Cedar Creek football standout JoJo Bermudez commits to Cincinnati

JoJo Bermudez heard a lot of sales pitches during his recruitment process.

One coach told him his school wanted to make Bermudez the “face of the program.” Others said he’d be a starter as a freshman.

They were big promises, but the Cedar Creek High School senior didn’t understand them.

“You haven’t met me yet,” Bermudez said. “I haven’t stepped foot on campus yet, haven’t practiced yet. You’re telling me something and I haven’t even got on the field yet. For a coach to say that, I don’t buy into that.”

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Bermudez wanted to go somewhere where they “kept it real.” That’s exactly what Cincinnati did.

Bermudez officially committed to the third-ranked Bearcats Monday night over Rutgers, who he originally committed to last November but decided to look into other options in August.

He also considered Tennessee, Syracuse, Vanderbilt and Temple.

“They told me what I needed to hear,” Bermudez said of Cincinnati. “It wasn’t sugarcoated or anything. They told me you come in, you work hard, you can play. They didn’t tell me I’m starting or anything. As long as I’m working, they don’t care about grade. If you’re a baller, you’re a baller, and you’re going to play.”

Bermudez has definitely balled this year as he has 66 catches for 1,273 yards and 11 touchdowns (14 total). He’s currently second all-time in South Jersey in career receptions and third in yards. A standout defensive back and special teamer too, Bermudez said Cincinnati plans to use him on offense.

“They can have me outside and inside,” he said. “They like my route running and my speed. I’m a threat anywhere on the field.”

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The 5-foot-9, 160-pounder had planned on being that threat in New Jersey initially, but after giving it some thought, he realized he signed with Rutgers too quickly.

“When I committed to Rutgers, I committed a day after they offered me,” he said. “I was just trying to make everyone around me happy about my decision going there, staying home. I wasn’t really thinking it through. As I was getting deeper into (the process), as I was thinking about it more and more, I wanted to open my recruitment to see other places and stuff.”

Cincinnati quickly grabbed his attention.

“Coach (Fickle) has got a strong winning record there, 41-6 while he’s there,” Bermudez said. “They win a lot of football games. Some people would down talk them because they’re not in a big division, but they beat teams like Notre Dame, beat ranked Indiana earlier in the season. I think they can hang with anybody and going to the Big 12 in 2023, that opened my eyes too.”

While the Bearcats have been a headline grabber this year at 10-0, Bermudez still feels they’re overlooked. That’s exactly how he feels too.

“When I do step on a college field and I do blow up, coaches are going to regret it (not offering me),” he said. “I like being overlooked and stuff. That makes me go harder.”

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He felt Cedar Creek was overlooked coming into this season and that helped propel the top-seeded Pirates to the South Jersey Group 3 final, where they’ll meet No. 3 Delsea for the sectional championship on Saturday.

Bermudez was so confident his team would be playing for a title that he purposely set his signing up for Monday to make it a week he’ll never forget.

“My high school team, we went 3-5 last year. Nobody thought we’d go 11-0 this year,” he said. “That’s the best thing about football. You stay down until you come up. You work hard when you the underdog. I’m a hard worker, so for me to go to Cincinnati, how they the underdog, I want to be a part of that to show people why I’m the best.”

Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Cedar Creek star JoJo Bermudez commits to Cincinnati