ATHLON SPORTS 2006 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEWS

If it looked as if the Cincinnati Bearcats were boys playing against men at times last season, that’s because in many respects they were. The Bearcats played 10 first-year freshmen, six of whom started. In fact, 30 of the 44 players on their depth chart had one season or less of Division I-A experience.

Throughout the 4–7 season, Cincinnati’s first in the Big East, coach Mark Dantonio, the former Ohio State defensive coordinator, talked a lot about the future and about growing with this group of players.

So the good news for the Bearcats this season is that all of those players have a year of experience under their belts as Cincinnati begins its third season under Dantonio with starters returning at 17 positions. But this team still has a lot of growing to do.

Two years ago, Dantonio inherited a senior-laden team that he led to the Fort Worth Bowl. Last year, the Bearcats had to start over and finished 2–5 in the Big East.

"This year, at least we have experience coming in," Dantonio says. "We have the knowledge of playing Big East teams, and we have a staff with continuity. We need to continue to take steps toward the success of this program. I don’t know how many steps there are to the top, but if there are eight of them, we’re stepping up on one or two."

LOWDOWN

Coach: Mark Dantonio (3rd season, 11-12)
2005 record: 4-7
Big East finish: 2-5 (t-6th)
2005 I-A offensive rankings:
Rushing: 82nd (124.6 ypg)
Passing: 83rd (199.9 ypg)
2005 I-A defensive rankings:
Rushing: 90th (180.4 ypg)
Passing: 64th (221.3 ypg)

DEPTH CHART

Offense (7)

WR  14  *Earnest Jackson  Jr.  81  Antwuan Giddens  Jr.
WR  -  Derrick Stewart  Fr.  16  Dominick Goodman  So.
LT  74  Ken Rodriguez  Jr.  77  Jeremy Bolton  Jr.
LG  71  *Jeff Reinstatler  Sr.  66  J.P. Simon  Jr.
C  73  Mario Duenas  Jr.  64  Chris Flores  Jr.
RG  76  Trevor Canfield  So.  63  Jon Tobin  Jr.
RT  72  *Digger Bujnoch  Jr.  79  Khalil El-Amin  So.
TE  85  *Brent Celek  Sr.  89  Connor Barwin  So.
QB  4  *Dustin Grutza  So.  9  Nick Davila  Sr.
FB  86  *Doug Jones  Jr.  35  Marcus Waugh  Fr.
TB  11  *Bradley Glatthaar  Jr.  48  Greg Moore  Sr.

Defense (10)

DE  12  Anthony Hoke  Jr.  53  Tony Carvitti  Sr.
DT  95  *Terrill Byrd  So.  98  Patrick Mimms  So.
DT  54  *Jon Newton  Jr.  75  Thomas Claggett  So.
DE  56  *Trevor Anderson  So.  10  Lamonte Nelms  So.
OLB  42  *Corey Smith  So.  82  Angelo Craig  Jr.
MLB  52  *Kevin McCullough  Sr.  45  Ryan Manalac  So.
OLB  37  *Anthony Williams  Jr.  55  Leo Morgan  Sr.
CB  21  *Mike Mickens  So.  33  John Bowie  Sr.
CB  5  *Antoine Horton  Sr.  19  Marshwan Gilyard  So.
SS  49  *Dominic Ross  Sr.  18  Cedric Tolbert  So.
FS  13  *Haruki Nakamura  Jr.  38  JaJuan Hall  Sr.

Special Teams
K  15  Kevin Lovell  Sr.
P  47  Kevin Huber  So.
KR  16  Dominick Goodman  So.
PR  26  Mike Daniels  Sr.

(#) Indicates number of returning starters
* Indicates returning starters

2006 SCHEDULE

Sept. 2  Eastern Kentucky
Sept. 8  Pittsburgh
Sept. 16  at Ohio State
Sept. 23  at Virginia Tech
Sept. 30  Miami (Ohio)
Oct. 7  Akron
Oct. 14  at Louisville
Oct. 21  South Florida
Oct. 28  Syracuse
Nov. 11  at West Virginia
Nov. 18  Rutgers
Nov. 25  at Connecticut

OFFENSE

Second-year quarterback Dustin Grutza will attempt to improve on a so-so rookie season behind an offensive line that has been bolstered by the presence of two junior college transfers who are expected to add physical maturity to a young group.

The Bearcats have three capable running backs in Bradley Glatthaar, Greg Moore and Butler Benton, although none has breakaway speed. That overall lack of team speed has also been a problem at wide receiver, but newcomer Derrick Stewart, an academic non-qualifier last year, is expected to add to that element this season. Sophomore Dominick Goodman, a converted high school quarterback, made strides as a receiver toward the end of last season. Senior Bill Poland doesn’t have great speed but could become a dependable possession receiver. Juniors Earnest Jackson and Antwuan Giddens both showed potential last year. Senior tight end Brent Celek is the most talented player on this unit and a candidate for All-Big East honors.

DEFENSE

The defense welcomes back 10 starters, but there are still plenty of question marks here. The best of the returnees are sophomore tackle Terrill Byrd and cornerback Mike Mickens, who was a second-team All-Big East selection as a freshman last year.

Coach Mark Dantonio used a lot of different combinations at linebacker last season and discovered two potentially effective players in senior Kevin McCullough and sophomore Corey Smith. Incoming freshman Freddie Lenix was the most highly regarded member of Cincinnati’s recruiting class and could make an immediate impact.

The secondary is one of the deepest areas of this team. In addition to Mickens, the Bearcats return junior free safety Haruki Nakamura, senior strong safety Dominic Ross and senior cornerback Antoine Horton. Dantonio is also expecting contributions from four incoming freshmen newcomers.

SPECIALISTS

Senior placekicker Kevin Lovell is looking to rebound from a mediocre season in which he made only 4-of-9 field goal attempts. Cincinnati must find a new punter after the graduation of four-year starter Chet Ervin.

Goodman showed flashes of brilliance as a kickoff returner in the second half of last season. Mike Daniels and Nakamura are solid, if not spectacular, punt returners.

FINAL ANALYSIS

In a sense, this is really only the second year of Dantonio’s rebuilding project at Cincinnati. During his first year, he inherited a senior-laden team and led it to a victory over Marshall in the Fort Worth Bowl. Last year, the program’s first in the Big East, the Bearcats had one of the youngest teams in the country — with 10 first-year freshmen, six of whom started. In fact, 30 of the 44 players on their depth chart had a season or less of Division I-A experience, and they frequently played like it. Those players all have a year of experience under their belts this season and should improve on that basis alone.

But this is a team that still lacks speed and is still looking for a replacement for career passing leader Gino Guidugli at quarterback; and he graduated two years ago. Grutza played well at times last year, but he was often too slow in his decision-making. He’ll have to reclaim the job over senior Nick Davila and redshirt freshman Craig Carey.

In a town that’s nuts over the NFL Bengals, this program badly needs a game-breaking player who can capture the imagination of local fans, who don’t embrace Cincinnati football the same way they embrace the Bearcats’ basketball program.

This Cincinnati team preview was pulled from our 2006 National College Football preview magazine. To order this or the 2006 Eastern Regional preview magazine - with expanded team page coverage and conference features - click here

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