Five things to know for Cincinnati Bearcats at Big 12 football media days

LAS VEGAS – College football's "talking season" has arrived.

The University of Cincinnati Bearcats football team and the rest of the Big 12 squads will be in attendance as the Power Four conference holds its annual media event at Allegiant Stadium, home of the most recent Super Bowl. The event runs Tuesday and Wednesday.

UC head coach Scott Satterfield along with players Luke Kandra, Corey Kiner, Derrick Canteen and Mason Fletcher with represent the Bearcats in Pacific time on Tuesday. 2024 opponents TCU, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Arizona State and Iowa State also appear on the first day.

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark will also address the gathering Tuesday morning before the appearance of the coaches. Wednesday, more of UC's 2024 foes appear with Colorado, West Virginia, UCF and Houston all taking the stage.

Here are 5 topics for UC fans to watch from Big 12 Media Days

1. Will 'The Godfather' Dontay Corleone be available this fall?

Last season, Dontay Corleone was one of the Bearcats featured at Big 12 Media Days at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. This year, the 6-foot-1, 320-pound nose tackle will stay home after having an issue with blood clots in his lungs. Corleone was attended to by Senior Associate AD/Sports Medicine Aaron Himmler and team physician Dr. Jon Divione and was discharged from the UC Medical Center June 14. However, elite athletes on anti-coagulants for such conditions sometimes are sidelined.

"My hope is I will be able to return to football soon, but in the meantime, I will do everything I can to rehab and help the football program as a leader and mentor to our younger players," Corleone said last month. "I'm looking forward to being around the guys soon. The sky's the limit for the Bearcats this season."

Prior to his ailment, Corleone was voted by media to the Big 12 First Team.

2. Can UC improve on their No. 5-rated running game?

For five straight seasons, teams coached by Scott Satterfield have averaged 200 yards in the run and pass games. Last year's team, despite the 3-9 record was No. 5 in the country in rushing averaging 217.1 yards per game. Add to that, a veteran 1,000-plus yard rusher in Corey Kiner and UC's only other Big 12 First Team selection Luke Kandra at guard.

The two locals, Kiner from Roger Bacon and Kandra from Elder hope to add to the numbers this season. Kandra has also picked up Walter Camp and AP All-American preseason honors in addition to being ranked the No. 4 guard in Power Four football.

3. Will the 3-3-5 work in the 5-1-3?

It has worked at Iowa State where Tyson Veidt was plucked as linebackers coach to teach the defense to the Bearcats. Coach Matt Campbell's Cyclones were one of the few teams to hold the UC offense below their 200/200 average as the Bearcats could only run for 115 that day and throw for 99. Getting a healthy Corleone back will help but the defense has added some new pieces like safety Derrick Canteen who transferred from Virginia Tech and will appear in Las Vegas. Canteen had 43 tackles and an interception for the Hokies last season and while at Georgia Southern in 2020 led the nation with six interceptions.

Eastern Michigan's Mikah Coleman (defensive end), linebacker Jared Bartlett ( West Virginia), star Mehki Miller (New Mexico State), corner Ormanie Arnold (Idaho), and safeties Josh Minkins (Louisville) and Kye Stokes (Ohio State) are other transfers who should have notable roles in the 3-3-5.

Also, a key part of the defensive strategy is previous Ray Guy finalist Mason Fletcher who returns with a 43.0-yard average and is a master of putting kicks inside the 20. Fletcher, Kandra and Corleone give the Bearcats three returning AP All-Americans. Fletcher looks for a healthier 2024 and waiting in the "on-deck circle" is his younger brother, Max Fletcher, a transfer from Arkansas with an equally potent leg.

4. Are the Bearcats ready for 'Coach Prime' in Colorado?

Deion Sanders is the lead-off coach at Wednesday's festivities and will have his sons Shedeur and Shilo Sanders with him along with Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Travis Hunter. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders is a preseason Big 12 First Team selection, but might not know his father's association with Cincinnati since he was born in 2002, a year after Sanders last played with the Reds.

The man who stirred up the Buffaloes upon arriving from Jackson State was a Cincinnati Red twice, in 1997 and 2001 and played baseball with the same flare as he showed in his football career. The Bearcats will be in Boulder Oct. 26.

In the throwaway stat category, as a football player against the Cincinnati Bengals, Deion Sanders was 1-3.

5. Several former Bearcats landed at UCF, will that turn into a hotter rivalry?

The Bearcats parted ways with several players from the 2023 squad and the list included major contributors Myles Montgomery (running back), Byron Threats (defensive back) and Deshawn Pace (star/hybrid defender).

Speedster Montgomery was UC's No. 3 rusher with 428 yards behind Kiner and last year's quarterback Emory Jones Jr. Threats and Ken Willis tied for the team lead in interceptions with two and Threats was the second-leading Bearcat tackler behind Deshawn Pace.

Pace led the team with 80 tackles and added 1.5 sacks and an interception. However, he was not available for UC's game with Oklahoma where the Bearcats trailed just 10-6 in the third quarter before eventually falling 20-6. The reason given was a "violation of team rules". His parting was not voluntary which could make the Oct. 12 game in Orlando vs. UCF of interest.

The former Colerain star who fancies The Joker from Batman wasn't joking when he said he was told to enter the portal in late November. Now, a year after representing UC at Big 12 Media Days in Arlington, he'll be among the UCF contingent in Las Vegas.

"I've got one final year," Pace said at the end of his UC run. "I'll give it my all."

Leaving Las Vegas

Post-Vegas, the Bearcats return to work upon their return and Coach Satterfield will have his second experience at Camp Higher Ground in West Harrison, Indiana next month. More questions should be answered by then as they get ready for the home opener at Nippert Stadium, Saturday, Aug. 31 vs. Towson.

If the Bearcats can finish games better they're projected by some, including Phil Steele's publication to make a run at a bowl game. Last year's tight games included the seven-point loss to Miami University in overtime, an eight-point road loss at BYU, a three-point loss to Baylor at home and a two-point loss to UCF at Nippert.

In addition, they trailed Oklahoma by just four in the third quarter and were down just 10-7 to Oklahoma State at halftime before Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Ollie Gordon II turned the game into a rout.

The "talk" will continue, but the walk begins in less than two months.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Five things to know for Cincinnati Bearcats at Big 12 football media days