Cincinnati’s offensive line has a new national spotlight on it, and Evan Tengesdahl is right in the middle of it.
Pro Football Focus unveiled its top 50 college football players entering the 2026 season, and the Bearcats guard cracked the list at No. 26 overall. He was also the second-ranked guard on the board, trailing only Iowa’s Kade Pieper, who came in at No. 25.
PFF made the case for Tengesdahl in blunt terms: “Cincinnati's offensive line is the strength of its team, and star left guard Evan Tengesdahl is the biggest reason why,” the article stated. “His 85.4 PFF grade ranks first among qualified returning guards in the nation. He also led all qualified Power Four guards in run-blocking grade (89.7) while allowing just 11 pressures and zero sacks in pass protection.”
That kind of production has already put Tengesdahl on the preseason radar. He picked up preseason All-Big 12 honors before last week’s Media Days in Texas, and he’s clearly carrying himself like a lineman who expects to set the tone this fall.
The respect for Tengesdahl comes with the bigger picture in mind, too: Cincinnati’s line is being framed as the team’s best unit, and the veteran guard is the anchor. That chemistry was a major theme when he spoke in Texas.
“We have such a good connection with the O-line group, but us three coming back, it just gives a big advantage to us over every other group on the field, because we just play so fluently together. As the game progresses, we just start getting in the groove, and we can just play with each other very, very well,” Tengesdahl said at Big 12 Media Days.
Pieper’s placement just ahead of him was backed by a strong PFF breakdown of his own. “Pieper flashed immense potential as Iowa's backup right guard in 2024, earning a remarkable 97.6 PFF grade across 108 snaps,” the article noted. “He took over as the Hawkeyes' starting right guard as a redshirt sophomore in 2025 and ranked fifth among all FBS guards in PFF grade (83.6), earning first-team All-America honors from PFF.
“His 83.5 run-blocking grade also ranked fifth among FBS guards, as his explosive movement skills thrived in Iowa's outside zone-heavy scheme. No returning Power Four guard has been more valuable over the past two seasons, according to PFF's Wins Above Average metric. Pieper is expected to slide over to center for the Hawkeyes in 2026.”
For Cincinnati, though, the headline is simple: one of the nation’s top returning guards is wearing Bearcats colors, and the people who grade line play for a living have noticed.
In Other News...
Which Bearcats Coach Left The Biggest Mark On Cincinnati Football
Cincinnati footballs coaching history reads like a tour through the programs rise, lulls and reinventions, stretching back to 1949 and running through the present day. The article traces each era, from Sid Gillmans early imprint to later stops under Rick Minter, Brian Kelly, Luke Fickell and Scott Satterfield, while noting the winning seasons and bowl appearances that helped define where the Bearcats have been and how far the program has come.
What makes the list especially interesting for Cincinnati fans is where so many of those coaches went next. Gillman landed with the Chargers, Minter moved on to the Bengals staff, Brian Kelly eventually took over at Notre Dame, Luke Fickell headed to Wisconsin and others followed similarly notable paths, which says plenty about the kind of platform Cincinnati has been for ambitious coaches. Satterfield is the current name in the chair after a 7-6 mark in 2025, and the Bearcats are still carrying the aftertaste of the January AutoZone Liberty Bowl loss to Navy as the programs next chapter takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
Cincinnati Suddenly Faces A Question Fans Never Wanted Asked
The Big 12s latest business move was supposed to be the eye-catcher, with the conference landing a new sponsorship deal with Monster that will send money to every school and put the companys branding on jerseys and across football and basketball surfaces. For Cincinnati, though, the leagues off-field momentum has been overshadowed by a much more uncomfortable development involving one of its former players and a question that reaches back into the recent past.
The NCAA has opened an inquiry into Brendan Sorsbys time at Cincinnati related to gambling, and that alone is enough to put the program in an uneasy spot. The issue is no longer just about one players conduct, but about how much the Bearcats may have known before the matter surfaced, a thread that now hangs over a school trying to keep its focus on the field while the larger conference keeps moving around it. [Read more 🡒]