UCF opponent previews: Scott Satterfield, Emory Jones usher in new era at Cincinnati
Nickname: Bearcats
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Enrollment: 47,914
Home field: Nippert Stadium (Capacity: 38,088)
Conference: Big 12
2022 record: 9-4, 6-2 American Athletic Conference
All-time series record vs. UCF: 4-4
Last meeting: Oct. 29, 2022 (UCF won 25-21)
Editor's note: This is the ninth installment in a 12-part series highlighting UCF's 2023 football opponents.
With the War on I-4 on indefinite hiatus, and South Florida stuck in Group of Five purgatory, UCF needs a new rival.
Sure, Houston and UCF could battle for the right to claim the title of "Space U" — and the Knights close their debut Big 12 campaign when the Cougars come to town on Thanksgiving weekend.
Factoring in on-field history and surprising off-field animosity between the teams and fan bases, however, Cincinnati stands alone as the obvious choice.
The Knights and Bearcats have met head-to-head in each of the last eight seasons, splitting the outcomes — as opposed to Houston, which UCF has played just twice since 2016. UCF and Cincinnati also broke new G5 ground in building their cases as expansion candidates; the Knights won 25 consecutive games between 2017-18, and the Bearcats became the first non-P5 program to earn an invitation into the College Football Playoff in '21.
Under new leadership as it begins life in the Big 12, Cincinnati was picked to finish 13th by the conference's media representatives — worst of the quartet of newcomers and ahead of only West Virginia. Let's learn more about the Bearcats, the most familiar of UCF's dozen foes this season.
Scott Satterfield searches for 3rd straight win over Gus Malzahn
Two days after Cincinnati's chances to exit the American Athletic Conference as champions ended with a home loss to Tulane, Luke Fickell swiftly and somewhat surprisingly filled the coaching vacancy at Wisconsin. Fickell won 76% of his games over six years in charge and presided over two AAC crowns in addition to steering the Bearcats into the CFP semifinals.
Cincinnati looked just beyond state lines to find Fickell's replacement, appointing Scott Satterfield from nearby Louisville on Dec. 5. Satterfield went 25-24 in four seasons at Louisville, following a highly successful 47-16 run over five years at Appalachian State.
The offensive-minded Satterfield, 50, could never quite get Louisville to crack the ACC's upper echelon statistically. The Cardinals never finished higher than fifth in total offense or scoring offense within the league during his reign.
However, Satterfield pulled off wins in back-to-back seasons against Gus Malzahn and UCF — aided by the dueal-threat dynamism of quarterback Malik Cunningham and, in part, by a rash of in-game injuries sustained by the Knights' offensive skill players.
Louisville prevailed in a 42-35 shootout in 2021 when Jaylin Alderman returned an interception 66 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 13 seconds left in regulation. Last year's return date in Orlando proved to be a defensive slugfest, but Cunningham's 43-yard, third-quarter TD run turned the tide — and temporarily cooled the heat on Satterfield after the Cardinals' dismal opener at Syracuse the week before.
UCF rebounded from that defeat, and another to East Carolina, to topple Cincinnati last October and end the Bearcats' 19-game AAC winning streak. Mikey Keene came off the bench for the concussed John Rhys Plumlee to throw for 176 yards, and RJ Harvey put the Knights ahead for good with a 17-yard score in the final minute.
'Godfather' Dontay Corleone anchors deep defensive front
Top Offensive Returners: RB Corey Kiner, OL Gavin Gerhardt, RB Myles Montgomery, WR Evan Prater
Top Defensive Returners: DL Jowon Briggs, DL Dontay Corleone, LB Jack Dingle, LB Deshawn Pace, DL Eric Phillips, DB Byron Threats, DL Malik Vann
This is far from the same group that raided the College Football Playoff two winters ago. That roster featured 12 NFL draft picks, to date, including New York Jets star cornerback Sauce Gardner and Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder.
Still, Cincinnati possesses quality talent on defense, highlighted by Preseason All-Big 12 selection Dontay Corleone. As a redshirt freshman, Corleone — aptly nicknamed "The Godfather" — tallied 45 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, three sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries to earn Associated Press third-team All-America status.
New defensive coordinator Bryan Brown, who followed Satterfield from Louisville, oversaw a unit that led the nation in sacks and finished seventh in tackles for loss. The front-six has plenty of depth and experience, boosted by the return of redshirt senior Malik Vann, who suffered a season-ending pectoral injury two games into 2022.
The cupboard is a bit barer as far as impact returners go on offense. Evan Prater, thought to be the Bearcats' QB of the future, has switched positions to wide receiver — in part due to a shoulder injury that could have sidelined him for the season.
"He's a great player, he's very athletic. We're trying to find a way to get him on the football field," Satterfield said at Big 12 Media Days. "This spring, his shoulder was bothering him, he couldn't throw like he wanted to. I was like, 'Is there a way we could get you on the field at wide receiver?' He said, 'Let's do it!' because he wants to play. Since he moved, it's been awesome. He brings great size, and great athleticism."
Corey Kiner was the Bearcats' second-leading rusher last fall with 362 yards and five touchdowns. Gavin Gerhardt anchors a reconfigured, transfer-laden offensive line at center.
Mason Fletcher earned the Preseason All-Big 12 nod at punter, and the 6-foot-7 Australian averaged a booming 46.3 yards with 29 kicks downed inside the opposing 20-yard line.
