The University of Cincinnati football team put a bow on its first week of fall camp with a scrimmage in front of family Saturday at Nippert Stadium.
It wasn't about which side of the ball won or lost. Instead, UC coach Luke Fickell said he wanted to see execution from the first-team offense and defense, highlight the playmakers on the second-team units, and see some real competition, even through mistakes, between the third-team groups.
It was also a much-needed break from the grind at Higher Ground before the Bearcats resume their preseason preparation in the middle of Southeast Indiana's farm country on Monday.
"We go hard, and we try to give them these opportunities to say, hey, there's a little bit of a break," Fickell said. "I know it's not a lot, but for an afternoon to maybe go to dinner with your family, get up tomorrow morning and maybe go to service or whatever, go to breakfast with your family, and then go back and lock in and go for another hard week. I think that's the way we would like to do it. It kind of worked out that way this year. We still have to be smart about what we're doing. It's not bad for the coaches either to maybe go home and sleep in their own bed and see if that family's still at the house waiting for them."
Saturday marked three weeks until Cincinnati, which is ranked 10th in the preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll, the highest preseason ranking in program history, opens the season at Nippert. The Bearcats are scheduled to host in-state rival Miami University on Sept. 4 in front of an expected capacity crowd.
"I know they really enjoy coming back here on the campus," Fickell said. "We've been challenging them because we started to have those boiling points about Day 7 where you start to get edgy, playing each other all the time. But they came out here in a really competitive situation and played hard and didn't lose their minds. As competitive of guys as we have, sometimes there's a point at which it goes the other step and you can lose the sight on football and playing football, but they did a really good of both competing and controlling the emotional side of things that I think gives us the chance of going from really good to maybe great."
Here are five observations from the Bearcats' first week of fall camp:
Desmond Ridder looks more confident and has more control of the offense
UC's fifth-year senior is noticeably different. He's calm. He's relaxed. The 2020 American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year is as comfortable as he's been since arriving at Cincinnati in 2017.
"Yeah, he's a different guy, for sure," wide receivers coach Mike Brown said of Ridder. "He's really, really confident right now, as he should be. They (Ridder and the receivers) put in a lot of work this summer and it's showing. Those guys are really on the same page."
The Bearcats had seven new receivers last season. With a year with that group under his belt, Ridder has looked both mentally and physically sharp, keeping his turnovers down and his completion percentage high.
"I've seen a lot more confidence in him," senior wide receiver Alec Pierce said. "He's really taken control. I think he's understanding the game and just making the smart play. Say if you've got pressure, you'll get the ball out quick just to check down. That's not the glamorous throw but it's the smart and right thing to do. I've seen that a lot from him this year."
Alec Pierce is healthy and it's showing
The Bearcats' top deep threat is back.
Ridder's increased comfort level is due, at least in part, to having his No. 1 target from two seasons ago healthy and at full strength.
After leading the team with 652 receiving yards and a 17.6 yards-per-catch average in 2019, Pierce played just six games in 2020, missing the first four games of the season with a knee injury.
"It feels great to be healthy," said Pierce, who dead-lifted 675 pounds this summer, the most in program history by a "skill" player. "I'm very happy. I've got to shout out Aaron (Himmler) and the athletic trainers. All the rehab guys, they did a great job rehabbing me this offseason. I came into camp feeling 100% and I still am feeling 100%, so that's awesome."
UC's defense looks just as dominant
The Bearcats have had not just the No. 1 defense in the AAC over the past three seasons, they've also had one of the most dominant defensive units in all of college football.
But Cincinnati lost its longtime defensive coordinator, Marcus Freeman, to Notre Dame in January, its two all-conference safeties, Darrick Forrest Jr. (Washington) and James Wiggins (Arizona Cardinals), to the NFL a few months later and its leading tackler, Jarell White (Calgary Stampeders), to the CFL.
But the show must go on.
With first-year defensive coordinator Mike Tressel now pulling the strings, the UC defense hasn't missed a step, continuing to cause turnovers and wreak havoc both up front and on the back end.
"He's different than what we've had in the past, but it's still football, man," graduate linebacker Darrian Beavers said of Tressel. "He brings a different side of things that I feel we're better, the team that we have now. But he is different and it takes time to adjust to the different coaching style. But like I said, I think he's going to better us this year."
Beavers, a Colerain High School native who transferred back home to Cincinnati from the University of Connecticut in spring 2019 largely because of Freeman, was hesitant to reveal how Tressel differs schematically from Freeman. After all, the Bearcats will face Freeman and Notre Dame on Oct. 2 in South Bend.
"It's kind of the same stuff that we've been doing in the past, kind of different," Beavers said. "I don't want to go into details. I don't want to throw his playbook out there. But he just teaches it a different way. He's more of a pre-snap guy, knowing what you have pre-snap, knowing everything that you need to do before the ball's even snapped. I feel like that's his big focus."
The offensive line is slowly taking shape
It's hard to get an accurate gauge on the ability and cohesion of the offensive line because 2020 first-team All-AAC defensive end Myjai Sanders and the rest of the defensive line is so dominant and effective at getting pressure on the quarterback.
However, three players have stood out as UC offensive line coach Ron Crook continues to search for the right combination to put in front of Ridder.
Senior Vincent McConnell's leadership has been a highlight of camp. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound McConnell has had reps at guard, tackle and center over the first week.
Junior Lorenz Metz is working hard to recapture the play that earned the 6-foot-9, 326-pound Neuötting, Germany, native 13 starts between both tackle spots in 2019 before being relegated to a backup role last season.
James Tunstall, the 6-foot-5, 311-pound Connecticut and Stony Brook transfer, has fit in nicely at left tackle. Though it remains to be seen where he will fall in the rotation come Sept. 4, the best news of camp so far came when the Bearcats learned the NCAA approved Tunstall's waiver for immediate eligibility.
"He's been great. He came in and fed our culture right away," Crook said. "He just kept his mouth shut and worked and got better. He can definitely help us."
UC is deep on the outside
The strength of this team may be on the outside. Cincinnati is deep at both the wide receiver and cornerback positions.
Pierce, Tre Tucker and Michael Young Jr. are no doubt the Bearcats' top receivers. But sophomores Tyler Scott and Jadon Thompson and freshman Will Pauling have all found their way into the end zone on plenty of occasions.
"We've got a really, really good battle out here between (Scott) and Jadon Thompson," Brown said. "I think both of them are having a good camp. They're both making some plays. I'm excited to see those guys go at it this year."
One of the top performers so far in camp has been junior cornerback Jaquan Sheppard. HIs transition from safety to corner bas been smooth and he has fit in nicely in a talented group of corners that includes Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner, Coby Bryant, Arquon Bush and Justin Harris.
"Jaquan Sheppard is probably the most-improved individual from last fall to this fall," cornerbacks coach Perry Eliano said. "Even though he’s behind Sauce, I tell you, man, he’s grown leaps and bounds, especially mentally.”