The University of Cincinnati may have the best cornerback tandem in the country.
Over the past two-plus seasons, Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner and Coby Bryant have combined to form a virtually impenetrable layer on the outer edge of the Bearcats' defense. In the process, they've received an embarrassing amount of recognition for their respective play on the field.
Both Gardner and Bryant earned first-team All-American Athletic Conference honors last season.
Gardner appeared on five All-America teams following the 2020 campaign, including earning a second-team nod from the Associated Press. The AP named Gardner, a junior who has yet to allow a touchdown in his college career, to its preseason first-team All-America team before the start of this season.
Both Gardner and Bryant appeared on the watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award, presented annually to the top defensive back in college football.
Gardner earned a spot on the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, presented annually to the Football Writers Association of America's National Defensive Player of the Year in college football.
Not to be outdone, Bryant, a graduate student, played his way onto the watch list for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, awarded to the defensive player that has the biggest IMPACT on their team both on and off the field. IMPACT is an acronym for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
All of those are necessary qualities for a great cornerback. But what especially makes Gardner and Bryant great?
Confidence and poise
Both Gardner and Bryant possess the right amount of confidence and poise that give Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell and his defensive coordinator – first Marcus Freeman and now Mike Tressel – the confidence to continuously put the two corners in man coverage. That means they're on an island, just them and the receiver in front of them.
"Obviously, you've got to have some confidence because you are on your own in a lot of situations," Fickell said. "But also I think the uniqueness of being calm enough. As you really look at Coby, growing from a young guy to a more mature corner, as competitive as he is, you gotta change a little bit as a corner because there are situations where you've got to know when and how.
"The hard thing about a D-lineman or a linebacker is if someone gets beat or you miss a tackle, you get up, you get pissed, you go back and you hit somebody harder. But the unique thing at that position (cornerback) is you've got to be able to react, you've got to be able to take a few deep breaths and not be over-juiced by what just happened and be able to have that poise to play the next play. Uniquely, obviously, they're both very talented, but I think that's one of those traits that gives them the opportunity to go from being really good to great.
"Coby's learned it, and I think Ahmad naturally has it."
Work ethic
Every coach wants their best and most gifted players to also be their hardest workers. The Bearcats have that in Gardner and Bryant.
"I'm blessed to have those two young men," Cincinnati cornerbacks coach Perry Eliano said. "They work extremely hard. We're always looking for what can we do to be better. So we have a little acronym: CANI, which means Constant And Never-ending Improvement. We've talked about that ever since we came back off of the break after the bowl game (Peach Bowl on New Year's Day).
"The cool thing about those guys – Coby and Ahmad – is they just go to work. They're coachable, they're humble and they're open with their mind and their heart, so for me, I'm truly blessed. I know they're talented, but more importantly, they're good, young men."
Length, speed and athleticism
At 6-foot-3, Gardner is a matchup nightmare for most receivers. The Detroit native has the length and reach to stand toe-to-toe with anyone and has the speed and athleticism to stay with anyone.
"I always give him the analogy that when I put on the tape, I want to see a guy who's 6-3 playing like he's 5-10," Eliano said. "So from time to time, I'll say, 'You know what made Randy Moss so gifted? He was 6-5, but you would have thought he was 5-9 because of how he moved.' So, I said, 'For you, a guy that's got length – you can't coach length, you can't coach speed – I want to be able to put on the tape and say, 'You mean to tell me that that guy is moving like that and he's 6-3?' That's when you're really going places. That's when you're really on an elite level.'
"He takes the coaching. I coach him extremely hard just like all my guys, and he knows that, he embraces that, he wants that."
The right mindset
At 6-foot-1, Bryant doesn't have Gardner's length, nor does he have quite the same speed and athleticism. But Bryant more than makes up for it with his physicality, toughness (he had two interceptions against Temple in 2018 while wearing a cast on his broken right hand) and mental approach.
"The experience piece on the field for him is huge," Eliano said. "I think where he's really grown and why he came back (for an extra year of eligibility) is he knew from a mental aspect that he wanted and needed to learn more of the game in order to be better for this year. He knew that. A lot of young men would get caught up in the possibilities of going to the NFL right now and just taking their chances. He's smart enough – with a great support system at home with his mom, his dad and his brother –to know I need to come back. Having him back and having him being very, very locked in and knowing that he needs to get better from a mental standpoint, knowing he needs to really, truly understand the whole defense and spit it out and process it, that's awesome. It's exciting. I'm excited because he's grown even more. He was already a good player, but he's grown even more to become a great player."
Eliano also praised Gardner's mental approach, particularly when the cornerback knows everyone is watching him.
"He has a tremendous mindset," Eliano said. "He's the ultimate competitor. He never gets rattled or tight under the bright lights. He lives for those."
The right attitude
Gardner and Bryant are two of the Bearcats' most intense players. That intensity even boils over – though only occasionally – when they get into heated exchanges with their wide receiver teammates on the opposite side of the ball.
But coaches love that.
"They're locked in," Tressel said. "There was a time earlier in camp when I thought (Gardner) was jawing and getting in a little bit of a fight, maybe losing his mind a little bit. In the middle of the mayhem, he turned to me and says, 'Don't worry, Coach. I'm good. I got this.' He's always locked in. He's got a way of making people think maybe he's not, but he's always right there."
And when it's time to really have some fun, both Gardner and Bryant are able to shed that intense layer and be the life of the party.
"I don't know if you would know it or not, but Coby and 'Sauce' are the main ones in the locker room, pregame – mind you, pregame, I don't really approve of it but whatever – that are jumping around, dancing around, getting hype," Cincinnati senior quarterback Desmond Ridder said. "And I'm like, 'These guys gotta go running with some top wide receivers here. Just take it easy a little bit.' But nah, those are two great players, and they just feed off each other, too."