Cincinnati’s offense will lean on two familiar anchors this fall, and the Big 12 is already taking notice.
Veteran guard Evan Tegesdahl and left tackle Joe Cotton were named to the 2026 preseason All-Big 12 team this week, giving the Bearcats a pair of offensive line representatives on the conference’s preseason list. They were the only Cincinnati players to land on the team.
Cotton came close to earning a season-long Big 12 honor last year, while Tengesdahl made the second team. Now both enter the season as two of the most important pieces on a Bearcats offense that should again start up front.
Tengesdahl’s 2025 season made the recognition easy to understand. He was an AP All-American and posted an 82.8 Pro Football Focus grade, the highest among Big 12 guards and sixth-best nationally at the position.
He and Cotton helped drive an offensive line that was a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the nation’s top offensive line each year. That group also gave up a nation-low eight sacks last season, a number that helped earn longtime offensive line coach Nic Cardwell a promotion to co-offensive coordinator.
Scott Satterfield said last month on ESPN 1530 that the group has already put in plenty of work ahead of fall camp.
"Yeah, they've been here now. I think this is the fourth week that they've been back," Satterfield said.
"So there's a lot of work that's been put in. When they first get back, it's kind of a gradual build-up throughout those weeks, and this week is kind of the first, I think, hard week.
I would say they're in the weight room, they're on the field, they're running, they're doing individual drills, and just trying to enhance themselves as individuals, depending on what position they play.
"The wide receivers, quarterbacks, running backs, and tight ends are all throwing and catching, so I think more and more each year they allow us to do more and more with the guys, and so we try to take advantage of that, but it's very busy, and it's all good here in our new facility. It's been awesome this summer."
With the full 12-game schedule still ahead, Cincinnati will find out soon whether more names can force their way onto the All-Big 12 radar. For now, the preseason spotlight belongs to Tengesdahl and Cotton.
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