As Scott Satterfield’s fourth training camp nears, there are many questions to be asked about the 2026 Cincinnati Bearcats football squad.
Last season saw their first bowl game of the Big 12 era, albeit a loss to Navy that dealt with several opt-outs. Navy is a team that doesn’t opt out.
Now, the Bearcats have 46 new players, 22 coming from the transfer portal and 24 as incoming freshmen. Nate Woody comes from Army as the new defensive coordinator and offensive line coach Nic Cardwell and quarterback coach Pete Thomas are co-offensive coordinators, replacing previous OC Brad Glenn, who was relieved of his duties.
Big 12 media informally puts UC Bearcats at No. 11
The Big 12 recently stopped doing a preseason poll, but league media members have voted amongst themselves the past two years. For a second straight season, UC is picked to finish 11th out of 16 teams.
Among The Enquirer’s five storylines to watch is whether or not those predictions pan out and the status of Satterfield should there be another late-season slump.
1. Is it ‘put up or shut up’ time for Cincinnati Bearcats coach Scott Satterfield?
Satterfield’s overall coaching record is a respectable 87-62, including 47-16 at Appalachian State, 25-24 at Louisville and now 15-22 with the Bearcats. He was Sun Belt Coach of the Year in 2018, then ACC Coach of the Year in 2019, but that’s now been seven years.
Incrementally, the Bearcats have had success going from three to five to seven wins. But each season has begun with a quick start and ended with a fade out of the postseason picture.
The 2023 Bearcats were 2-0 after winning at Pitt, then after falling short against the Miami RedHawks at Nippert, it was a seven-game skid.
In 2024, UC was 5-2 after knocking off Arizona State 24-14 Oct. 19. That included a bitter one-point loss to Pitt, and a three-point loss at Texas Tech when they missed a possible game-tying field goal. They would not win again and finished 5-7.
Last season, after an endzone interception ended the Nebraska loss, UC won seven in a row. But, from November through the bowl game, there were five straight losses for a 7-6 finish.
Satterfield is 1-11 in November games at UC, with the one win coming in his first season, a 24-14 victory over Houston Nov. 12, 2023. If there were a change before Dec. 31, 2026, Satterfield would be owed $8.19 million on his contract. After that, it drops to $5.53 million.
The Bearcats have a $134 million Sheakley Indoor Performance Facility and they extended the contracts of General Manager Zach Grant and Director of Football Performance Niko Palazeti in January.
The structure appears there, but oddly, UC AD John Cunningham did not attend Big 12 Football Media Days.
A year ago, Cunningham told The Enquirer he needed to see progress.
“I’ve used this analogy a couple times, but year three, they talk about ‘moving day’ in golf on the third day,” Cunningham said. “Year three is our moving year. We’ve got to advance, we’ve got to start playing better. We saw signs last year. We’ve got to take those extra steps and win those close games.”
If the Bearcats were in “turn three” last year, it would seem fair to expect a decent finish in year four. That said, UC plays three of its final four in November on the road as it visits Houston, Iowa State and BYU with one home game Nov. 21 vs. Colorado.
“It’s going to be tough for sure,” Satterfield said. “It’s hard to go on the road in this league and win. We’ve got to find a way to win. We want to be mindful of how we need to finish in November this year.”
2. Will Cincinnati Bearcats offensive line ‘pancake’ as promised?
During the July 7-8 Big 12 Football Media Days, the University of Cincinnati distributed boxes featuring their three returning offensive line starters as pancake chefs to selected media members. Inside was a menu featuring the “Bearcats House of Pancakes” and guard Evan Tengesdahl, tackle Joe Cotton and center Taran Tyo. Also included were pancake syrup and mix.
Redshirt junior Tengesdahl at 6-foot-3 and 323 pounds is an Athlon Sports and Phil Steele All-American and the highest-rated guard in college football according to the EA Sports College Football 27 game.
Senior Cotton, the 2025 top offensive lineman in the portal (South Dakota) also has similar honors as Tengesdahl and returns as left tackle at 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds. Tyo, at 6-foot-3 and 325 pounds, also carries the Athlon and Phil Steele preseason mentions and is tied with Tengesdahl for the highest strength rating in the CFB27 game.
