and completing 18 of 20 overall for 218 yards and two touchdowns. Granted, his performance came against the second-team defense.

Receiver D.J. Woods had six catches for 88 yards and a score and threw a 60-yard pass to Vidal Hazelton on a play that Jones let a fan in the stands select. Hazelton had four catches for 88 yards and a score.

Tailback Darrin Williams got most of the carries with Isaiah Pead and John Goebel out with injuries. Williams finished with 64 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts.

The second-team offense failed to score against the first-team defense.

Dan Giordano, Aaron Roberson and Chris Williams collected tackles for loss that scored points for the defense in Jones' modified scoring system.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast
 
Spring Football-Cnati

After 14 consecutive practices without any rain, No. 15 -- and the only one where weather actually mattered -- saw it pour down. Too bad, because I think there was probably a large contigent of UC fans that would have come out had the weather been great. In fact, there were some that showed up at 5 p.m. and sat under cover for two hours in anticipation. There is a fine line between team devotion and a case of the crazies. A think a few people probably crossed it.

Not that there was a whole lot to take from this game, as writer/author/Sports Rocker/Jethro Tull connoiseur Josh Katzowitz pointed out, Danny Milligan was the star of last year's game. We all saw what that meant.

But, here are a few of the observations and interesting tidbits I came away with not only on Saturday but from all of spring practices.

--- These receivers are on pace to live up to the hype. Everyone knows what Armon Binns can do and he is entering the season as one of the most highly regarded players in the conference.

But Vidal Hazelton may be just as good. The USC transfer has all the athletic tools, that's why he originally committed to the Men of Troy. But he showed he could have the complete package throughout the spring.

His acceleration off some of the bubble screens on Saturday made you realize the sky will be the limit when the Cats get him in space.

And as good as both of them are, D.J. Woods looked better, at least on Saturday.

None of three are lacking confidence, either.

When I asked if he thinks this trio of receivers is at top of the national scale, Hazelton spoke quickly and making his position clear.

"I can confidently say yes," he said. "There is no doubt about it. I think we are the best receiver group in the nation."


As far as where the comparisons could be made, Boise State would probably argue that Austin Pettis and Titus Young should be considered. They combined for 1,896 yards and 24 touchdowns last season. Add in Tyler Shoemaker and the argument is legit.

Individuals like Georgia's A.J. Green, Pitt's Jonathon Baldwin, Notre Dame's Michael Floyd and Alabama's Julio Jones will be in the picture with whoever ends up playing next to them. But, UC certainly can make a case.

Professing it in the spring might have been a little much for Woods' taste, but he wouldn't deny that is the mindset.

"I feel like that, too," Woods said. "We have the mindset we have to be the best in the country. That is how we work every day. We practice hard, we watch film hard, we call each other and make sure we have a great connection. I think one day we will get there."
--- It's hard to tell how much of the offense we actually saw on Saturday. It is hard to believe that was anything but a vanilla offensive scheme -- outside of the trickeration reverse pass from Woods. But we likely did see what the base offense will consist of and that is an onslaught of wide receiver screens.

UC ran many of those under Brian Kelly as well, but Jones seemed to favor them a bit more. The biggest issue there will be the blocking ability of the wideouts. Binns (6-4, 210), Hazelton (6-2, 210) and Woods (6-1, 170) must consistently hold blocks downfield even more so than they did last year.

They blocked well on Saturday, but that came against the backup defense. They will need to spend some time working on technique and, of course, bulking up in the weight room.

"The offense, I grasped it a lot toward the end of spring," Hazelton said. "I feel like I know it pretty good. Still, sometimes you go out there you still make minor errors. I just want to clean those up, esepcaillly on blocking. We didn't get a chance to really cut this spring, so that is something I really want to do is cutting."
--- Butch Jones will play fast. Every practice runs like you are watching it in fast forward mode. The offense keeps the same pace. They make BK's practices look like they were run in mud.

Expect the uptempo pace to translate to the games and this team to not lose a step on offense.

--- All the pressure lies on this defense. Without a senior starter and having lost five players from last year's group that gave up nearly 40 points a game over the final half of the season, they will determine how far this team goes.

