Cincinnati Bearcats Roster 2019 Bearcats Roster

Head Coach: Luke Fickell        2017 Salary: $1,900,000        Offensive Coordinator: Mike Denbrock       Defensive Coordinator: Marcus Freeman         

Stadium: Nippert Stadium       Surface: Turf        City: Cincinnati        State: Ohio

Luke Fickell has won his first major battle as coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats. Specifically, while Fickell has not necessarily won on the field, he has reestablished the Bearcats as a destination for local talent. There is plenty of help coming in the way of talented recruits that may help Fickell turn Cincinnati around sooner rather than later.

The hope is that the Bearcats have hit rock bottom after a period of sustained losing on the field. Offensive improvement over the last month of the 2017 season gives the Bearcats some hope for this year. Quarterback Hayden Moore showed some improvement over the second half of the season, which should lift the spirits of Bearcats’ fans. In addition, Gerrid Doaks was gaining momentum as a rusher before his season was prematurely cut short due to injury.

The defense returns loads of experience in 2018, after taking its lumps for a large part of last season. Defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman has some new recruits to mix in with a large amount of returning seniors. It is not out of the question for this unit to take a large step forward this season. One area of weakness for the Bearcats is the secondary, which will likely start two freshmen and a sophomore.

Fickell has absorbed his early share of defeats, but there is an opening in the American Athletic Conference for the Bearcats to join the title chase. That may be a tall expectation from a team that won four games last season, but the Bearcats are primed for success.