Here are Cincinnati Bearcats football players named to Reese's Senior Bowl watch list

Six members of the Cincinnati Bearcats football team were selected to the Reese’s Senior Bowl preseason watch list on Wednesday.

Dontay Corleone, Xzavier Henderson, Luke Kandra, Corey Kiner, Josh Minkins, and John Williams were all recognized. Henderson has made the list for a second straight season.

Dontay Corleone

The rising redshirt junior nose tackle from Cincinnati, collected All-Big 12 Second Team honors in 2023 after totaling 39 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks while starting all 12 games. The Colerain High School product finished the fall as the Big 12's third-rated defensive lineman (83.6) according to Pro Football Focus. Corleone made the Preseason All-Big 12 Team for a second straight year. He also collected consensus Freshman All-America and Associated Press Third Team All-America honors in 2022 after finishing as the nation's highest-graded defensive player by PFF.

Xzavier Henderson

Henderson was UC's leading receiver in 2023 and earned All-Big 12 honors in his first year with the Bearcats. He totaled 994 all-purpose yards, including 782 receiving yards on 58 catches while hauling in three touchdowns. Henderson started all 11 games and recorded three 100-yard receiving efforts.

Luke Kandra

Kandra was named an All-American last year by the Associated Press and Walter Camp and was an All-Big 12 honoree. The Elder grad was ranked by Pro Football Focus as the second-best run-blocking guard with a grade of 82.1, and the third-ranked Power Five guard (81.8).

Corey Kiner

Kiner rushed for 1,047 yards and five touchdowns last season, posting the 20th 1,000-yard rushing season in program history. He had six 100-yard rushing performances, including a high of 153 in the win at Pitt. Kiner averaged 87.3 rushing yards per game last season, which ranked eighth in the conference.

Josh Minkins Jr.

A transfer from Louisville, Minkins played four years with the Cardinals. He totaled 55 tackles, three pass breakups, and one interception during his career before coming to UC. He started all 13 games at safety in 2022.

John Williams

Williams started all 12 games at left tackle for the Bearcats in 2023, helping lead one of the top offensive line units in the country. Behind his blocking, Cincinnati ranked fifth in the nation in rushing (217.1 ypg) and 33rd in total offense (426.1).

About the Reece'sSenior Bowl

The 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl will be held on Feb. 1, 2025, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. It has been there for 75 years and is considered the top college football all-star game and a key step to success in the NFL Draft. This past April, the game produced 110 total picks, representing 43% of the entire NFL Draft.

Cincinnati Bearcats open season vs. Towson

Coach Scott Satterfield's Cincinnati Bearcats hope to keep the consecutive sellout streak at Nippert Stadium (18) going Aug. 31 vs. Towson. Single-game tickets are available for that game and the Pitt game Sept. 7. Against the Panthers, UC will honor the 2008 Bearcats football team that won the Big East and eventually made it to the Orange Bowl Jan. 1, 2009.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Here are Cincinnati Bearcats football players named to Reese's Senior Bowl watch list