Players like Drew Frey, Walter Stewart, Dominique Battle, John Hughes and J.K. Shaffer must take major strides. If they don't the offense may again be required to post 45 and 47 points as they did against Pitt and UConn, respectively, to win games.

Knowing the defense is the group everyone questioned is currently serving as the rally cry for that group. More than anything, they are taking in everything the coaches are installing -- that is going to have to be good enough for now.

"I would probably like to motivate from fact nobody can score on us, but reality is our kids are like sponges," Kerry Coombs said."They are very young. They are not starting a single senior on defense. They are eager, enthustiastic. Not where they need to be and they know that. You don't get a lot of push back from them. It is not like, especially with staff change, don't have guys saying 'No, we did it this way.'"

http://cnati.com/blogs/paul/2010/04/what-we-learned-uc-spring-football.php
 
Spring answers


1. Loaded with skill: New coach Butch Jones said running back Isaiah Pead was a model of consistency, and speedster Darrin Williams had a standout spring to give the Bearcats another weapon in the backfield. Receiver is stacked with Armon Binns, D.J. Woods, USC transfer Vidal Hazelton and junior-college import Kenbrell Thompkins. Ben Guidugli leads a talented tight end group. Everywhere you look, Cincinnati is loaded at the skill spots.

2. Center of attention: Evan Davis was a bit of a question mark coming into the spring while trying to replace Chris Jurek at center. Davis performed well enough to erase those questions. Cincinnati offensive line as a whole got banged up a bit, but the same five who were starting before spring were there atop the post-spring depth chart.

3. Zach is back: Jones waited until after the spring game to name Zach Collaros his starting quarterback, though there was little suspense about that formality. Still, Collaros had to prove he could master a new offense and go through his progressions instead of just taking off and running. Jones liked Collaros' development throughout the spring, and now the quarterback will try to build on his breakthrough 2009 campaign.

Fall questions


1. Defensive depth: Once again, the Bearcats face questions about their defense after losing five high-level starters. The first string is solid, but the defense needs more depth, especially up front on the defensive line as it transitions back to the 4-3. Derek Wolfe is an anchor in the middle; Cincinnati needs more guys like him.

2. Secondary competition: Jones mixed and matched his corners and safeties this spring, and he said the competition will be fierce as the team heads into fall. Expect a real fight at cornerback, where Dominique Battle and Camerron Cheatham try to hold onto their pre-spring starting status.

3. Can the magic continue? Cincinnati's players appeared to embrace Jones and his staff's new way of doing things. Yet there's no denying that Jones faces a tough task in following three-time Big East coach of the year Brian Kelly. The Bearcats have a tough schedule, playing at Fresno State, at NC State and against Oklahoma in the first four weeks, and they'll have a huge target on their backs in the Big East after winning the league two straight years. Can Jones keep the good times rolling, and will the players stay hungry for more success?


http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/9470/cincinnati-spring-wrap-2
 
Defensive Depth A Problem (katz)

Recently in Katz on the Cats Category
Defensive depth still a problem
By Josh Katzowitz on May 5, 2010 11:05 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Butch Jones began spring practice talking about building up the depth of his defense. He ended it discussing the same subject. Yes, some strides were made during UC's 15 practices, but the defensive depth chart still will be something to work on as the Bearcats begin their summer workout regime in preparation for next season's fall camp.

From the Sugar Bowl starting lineup, the Bearcats said goodbye to Ricardo Matthews, Alex Daniels, Curtis Young, Andre Revels, Brad Jones and Aaron Webster. They also lost Craig Carey and Marcus Waugh. All of them were important, solid members of the UC squad

That leaves Derek Wolfe, J.K. Schaffer, Walter Stewart, Drew Frey and Dominique Battle as the underclassmen starters to return. John Hughes and Dan Giordano - both of whom made a good impression last year - also will look to make an impact. It's a good base to be sure.

But obviously, UC needs more defensive talent. That's what Jones wanted to see throughout the spring. He didn't exactly get what he wanted.