“All of those guys had opportunities to leave,” UC offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator Nic Cardwell said. “They had significant amounts thrown their way and they all said, ‘We love what we’re doing here, we love the culture, we love the coaches, we want to stay here and be developed.’ They decided to do that.”
Tengesdahl, Cotton and Tyo were all part of UC’s Joe Moore Award (college football’s top offensive line) semifinalists. Junior Xavier Lozowicki, senior Judea Milon, sophomore Aiden Pastoriza and junior Nolan Latulippe should battle it out for the right-side positions.
Since joining the Big 12, UC has had the most 200-plus yard rushing games (19) and is third in yards per carry (5.7 yards). UC’s line allowed just eight sacks and only 43 yards in tackles for loss in 2025, the fewest among the power conferences.
3. Who runs for Cincinnati Bearcats?
Redshirt freshman Zion Johnson returns with the most experience on this team, while La Salle High’s Gi’Bran Payne is back in his hometown for another year after graduating from Notre Dame. Cole Tabb comes in from Stanford and Zylan Perry from Louisiana where both put up significant yards rushing.
Johnson impressed in last year’s training camp and was forced into action late last year in November. At 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds, he provides the quickness lost when Evan Pryor transferred to Florida. Payne at 5-foot-10 and 210 pounds, provides toughness in short yardage and impressed coaches in spring.
Tabb, a 5-foot-8, 203-pound sophomore gained 445 yards at Stanford and was named their Most Outstanding Freshman. Zylan Perry, is the biggest back at 5-foot-11 and 212 pounds and ran for 689 yards.
“The one thing about our team this year is a lot of guys are going to get touches, not just one guy,” Satterfield said. “Hopefully, you’ll be able to exploit defenses and move the football.”
4. Who emerges as primary receiver for Cincinnati Bearcats?
Based on spring, the likely candidate is 6-foot-2, 208-pound senior JV Gibson who caught 18 balls for Oklahoma last season, but had 70 for Arkansas-Pine Bluff the season before. Gibson made many acrobatic catches during the spring and his background resembles Cyrus Allen, who caught a lot of balls at Louisiana Tech, got lost in the shuffle at Texas A&M, then tied a single-season touchdown record here for receivers with 13.
Junior Isaiah Johnson returns with the most experience with 14 catches and three touchdowns. Transfer playmakers include Cade Wolford from Kent, Malachi Henry from Central Arkansas, and Larenzo Fenner from South Dakota.
Also from last year are Elijah Jones and Giyahni Kontosis, a redshirt freshman who has made himself known in practice.
Tight-end wise, 6-foot-6, 255-pound junior Gavin Grover returns with the most experience, but redshirt freshman Ka’Maurri Smith at 6-foot-5 and 252 pounds is making a solid push.
5. Will new UC defensive coordinator Nate Woody’s unit cause havoc?
UC had just two interceptions and 23 sacks a year ago, resulting in the change to Woody who has worked with Satterfield before at Appalachian State.
UC’s strength is at linebacker with Jonathan Thompson, Brian Simms, Simeon Coleman and Montay Weedon returning along with Antwan Peek Jr. moving to the CAT (outside linebacker position) to help pressure quarterbacks. Filip Maciorowski from Northern Illinois and Patrick Bauer from Illinois State should also help.
Marquaze Parker is the veteran on the defensive line, with Cam Roetherford and Jaylon White-McClain also back. Added to the front line at Thomas Johnson from UNC-Central and the unique Josh Hough from California (PA) at 6-foot-2 and 340 pounds and the athleticism to have once been a running back recruit at Syracuse.
Safeties include MJ Cannon from Bowling Green and Ty Goodwill from South Alabama (both 6-foot-3) as well as Japer Beeler of Northern Illinois.
Corners to watch are Kenny Worthy from Washington State, Jacob Finley from Northern Illinois and 6-foot-2 Zay “Gravy” Johnson who picked off a pair of passes in the spring showcase.
“I told Coach Woody, ‘We’ve got to get more pressure,'” Satterfield said. “We’ve got to create more havoc plays. We had two interceptions last year; we’ve got to do much better than that.”
Preseason workouts begin Aug. 5 with the Boston College opener at Nippert Stadium exactly one month later.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 5 stories to watch for Cincinnati Bearcats heading into training camp
Reporting by Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