Former Florida Gators Emory Jones, Xzavier Henderson reunite in Cincinnati
Transfer Portal Additions: TE Joey Beljan (Western Kentucky), K Rory Bell (Temple), WR Sterling Berkhalter (North Carolina A&T), K Carter Brown (Arizona State), OL Deondre Buford (Kentucky), EDGE Daniel Grzesiak (Utah State), WR Keyshawn Helton (Florida State), WR Xzavier Henderson (Florida), DL Jalen Hunt (Michigan State), LB Dorian Jones (Louisville), QB Emory Jones (Arizona State), IOL Luke Kandra (Louisville), EDGE Kyree Moyston (Virginia Tech), WR Donovan Ollie (Washington State), IOL Trevor Radosevich (Penn), WR Braden Smith (Louisville), DB D.J. Taylor (Arizona State), WR Aaron Turner (Connecticut), WR George Udo (BYU), WR Dee Wiggins (Louisville), OL Phillip Wilder (Southeast Missouri State), DB Jordan Young (Florida)
Transfer Portal Losses: WR JoJo Bermudez (Delaware), DB Patrick Body Jr., DB Leroy Bowers, QB Ben Bryant (Northwestern), WR Quincy Burroughs (Wisconsin), K Ryan Coe (North Carolina), EDGE Mario Eugenio, DB J.Q. Hardaway (Kentucky), LB Devin Hightower, OL Joe Huber (Wisconsin), LB Cameron Junior, WR Nick Mardner (Auburn), WR Will Pauling (Wisconsin), WR Marcus Peterson (McNeese State), EDGE Noah Potter (N.C. State), DB Malik Rainey, IOL Jake Renfro (Wisconsin), DB Ja'Quan Sheppard (Maryland), DB Armorion Smith (Michigan State), WR Blue Smith (Western Kentucky), LB Jaheim Thomas (Arkansas), WR Jadon Thompson (Louisville)
Emory Jones will suit up for his third team in as many seasons, and the former Florida Gators quarterback appears to be Satterfield's starter. Jones has completed 64% of his passes over 45 career college games, throwing for 4,880 yards with 33 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.
"He fits what we want to do; he's able to run, he's able to throw," Satterfield told SiriusXM at Big 12 Media Days. "We made some other calls, guys that have coached him, and they spoke very highly of him.
"Unfortunate situation; (Dan) Mullen gets fired at Florida, he goes to Arizona State, then all the stuff happens out there with the coaches. A little bit is not his fault. He's looking forward to some stability, an opportunity for an offense that fits his skill set. … I like the fact that he's scarred now, and that he's been through some tough stuff and come out on the other side of it. He's working his butt off, and he's earned the respect of his teammates and our coaching staff. I'm fired up about Emory and hope he has a great year, and that he can finish his career on a really strong performance in this conference."
Jones' swan song with the Gators, coincidentally, was a loss to UCF in the 2021 Gasparilla Bowl. That night, he went 14 of 36 for 171 yards and ran 10 times for 62 yards.
Cincinnati overhauled its receiving corps, reuniting Jones with former Gator teammate Xzavier Henderson. Satterfield also brought Dee Wiggins and Braden Smith with him from Louisville, as well as Sterling Berkhalter, Donovan Ollie, Aaron Turner and a few others out of the portal.
Jones may well be shielded up front by a number of portal adds, too. Trevor Radosevich is a plug-and-play guard from Penn, and Luke Kandra has scheme familiarity after working with Satterfield at Louisville. Deondre Buford, a 6-foot-3, 315-pound redshirt junior, appeared in all 13 games for Kentucky last year and should compete for a job at a number of spots.
Of the exits, Zephyrhills native Ja'Quan Sheppard earned All-AAC first team honors as a junior and spurned UCF to instead enroll at Maryland. Fickell brought three of his Bearcats along with him to Wisconsin, most notably former all-conference guard Jake Renfro. Ben Bryant, who started Cincinnati's first 11 games and threw 21 touchdowns last year, departed for Northwestern in May.
Trio of '23 DBs flip to Wisconsin, but Brady Drogosh is the heir apparent
Top Incoming Freshmen: DL Kamari Burns (Columbus, Ohio), LB Trevor Carter (Ironton, Ohio), RB Manny Covey (Starke, Fla.), DB Jayden Davis (Suwanee, Ga.), QB Brady Drogosh (Warren, Mich.), OL Joshua Gregory (St. Louis, Mo.), WR Barry Jackson (Ellenwood, Ga.)
Fickell's departure threw a wrench into Cincinnati's recruiting plans for the 2023 cycle. Three defensive backs — Jonas Duclona (Naples, Fla.), Braedyn Moore (Hamilton, Ohio) and Amare Snowden (Roseville, Mich.) — all flipped their commitments to Wisconsin and signed in December.
Satterfield made the most of it, and crucially held onto one of Ohio's top talents in linebacker Trevor Carter. The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder is the No. 17 recruit all-time in Bearcats history, per 247Sports' composite rankings.
Brady Drogosh is the likely heir apparent, especially in light of Prater's positional switch. He fired a 34-yard touchdown in the spring game to Barry Jackson, who could very well enter the mix of new faces in the wide receiver room.
Overall, Cincinnati finished 55th in 247Sports' overall 2023 rankings, but a relatively lowly 74th factoring solely high school and JUCO athletes.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Cincinnati under coach Scott Satterfield set to continue UCF rivalry