"It's an ongoing process," Butch Jones said. "It continues to be a work in progress. This summer will be big for a lot of individuals, especially with some people on the defensive line - to get in shape and to get bigger, faster and stronger. Our captains and leaders of the team will run our practice this summer. They have to learn the system more. There were times (during the spring game) where we struggled getting lined up right. That can't happen."

During the spring game, some unfamiliar names popped out at you if you perused the final defensive statistics. Alex Delisi (he's a junior linebacker) led the team with eight tackles and a sack. Ricardo Thompson (junior linebacker) had six tackles, as did Will Saddler (redshirt freshman defensive back). Maalik Bomar (sophomore linebacker) had five tackles, while relatively unheard of players such as Steve Hancock, DeMarkus Bracy and Aaron Roberson each contributed a sack.

Still, Jones wasn't too happy with his second-team defense's performance in Bearcat Bowl IV.

"I still wasn't pleased with the tackling," Jones said. "A lot of our mistakes occurred with the second defense. You have to get that corrected, because as you know, you're one step away. We'll go back and we'll look at this again. To have a chance to be really successful and have a great defense, we have to get off the field. You get off the field by being a great tackling team."

One bright spot was the interception by Sean McClellan, a redshirt freshman defensive lineman from Moeller who picked off Chazz Anderson and made a nice runback. He's one potential depth builder.

"I don't know if I am right now," McClellan said. "The only thing I have to worry about is getting better."

As does the rest of the defense to build that much-needed depth.

"Our No. 1s are doing a great job, but the 2s and 3s will continue to have to step up," McClellan said. "We'll just have to work real hard in strength and conditioning. There's still a lot of work to do."

http://www.gobearcats.com/blog/katz-on-the-cats/
 
Attendance numbers

Saw this on BCN, so I borrowed it.

http://forums.bearcatnews.com/showthread.php?t=8804goto=newpost

OSU: 65,223
ND: 27,241
WVU: 21,029
Rutgers: 20,114
UC: 10,000
Miami (FL): 10,000
UK: 9,000
USF: 6,537
Pitt: 6,532
UL: 5,600
IU: 5,325
Purdue: 5,000
Syracuse: 4,752
UConn: 2,500

It also says, "Adverse weather affected the attendance for several schools, including Ohio State, Auburn, Oklahoma, Cincinnati and Louisville."


Info taken from SportingNews article
 
Shout out to Boy Kembrell Thompkins keep yah head up boy.. GODs Will thas all..
about 14 hours ago via UberTwitter
Click to expand...

Post from Vidal... we know a few of Vidal's twitter statements have turned out not to be true in the past, though there were some extenuating circumstances in those it seems... could this mean Thompkins was ruled ineligible for this season?
 
Certainly doesnt look like good news. I am actually fine with that. I think bones will be fine and Thompkins will have 2 years with us as the number 1.
 
Spring Primer

CINCINNATI
Practice begins: March 29
Spring game: April 16
Final practice: April 23
The buzz: The first task will be to upgrade a defense that ranked second-to-last in the Big East in '10 and last in 2009. The Bearcats can't blame youth anymore as they return every starter from last season, led by LB J.K. Schaffer. Only six teams nationally forced fewer turnovers than Cincinnati (14). On offense, the priority will be to bolster a line that returns only two starters off an ineffective unit.


For rest of big east teams....

http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1186837
 
[The Bearcats can't blame youth anymore as they return every starter from last season, led by LB J.K. Schaffer. Only six teams nationally forced fewer turnovers than Cincinnati (14). On offense, the priority will be to bolster a line that returns only two starters off an ineffective unit. [/QUOTE]

Wasn't Butch saying that even though they're returning starters, they still have to learn to play smart?
 
TommyG_Sideline Just saw Walter Stewart walking into the bubble. It would no longer be fair to describe him as "skinny" #Bearcats

From Twitter
 
Devin and Drake Bruns both from Highlands were there as well as "KJ" Dillon and Qua Barnes from a Apopka, Florida.
 
Watching some videos on CBJ's blog with Coach Addae in them and I'm realizing why we're pulling in a lot of very nice RB talent right now... he's a very well spoken, charismatic guy. Even during practice he seems to articulate what he wants from his players very clearly and it appears as though he has a very nice rapport with them.
 

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