UC Bearcats' success vs. Oklahoma hinges on their pass rush in Big 12 opener
If there was a time for the University of Cincinnati's highly publicized defensive line to deliver, it would be Saturday afternoon at Nippert Stadium in their Big 12 debut against Oklahoma.
Last year, UC defensive coordinator Bryan Brown's Louisville defense led the nation in sacks with 50. Currently, his Bearcat crew has 10, which puts them on pace for 40.
Given that Oklahoma redshirt senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week last weekend for his 28-for-31 passing effort for 421 yards and five scores vs. Tulsa, there's no time like the present. Solving Gabriel won't be easy as he's led the Sooners to a 3-0 record and a No. 16 ranking in the country by being sacked just once and throwing only one interception.
Some Bearcats have seen Gabriel before
In 2019, Cam Jefferies, "Sauce" Gardner and Jarell White all picked off a then-freshman Dillon Gabriel of UCF as the Bearcats knocked off No. 18 Knights 27-24. UC also had three sacks. The following year in Orlando, they beat him again 36-33 with three more sacks.
UC redshirt senior Malik Vann is a veteran like Gabriel and played against him in both of those games.
"He's a good quarterback, left-handed kid," Vann said. "(He's) mobile and puts the ball on a rope if he absolutely needs to. He's smart. He's older now. We got him when he was a young puppy. He's fifth-year now and grown and matured a lot."
Eric Phillips has seen his playing time increase in recent years but was waiting his turn the last time UC faced Gabriel. Still, he recognizes the importance of putting Oklahoma's No. 8 down.
"We've got to get him," Phillips said. "He's a phenomenal quarterback. He's been in the game a long time, makes the reads and knows how to run. It's going to be a tough task this week but I know we can get that done. We're locked in. It's going to be a tough day for him."
This defensive line has seen extreme measures taken to avoid sacks
Of UC's 10 sacks, senior defensive end Jowon Briggs has one, redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Dontay Corleone one, redshirt senior defensive end Phillips two and senior Vann has 1.5. From the linebacker spot, redshirt sophomore Jack Dingle has one, outside linebacker Daniel Grzesiak has 1.5. Dion Jones has a half sack, as does star defender Deshawn Pace. Junior safety Bryon Threats has one and redshirt senior defensive back Taj Ward has a half sack.
"The Godfather" Corleone is on the Chuck Bednarik Award list, the Walter Camp list, the Outland Trophy list and the Bronko Nagurski Award list, but not yet high on the sack list.
"I might not make every play, but I'm still making a play at the same time holding double-teams," Corleone said. "I knew coming into the season what it was going to be as far as the double teams. I'm not really getting frustrated. I'm just knowing it's going to happen, so I've got to live with it."
Said his former Colerain High and current Bearcat teammate Phillips, "We see double teams, triple teams. We see extra pulling. We see a lot of things that we really didn't get to see last year. Now. we've got more exposure and people know about us, we get a lot of everything."
Vann says they rotate personnel a lot because of all of the attention drawn to them. That way offenses can't key on the same guy each time.
Losing to Miami University has fueled the fire for UC veterans
Veteran defensive lineman Briggs was one of many players frustrated with losing the Victory Bell, especially coming in their final seasons. His charge as a leader has been to help guys turn the page.
"It's very aggravating and for everyone who came before me, I apologize, that was not our best game," Briggs said. "You really have to have that next-play mentality. That's something I'll harp on with the linemen and all the guys. You look at it (tape) and you've got to clean it up and move on to your next game."
Said Vann, "It stings having never lost to them, but we're ready to move past it."
Bearcats with Sooner experience
In the Dec. 30, 2020 Cotton Bowl, UC quarterback Emory Jones and receiver Xzavier Henderson were Florida Gators. Jones was sharing time at quarterback with Kyle Trask then and finished the game 8-for-16 for 86 yards passing and had ten carries for 60 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Henderson caught one pass for 12 yards. Jones was a redshirt sophomore and Henderson just a freshman as Oklahoma won 55-20.
Big 12 opener visitors
Among those slated to attend the game on a UC visit are four-star corner Onis Konanbanny (2025) of Columbia, South Carolina; 2025 four-star quarterback commit Samaj Jones from Philadelphia; corner commit Jiquan Sanks of Phenix City, Alabama and defensive back Patrick Williams from Rabun Gap, Georgia
Malachi Moreno
UC basketball entertained 6-11, four-star Malachi Moreno from Great Crossing High School in Georgetown, Kentucky at the Miami game.
Moreno has also made visits to Xavier, Ohio State, Iowa, Tennessee and Kentucky and plans to see Notre Dame. Moreno knows current Bearcat CJ Fredrick who knew his older brother, Michael from AAU. The lengthy pivot is a current junior.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC's defensive line key to stopping Oklahoma in Big 12 opener
