UC football players play in College Football 25 game, celebrate Cincy Light anniversary

Over 11,000 players, including many Cincinnati Bearcat football players, were given $600 and a free copy of EA Sports College Football 25 this season.

Friday, at Rhinegeist Brewery, a few Bearcats gathered to play against the public. The day also happened to be the one-year anniversary of Cincy Light, the Rhinegeist-made brew that was concocted to donate $2 per case to Cincy Reigns , UC's Name, Image and Likeness collective.

Godfather in the house

Of note, appearing at the event was Dontay Corleone who was declared "out indefinitely" in June when blood clots were discovered in his lungs. The UC Medical Team of Senior Associate AD Aaron Himmler and team physician Dr. Jon Devine quickly treated Corleone and it was announced at Big 12 media days that "The Godfather" as he is known had returned to running and strength and conditioning work.

Corleone and offensive guard Luke Kandra are UC's highest-rated players in the new game, both scoring 91s. Corleone was held out of interviews Friday, but indications are pointing in the right direction as he's been present in the weight room.

"Something comes up like that and it's thrown in your face, it's difficult to deal with," UC center Gavin Gerhardt said. "He's dealing with it really well. He's done everything he needs to do to be out there with us and we're going to see him when he gets out there."

As for video game, Corleone acknowledged that he's pretty good, much as he is at tangling with offensive linemen.

Kiner sneaky fast on College Football 25

UC's returning 1,047-yard rusher Corey Kiner was also in attendance with Bearcat play-by-play man Dan Hoard and former Bearcat quarterback Tony Pike, who was hosting his Cincy 360 radio show. Kiner's first foe must not have scouted his opposition as the shifty running back performed a sly move with his nimble thumbs.

"He didn't know who I was when he sat down," Kiner said. "I scored a touchdown and my picture came up on the screen and he looked at me like, 'Hold on,'. It's pretty cool."

Kiner continuity could help

Unique this year to Kiner is having the same coach for consecutive years. It's a first since his high school days at Roger Bacon under Mike Blaut. Kiner played his freshman year in college at LSU with Brian Kelly, then moved to UC at first under Luke Fickell. Now in his second season with Scott Satterfield, he's not learning a new system.

"It's the same system and you've got the same O-linemen coming back too," Kiner said. "It's going to be great. The whole running back room in hungry."

Disregarding outside noise

Nationwide Big 12 media selected the Bearcats 14th out of the 16-team league. As he said at Big 12 media days, those words don't bother Kiner, but they'll be a motivator.

"Everybody has their opinion on us," he said. "We didn't have the best year last year. We know what we can do and where we need to improve. We know we're going to work for something big this year."

Added Gerhardt, "Offensive line-wise, the guys I spend the most time with, we take it to the chin what we've heard. Our ultimate goal is we want to be the best offensive line in the country. We want to win the Joe Moore Award a nd I think we have a pretty good shot at being one of the best, if not the best. I don't play into it too much, but I've heard it."

Cincy Light with bright future

The light beer from Rhinegeist came with an assist from former Bearcat quarterback Dustin Grutza who connected Cincy Reigns with the mega-popular Over-The-Rhine brewery. One year later, it's enormously popular, with UC's NIL collective benefitting per case and with pour and taproom contributions.

"Overwhelmed in the best popular way," Rhinegeist CEO Andrew Bankovich said of the partnership. "It's gone far greater than we ever could have expected. We've cranked up production so we're not having any out-of-stocks at all. The response from the community has been more positive than we ever planned. The partnership with Cincy Reigns has truly been a partnership. We've worked with them every step of the way."

Cincy Reigns approached Rhinegeist in Feb. 2023 and Cincy Light was launched about four months later. The brand has expanded beyond Cincinnati, going deeper into Kentucky, to Columbus, to Dayton and even some Northern Ohio establishments are requesting the red and black cans.

More Kandra honors

UC's highly decorated guard Luke Kandra added more honors this week. Kandra has been nominated for the 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and Allstate Wuerffel Trophy, the American Football Coaches Association announced this week.

The Allstate Wuerffel Trophy will honor a student-athlete who is inspired to serve others and make a positive impact on society. Together with the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, the awards will mark college football’s premier honors for community service.

Kandra has volunteered his time at several local organizations, including Rockdale Elementary School, Ronald McDonald House, Impacting Tomorrow food pantry, and more.

A 2023 AP and Walter Camp All-American, Kandra ranked as the third-best Power Five guard (81.8) according to PFF while starting all 12 games and leading UC with 79 knockdowns in 2023. He returns as the country's top-graded P4 right guard in 2024 and will anchor an offensive line that returns all five starters.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC football players play in College Football 25 game, celebrate Cincy Light anniversary