The Cincinnati Bearcats have put the second and final scrimmage of fall camp in the books, and the team is now shifting into game-week work with 15 days left before the opener against Boston College.
After Friday’s session, head coach Scott Satterfield said the defense stood out most. He said the group cleaned up some issues from the first scrimmage, tackled better, and finished strong around the goal line.
“Yeah, I thought defense had a really good day today,” Satterfield said. “I thought they tackled better than they did in the first scrimmage, which you want to see better tackling because we hadn't tackled a ton this camp.
So for them to come out today and make some corrections from the last scrimmage, I thought was really good. We got a few guys back at that.
Though CJ Crite had some good plays today, had a nice pick there early in the scrimmage, and I thought they did a good job of holding by the end zone here, especially when the ball was down inside the two-yard line. It's a great goal line stand.”
One of the biggest names in the spotlight remains quarterback JC French IV, who is set to lead the offense. Satterfield described French’s camp as solid, while also making clear the Bearcats need more consistency from the passing game.
“I think he's had a solid camp,” Satterfield said. “Every scenario that we put him through, I think he learns from it, and I think he'll come back and learn from this stuff today.
But I think he's had a solid camp. We're going to need him to play well because we all know, how good your teams are, it's really just how your quarterback plays.
Can you make great decisions? Can you take care of the football?
All those things, and really work more to make that happen.”
French said he feels his own growth over the course of camp, pointing to the chemistry he’s built on offense. He also said the team is eager to face someone else after spending camp against the same defense.
“I think I kept growing throughout fall camp on the offense, and established good chemistry as it went on. And I think we're all excited to play another team, not playing the same defense,” French said.
Quarterbacks coach Pete Thomas offered a similar read on French’s progress during a media scrum on Thursday. Thomas said French has responded well after some rough stretches, though the turnovers remain part of the picture. French threw interceptions in both scrimmages this summer, along with other turnover-worthy throws.
“Obviously our defense is doing a lot, throwing a lot at him,” Thomas said about French. “He's had some really, really good days.
A couple of setback days, but he's bounced back from those real well. But overall, I really love the direction that he's going.
“He understands what we're trying to do in certain situations, and he's got a good feel for what we're trying to do on offense. Now it's just situational; we're trying to put him in, you know, situations that might challenge him a little bit, and we can work through some things on what Coach Satt is thinking when we call certain plays. But overall, we're really pleased with the trajectory that he's on.”
If camp is any guide, Cincinnati’s run game and Nate Woody’s defense could end up carrying a lot of the load as the Bearcats try to push past the outside doubts and reach bowl eligibility for a second straight season.
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