CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats returned to practice Tuesday, with head coach Luke Fickell careful not to call the workout "camp."
“The first day of camp is always Higher Ground,” Fickell said with a smile.
The Bearcats' first workout was a tough one as players regularly needed to take breaks in the excruciating heat. Intensity is nothing new to a Fickell-coached team, however, this year is a bit different than years past. Although Cincinnati made history by playing in the College Football Playoff, their loss to Alabama sticks with them.
“The uniqueness of when you lose the last game, there is still a little bit of that chip on your shoulder, there is a little bit of that pit in your stomach than even three years ago when you come out of the bowl game with a really good bowl game and you win,” Fickell said.
A lot has changed since last season. The Bearcats lost over 30 players, including nine to the NFL Draft — the most in school history. One of the players drafted was quarterback Desmond Ridder. After losing one of the best signal callers in the country, there is an open battle between two players to be the next Bearcats quarterback: last year's backup, redshirt sophomore Evan Prater, and senior Ben Bryant, Ridder’s backup in 2019 and 2020, who transferred to Eastern Michigan and passed for over 3,000 yards before returning to Cincinnati.
Fickell said he has not made up his mind on who the starter will be, and the two will be competing throughout all of camp.
"It might be Friday night before the first game before we know," Fickell said.
For the sake of team chemistry, Fickell said he hopes a decision can be made sooner, even if it is not released to the public.
"I do like to have some things solidified the first week and a half," Fickell said. "We probably won't tell too much, but I think it's important to the progress in finding out who we are. If we figure some things out, we can do that. If it's such a battle that we can't tell till the last minute, it's a good thing, but it also comes out to how we finish the last two weeks of camp."
Quarterback is not the only major battle. Fickell said he’s looking forward to seeing the running backs compete for a starting job. Roger Bacon High School alum Corey Kiner transferred from LSU to Cincinnati and has a chance to be a feature back in his first year with the Bearcats.
“He’s going to have a great opportunity," Fickell said. "He’s a little dinged up so we are trying to be smart until we can find out what he can do, but he is going to have an opportunity to be the guy."
The Bearcats will have to have all of their position battles figured out before the first game of the season, Sept. 3 at Arkansas.
