The biggest mismatch between the University of Cincinnati’s football team and top-ranked Alabama, on paper, comes from the level of recruits they bring into their program.
Recruiting rankings are typically a strong indicator of a team’s future success, bringing in top talent year after year. Alabama seemingly has more stars than the Hollywood Walk of Fame with future NFL players backing up other future NFL players. It’s a big reason why schools like Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Georgia have sustained success.
The Bearcats may not be littered with four-star or five-star prep talents, but they’ve continued to develop top-level players on both sides of the ball.
“We have really, really good players here,” senior linebacker Darrian Beavers said. “I think that will be showcased during the game, showcased on the NFL Draft, any senior bowls people go to, the combine and stuff like that. People are going to start recognizing that the Cincinnati Bearcats, we have really good NFL talent here.”
Cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and quarterback Desmond Ridder will likely become the first UC players selected in first round of the NFL Draft since defensive lineman Bob Bell in 1971. Gardner and Ridder were rated as three-star recruits when they entered the program.
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Gardner, a Detroit native, weighed about 160 pounds when he arrived on campus. Head Coach Luke Fickell said earlier this month he didn’t think Gardner would see the field for his first two years because he was so skinny. “He proved us completely wrong,” Fickell said.
The 6-foot-3 Gardner developed ahead of schedule, emerging as a star during his true freshman season. He had one of the team’s signature defensive highlights in 2019 with a pick-six interception in a win over No. 18 UCF.
“I surprised everyone,” Gardner said. “I didn't think I was going to be able to just get on the field like that because I was so small. I think they had plans to redshirt me, but I didn't know. I just used to be out there just playing, just listening to the older guys. I came in, I didn't do too much talking; I just listened to the older guys, and they helped me get on the field. The corner group started trusting me, so that just helped the coaches believe in me.”
Gardner, known for his lockdown press coverage, credited strength coach Brady Collins for challenging him to reach 200 pounds this season.
“It took a lot of dedication by me because I always just like eating junk food, Wendy's 24/7,” Gardner said. “I spend so much money on Wendy's, it don't make no sense. I feel like I'm able to play faster even though I put weight on. I feel like I've gotten bigger, faster and stronger which is good, and it helped my technique at the line of scrimmage and down the field.”
Beavers, the Bearcats’ weakside linebacker, was a 190-pound safety in high school. He was lightly recruited when he went to UConn for his true freshman season before transferring to his hometown school.
He even considered redshirting last year, before players were granted an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic, because he wanted to “work on my body” with the help of Collins and he knew he had the potential to improve.
“I went to UConn and the weight room wasn’t the weight room like it was here,” said Beavers, who has Cincinnati’s skyline tattooed on his arm. “I gained maybe 20 pounds from eating a lot and stuff like that. When I got here that’s when I saw my body really transform. I give all my development to Brady Collins. You can see all the stories, Ahmad, Myjai (Sanders) and all the guys that come here that might be undersized and they blossom up and become really good football players. Development here, at Cincinnati, makes this program the way it is.”
Mike Denbrock, Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator, attributed the development successes to two primary factors: The Bearcats have done well at identifying players who can improve, and the coaching staff feels like it has a “responsibility” to help players develop.
Combine the impressive development of players with a veteran group, a team that has five super seniors, and the Bearcats are primed to play in the biggest game in program history.
“This is one of the major reasons we came back,” Beavers said. “We saw the vision that this team had. We had a bad taste in our mouth about the last game (Peach Bowl loss to Georgia). We just had a vision that this team could do better than last year.”
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