At a recent gathering of University of Cincinnati athletic boosters at the Sheakley Indoor Practice Facility, new Bearcats defensive coordinator Nate Woody was asked if UC would continue to rush just three down linemen.
Before Woody could answer, UC offensive line coach/co-offensive coordinator Nic Cardwell grabbed the microphone.
“They rush as many as seven,” he said.
The crowd was delighted with Cardwell’s response. Last year’s 3-3-5 scheme under Tyson Veidt (now at Penn State) often dropped eight men into coverage. While the strategy was meant to curtail the other team’s passing, often the result was a quarterback with an eternity to throw or gaping lanes to run.
Cardwell’s point was that his highly anticipated offensive line sees a 3-4 setup, but they never know how many Bearcats are coming after the quarterback.
New UC defense to pick up intensity, swarm to ball
“I’ve been doing it for a long time,” Woody said. “I think this will be a really good defense for us. There’s hardly ever any time where there’s only three rushers. There’s going to be four or five guys that come most every time.”
Head coach Scott Satterfield’s charge this year is to cause havoc. UC had 23 sacks in 2025, 21 in 2024 and only 18 in 2023. Satterfield has said this defense is what the University of Louisville ran in his final year there, when they led the nation with 50 sacks.
“We’ll be able to bring pressure from all over the field, every position,” Satterfield said. “These guys will chase the ball. That’s non-negotiable. They won’t play if they won’t chase the ball.”
Woody was Satterfield’s defensive coordinator at Appalachian State from 2013-17. In 2017, the Mountaineers had 38 sacks and 18 interceptions. His Army defense ranked No. 43 last season, as the Black Knights finished 7-6. In 2024, they were tops in total defense, going 12-2. In the last two seasons at West Point, Woody’s warriors intercepted 17 passes.
UC defensive coordinator fascinated by Bearcats linebackers
Woody comes into a system that has sent linebackers to the NFL. Ivan Pace Jr. starts for the Minnesota Vikings and Jake Golday from last year’s team was Minnesota’s second-round pick in April. Jack Dingle signed as a free agent with the hometown Cincinnati Bengals.
This year’s linebacking corps is headed up by UC’s returning top tackler, Jonathan Thompson, who had 74 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, a sack and two fumble recoveries. Simeon Coleman and Montay Weedon are back and bolstered by Northern Illinois transfer Filip Maciorowski. Moving to the edge is Brian Simms III and Illinois State transfer Patrick Bauer, and Antwan Peek Jr. comes to a new outside linebacker/hybrid spot to utilize his speed and ball-stripping ability.
“He’s a guy with a unique skill-set,” Woody said. “He’s a guy that sees the ball really well and is able to punch it out and get turnovers and takeaways for us. If you’re not getting takeaways, it’s harder to play defense.”
Peek Jr. has bulked up to 228 pounds and not lost speed after first coming to UC as a walk-on defensive back from Indian Hill at 185 pounds. His UC Hall of Fame father also bulked up for the Bearcats, moving from wide receiver to defensive line and eventually having an NFL career.
“We believe we’re the most connected team,” Peek said. “If we’re connected, we can do anything. This is just home for me. It was a very simple decision for me to stay home. Coach (Satterfield) is the main reason I’m here today. I’m very thankful for my coaches and my teammates as well.”
UC’s defensive line fishing for sacks
Satterfield has pointed out junior Marquaze Parker as being a constant presence on UC’s defensive line this season. The 6-foot-3, 270-pound defensive end says he caught 77 fish in one day near his home in Arkansas. Now, it’s time to reel in some quarterbacks.
“That’s the plan,” Parker said. “As an entire defense, we’re trying to track down the quarterback and get interceptions.”
Gone from the defense is Dontay Corleone in the middle, but Parker returns outside along with newcomer and UNC-Central transfer Thomas Johnson at 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds. Space-eater Josh Hough is in the middle at 6-foot-2 and 340 pounds. Hough is athletic enough to have been once recruited to Syracuse as a running back. Jaylon White-McClain, Cam Roetherford and Drew Logan are among the veterans you’ll also see in rotation.
“If we’re going to chase the football like I want to, we’re going to need multiple defensive linemen playing during the course of a drive,” Woody said. “They’ve got to rush the quarterback, they’ve got double teams, they’ve got to turn around and chase the ball down the field.”
The upside of UC’s defensive line is that they’re seeing one of the nation’s top offensive lines across from them every day in practice. While happy to see teammates get some publicity, some would like to get the defensive line some notoriety.
“I feel like I’m a monster myself,” Parker said. “Monsters vs. monsters, let’s see who wins. They get the best of me; I get the best of them. It’s just iron sharpens iron. They’re going to make the D-line better, and we’re going to make the O-line better. That’s what needs to happen.”
UC needs more INTs
Part of the reason UC lost games last year was due to time of possession. Minus turnovers and with just two interceptions, they struggled to get the ball back.
Enter MJ Cannon from Bowling Green, Jacob Finley and Jasper Beeler from Northern Illinois and Kenny Worthy from Washington State (Ty Goodwill from South Alabama suffered a leg injury Aug. 6), who combined for six interceptions last season. Zay “Gravy” Johnson intercepted two passes in UC’s Spring Showcase.
“If somehow, someway, we can keep the points off the board and keep it where our offense can win a ballgame for us in the fourth quarter, I think we’re going to be happy,” Woody said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Nate Woody’s new UC Bearcats defense should cause more turnovers
Reporting by Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
