Cincinnati Bearcats football moves Brady Drogosh from quarterback to linebacker

After dazzling a year ago with long runs and a 75-yard touchdown pass to Barry Jackson in the Red and Black Spring Game, redshirt freshman Brady Drogosh is making a unique position move.

Though he's always been a quarterback, to speed up his chances of getting on the field at Nippert Stadium, the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder is moving to linebacker. Thursday at practice, the quarterback's shirt was off and Drogosh sported a defensive black No. 12 jersey.

Moving Day

The move comes midway through the allotted 15 spring practices.

"Our whole emphasis is we've got to find somewhere to put Drogosh on the field," UC head coach Scott Satterfield said. "I don't want him standing beside me on game day. Whatever we can do to make that happen. We recognize it's going to take a little time over there to figure out. He's also working with our special teams. He's a tremendous asset for this team."

Satterfield didn't rule out a return to quarterback but thinks Drogosh has the versatility to do a lot of things.

Another former Mr. Football

Drogosh came to the Bearcats as a recruit of the Luke Fickell staff. He was ranked the top player in Michigan and a Top 50 player by On3. He led Warren De La Salle to back-to-back Michigan state titles as a junior and senior. During his career he threw for 4,881 yards and 58 touchdowns while rushing for 3,304 and 49 scores.

The 2022 Michigan Mr. Football chose the Bearcats over Indiana, Kansas and Pitt. Now he joins former Ohio Mr. Football Evan Prater in switching positions for the benefit of the team.

"He's big and can run," Satterfield said. "Since he's been here, he's probably put on at least 30 pounds of muscle. He's one of our faster players and one of our best leaders on the team."

This spring, Drogosh appeared to be behind Indiana transfer Brendan Sorsby with veteran Brady Lichtenberg and freshman Semaj Jones fighting for the backup role.

Input from new defensive coordinator

There is precedent in this move by the UC defense coordinated by Tyson Veidt. Veidt came from Iowa State where head coach Matt Campbell famously moved Joel Lanning from a starting quarterback to linebacker for his senior season in 2017.

Lanning had passed for 2,584 yards and 20 scores and ran for 983 and 17 touchdowns in his career behind center. In his senior year with the Cyclones, he was third in the nation in average tackles per game at 8.8. He also moonlighted a little on offense and had the rare stat line that included recording a sack, an interception and a fumble recovery while also running and throwing for a touchdown.

Rather than transfer, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound senior was All-Big 12, a First Team All-American and the runner-up for the Paul Hornung Award.

Some switches pay off

UC has often had quarterbacks switch positions, most famously Travis Kelce who came to the Bearcats as a quarterback from Cleveland Heights and developed into a likely Pro Football Hall of Famer at tight end.

"There's been many examples," Satterfield noted. "There's been a lot of examples in my 26 years of coaching and a lot of our other coaches have had great examples. Ultimately, we're just trying to find the best spot for him to be able to make plays as an individual and also to help the Bearcats."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC football's Scott Satterfield says Brady Drogosh is now a linebacker