WEST HARRISON, Ind. — The University of Cincinnati football team is no longer lurking in the shadows. After compiling 31 wins over the past three seasons, it's no secret the Bearcats are good. Really good.
Because of that, the target on the defending American Athletic Conference champions' collective back this season will be more prominent than ever. But the team's leaders, head coach Luke Fickell and fifth-year senior quarterback Desmond Ridder, are embracing that.
"For the past couple of years, we've been chasing, chasing, chasing, chasing championships, chasing teams, and now, finally, we have the target on our back," Ridder said. "That's kind of the message Coach Fick preaches. We've got to come in and work hard day in and day out because everyone is going to be coming for us every single game no matter who we play. They're going to give us 100% every game."
Fickell and Ridder led the Bearcats, the preseason favorite to repeat as AAC champions, onto the field for practice No. 1 of fall camp Friday at the Higher Ground Conference and Retreat Center. On Thursday night, Fickell kicked off his fifth camp as Cincinnati coach by having Ridder address the team.
"There's a guy coming out here for his fourth year that's played more football here than probably anybody," Fickell said of Ridder. "As he comes out here for 21 days, he's got things that he needs to do personally. When he walks out of here on Aug. 21, when he gets on that bus to ride home, he's going to have to think about did I get better at these things. We'll handle the team things, we'll handle the group things, but each guy's got to have individual things.
"I wanted him to get up and tell the team what he needed to do so that some guys could realize if this guy's got things to do, and he's been here and he's played this much and he's supposed to be this, I know there's a lot of things I gotta do. What we're trying to do is fight ourselves from letting our minds cloud us and think, 'Hey, when do we get out of here? Only 19 more days or 18 more days.' To start a countdown as opposed to really focusing on the things we need to do."
Ridder, the 2020 AAC Offensive Player of the Year, said his focus between now and the season-opener Sept. 4 at home against in-state rival Miami University is to be sharp, be consistent and make sure the offense's confidence is where it needs to be.
More:Luke Fickell, Desmond Ridder leading Cincinnati Bearcats' football program to new heights
More:Preseason honors pouring in for Luke Fickell, Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati Bearcats
More:Continuing to take advantage of NIL freedom, UC quarterback Desmond Ridder inks NFT deal
"That's confidence throughout all 11 guys on the field," he said. "Making sure that we're comfortable in uncomfortable situations. We're going to be in a lot of big-time games this year. Some of these guys haven't played in any games or any big-time games, so just being comfortable in uncomfortable situations."
Fickell's focus is to figure out how to turn two teams into one. Fickell said Friday UC is currently comprised of an older, more experienced group that is ready to play a "high-end" brand of football, while the other part of the team consists of new, inexperienced players who have a long way to go before they're ready for the first game.
"We've got some younger guys that we've got to do a lot of things to try and get them ready because you never know how a season's going to go," he said. "That's kind of unique. We've got to come out swinging, we've got to come out rolling and we did that the first day."
The Bearcats also came out cramping. Senior defensive end Myjai Sanders, a first-team All-AAC performer a season ago and a semifinalist for the 2020 Bednarik Award, was just one of a host of players who needed to be helped off the field due to cramping issues.
More:Cincinnati Bearcats CB Gardner, DE Sanders named to watch list for Bronko Nagurski Trophy
Fickell said he wasn't too concerned.
"It's really not that hot out here, but what people forget is all of sudden you throw a helmet on and then you throw the anxiety into things," he said. "You could say anything. I mean, you could say a guy like Myjai Sanders, who's played a lot of football, but you come out here and all of a sudden it's a little bit more intense. It's not live, but the situations are like that. The anxiety goes up, and the first thing that drains you and makes you cramp is anxiety. I think all of those things kind of add together."
Source link
