The University of Cincinnati football team had its final practice of fall camp Saturday at the Higher Ground Conference and Retreat Center. It marked the end of the Bearcats' 23rd straight camp at the rural Southeast Indiana site.
Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell closed the curtain on his fifth trip to Higher Ground. But for the second straight year, Fickell, who celebrated his 48th birthday on Wednesday, watched nervously as his players piled back onto the bus en route to UC's Clifton campus where fall classes start Monday.
Fickell's nerves stemmed from concerns around COVID-19, the virus that either canceled or postponed a large fraction of Cincinnati's 9-1 season in 2020.
Last year, the campus wasn't as crowded, as most classes were conducted virtually. But this year, the university is back to full swing, with increased on-campus and in-person activity.
The No. 8/10 ranked (Associated Press/Coaches) Bearcats have high expectations for themselves this season. But unlike last season, teams that are forced to cancel a game because of COVID-19 will have to forfeit. That would derail everything Cincinnati is working for.
"We'll be preaching until we turn blue in the face," Fickell said. "There will be text messages at about 6 o'clock, at 8 o'clock and at 10 o'clock just to remind them of all the things that they've worked for, all the things we have on the line, and you're a part of something bigger than yourself."
That puts even more pressure on the Bearcats' on-field leader, senior quarterback Desmond Ridder. The 2020 American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year spoke with The Enquirer after the team's final practice at Higher Ground.
Question: On Day 1 of camp, you said you wanted to have a high completion percentage, a low turnover count, more consistency, and you wanted to see yourself take this offense's confidence to where it needs to be. Did you accomplish those goals?
Answer: We accomplished two of those goals. The completion percentage I know is up there. I know Coach Sopko (student-assistant coach Jake Sopko), he's got the overall stats from camp. So when we get back, we'll look at it.
I think the confidence part is the one thing that we ... I don't want to say lacked on, but kind of built on. We're not there yet. I'll still have talks with the guys when we get back home. The confidence part still needs to grow, and I mean up front (the offensive line), really.
Like you guys say all the time, we're going against the top defense every single day. It gets tough on them (the O-line). It does. When we get into the season, it gets a lot easier. So just for them to know that ... you can't say the hard part's past them, but you put in a lot of work and it's going to pay off.
Q: Renfro (sophomore center Jake Renfro) didn't get a lot of reps out here (due to a minor injury), obviously, but did you like how the O-line looked from the beginning to the end of camp?
A: Yeah. So, when Renfro went out, I was like, oh, who's going to be that No. 2? Vinny (senior offensive lineman Vincent McConnell) moved over from right guard to center, and we got (freshman) Gavin Gerhardt in there for a good amount of time, which was good. The first couple of days, like I said, I was a little nervous. But after the next five days, I said, you know what, I'm glad we did that. I'm glad he's been running with the ones because now he feels it, now he's got it, now he understands it, he's been there, he's got experience.
Just the switch-up for all five of the O-linemen, just being in different places, I think it was good for them to experience.
Q: (University of Connecticut/Stony Brook junior transfer offensive lineman) James Tunstall got great news during camp that he'll be eligible immediately. How has he looked and how big is that that he'll be able to play with you guys right away?
A: He's looked good. He's got to work on his feet. He's got to work on his hands, keeping them inside a little bit more, from what I know from an offensive-line standpoint. But I think he's going to be great for us, not only as a starter, but as just for depth, too. Just being able to rotate guys in and out if guys are tired or if something unfortunate may happen.
Q: This is your last go-around at Higher Ground. Is it a bittersweet feeling?
A: Yeah, it is bittersweet. I'd definitely say I'm going to miss this place a little bit ... not too much, just a little bit. I'll definitely miss the guys. Being here, being here 24/7 with them, joking, laughing, some late nights, early mornings, those obviously hot summer days, rainy days. It's everything that makes the memories around here. It's what makes it worth it.
Q: This time last year, you guys broke camp and there was an obvious sense of urgency and a heightened sensitivity with having to be careful and smart with COVID. Is there the same urgency this year?
A: Yeah, we've got a couple guys who aren't vaccinated. It's really just protecting them, you know? With the new variant going around, I don't know how that works with people who are vaccinated and unvaccinated and what not. But we still have to be cautious.
We have 40,000 people pulling up to school this week. They'll be on campus. So we just have to be smart as a team because the one thing that's different between last year and this year is games aren't made up. So when that game's canceled, that game's over with. You're never going to see it again. That's tough for guys like me, us seniors, who work so hard the past four or five years to have a game canceled.
Q: Does something change for you when you break camp? What I mean by that is some guys will go, OK, camp is over. It's time to lock in, it's time to get into Miami mode. (The Bearcats open the season Sept. 4 at home against in-state rival Miami University.) Is there something that happens to you once camp is over or is it just the same preparation?
A: I'd say it changes a little bit. Get my body right, first of all. Recover the body, get it back to 100%. I don't have any injuries or anything like that right now, but it's just making sure I'm feeling healthy. You've got sore legs. It feels like you've got a refrigerator on your back out here the last day of practice.
But no, we've got two weeks until game day. We'll take this next week to kind of start to intro Miami, and then the following week, we'll begin really going into Miami. So it's just really getting in with the coaches, making sure you're understanding their (Miami's) defense and looking forward to playing some football.
Q: You've been away from your little girl these past few days. (Ridder and his longtime girlfriend, Claire Cornett, welcomed their first child, a daughter, Leighton Elizabeth, in April.) Has that been difficult?
A: I mean, yeah, it's been tough for me. I think what makes it easier for me is I've got all these guys around me to just kind of cheer me up, keep me in a good place. But no, I'm excited to go home and see her. This is the longest I've been away from her.