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Cincinnati Spring Game | What To Watch For

Munchie Leguax won't be the story tomorrow, everyone else will.  (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Munchie Leguax won't be the story tomorrow, everyone else will. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
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Tomorrow is Bearcat Bowl VI. Just for a refresher the start time is 4PM at Nippert Stadium. Not that anyone who has managed to find this blog needs to be refreshed, still custom is custom. Almost all of the talk about spring Football has revolved around the Quarterback position and who will replace Zach Collaros. It has been framed by the coaches and the media as a "competition" between Munchie Leguax, Brendon Kay, and Patrick Coyne. It hasn't actually been a competition since mid March. Barring injury or a meltdown of catastrophic proportions Munchie will be taking the snaps against Pitt to start the season. But that doesn't mean that there aren't position battles to pay attention to in BB6.

The biggest piece from the 2011 offense that has to be replaced isn't Zach Collaros, it's Isaiah Pead. Pead always brought a level of athleticism and big play explosiveness that was hard to match. But as a Senior he learned how to grind out tough yards and that made him a complete back. Right now three guys are vying to replaced iPead, George Winn, Jameel Poteat and Ralph Abernathy IV. No matter what happens in the spring game those three guys will head into the season splitting carries more or less equally.

Receiver will continue to be the strength of the skill position groups with the top three at the end of the year (Anthony McClung, Kenbrell Thompkins and Alex Chisum) all coming back, not to mention two thirds of the rotation at Tight End in Travis Kelce and Blake Annen coming back. There are some guys who can push their way into the mix among the receivers and TE's, Dyjuan Lewis and Chris Moore for example, but that will be decided in the fall camp more so than in this setting.

The place to watch for changes and general chaos is along the offensive line. Regardless of what the media says the Bearcats are returning three starting offensive linemen Sean Hooey, Eric Lefeld and Austen Bujnoch. The only guy who has been 100 per cent all spring long has been Lefeld. Hooey is less than 100 percent after his ankle surgery earlier this year. Bujnoch had off season shoulder surgery as well. The three of them compose the starting Left and Right Tackles (Lefeld and Hooey) and Bujnoch will start at Guard, presumably left.

Where the intrigue lies is at the other guard spot and center where Dan Sprauge, Sam Longo, Andre Cureton, and anyone else capible of playing battle for the two remaining spots*. You can bet that the starting five will include the returning starters and two of those three in some order. The spring game means the most to those guys so pay attention to lineplay.

* My hunch is that Sprauge starts at center, Cureton at right guard. Purely a guess though.

Defensively almost everything is sorted. Coming into the spring four starters had to be replaced. Derek Wolfe and John Hughes at defensive tackle, J.K. Schaffer at Middle Linebacker and Wesley Richardson at Free Safety. Flash forward 14 practices and just one position is still up for grabs.

Camaron Beard and Jordan Stepp have been cemented as the starting tackle duo. Solomon Tentman has come all the way back from a devastating knee injury to be the man in the middle of the defense. That just leaves Free Safety to figure out. A trio of guys are competing for the spot. Malcolm Murray a JUCO transfer last season who tore his ACL and missed the majority of the season. Adrian Witty a converted corner back who is going to try and do his best Ahmad Black impression. Lastly is Pat Lambert who has been exclusively on special teams duty since losing his nickle back job to Chris Williams early in 2010.

For reference here is the spring roster

1 Kenbrell Thompkins WR 6-1 196 SR-JC Miami, Fla./Northwestern/El Camino CC
2 Dyjuan Lewis WR 6-3 194 RS SO-RS Indianapolis, Ind./Pike
4 Maalik Bomar LB 6-1.5 220 SR-2L Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods
4 Munchie Legaux QB 6-4.5 203 JR-1L New Orleans, La./Edna Karr
5 Reuben Johnson DB 5-10 196 SR-2L Lawnside, N.J./Winslow Township
6 Anthony McClung WR 5-11.5 165 JR-1L Indianapolis, Ind./Pike
7 Shaq Washington WR 5-8.5 159 SO-HS Maple Hts., Ohio/Maple Hts.
8 Jordan Luallen QB 6-3 214 RS JR-TR Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove/Georgia Tech
8 Adrian Witty DB 5-10 177 RS SO-RS Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach
9 Dominique Battle DB 5-11 185 RS SR-2L Boca Raton, Fla./American Heritage
9 Patrick Coyne QB 6-1 233 RS FR-HS Cincinnati, Ohio/Badin
10 Bennie Coney QB 6-2 210 FR-HS Plant City, Fla./Plant City
11 Deven Drane DB 5-10.5 179 JR-1L Plantation, Fla./Plantation
11 Brendon Kay QB 6-4 229 RS SR-SQ Marine City, Mich./Marine City
12 Trenton Norvell QB 6-4 215 FR-HS Daytona Beach, Fla./Seabreeze
13 Pat Lambert DB 6-1 208 RS SR-2L St. Cloud, Fla./Osceola
14 Tony Miliano K 6-1.5 298 RS SO-RS North Bend, Ohio/Elder
15 Chris Moore WR 6-1 175 RS FR-HS Tampa, Fla./Thomas Jefferson
16 Damon Julian WR 6-2 209 SR-JC Atco, N.J./Winslow Township/Pierce College
17 Malcolm Murray DB 6-1 195 SR-JC Glendale, Calif./Junipero Serra/Mount SAC
18 Travis Kelce TE 6-6 255 RS SR-1L Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights
19 Ralph David Abernathy IV RB 5-6.5 160 SO-HS Atlanta, Ga./Westminster School
20 Chris Williams DB 5-11 180 SR-2L Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods
21 Camerron Cheatham DB 5-8.5 195 RS SR-2L Kalamazoo, Mich./Central
22 Jameel Poteat RB 5-10 202 SO-HS Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt
23 Chris Burrell RB 5-7 170 SO-TR Westwood, N.J./Don Bosco Prep/Temple
24 John Lloyd P 6-1.5 238 RS SO-RS Cincinnati, Ohio/CHCA
25 Arryn Chenault DB 6-0 197 JR-1L Cincinnati, Ohio/Fairfield
26 A.J. Fleak K 6-1 231 RS FR-HS Sunbury, Ohio/Big Walnut
26 Drew Frey DB 6-3 200 RS SR-2L Wilmington, Ohio/Clinton-Massie
27 Trenier Orr DB 5-11 180 RS FR-HS Winter Garden, Fla./Ocoee
29 Rob Rice RB 5-10 178 RS FR-RS Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas
30 Aaron Roberson DB 5-11 183 SR-1L Maple Heights, Ohio/Chanel/Gannon
31 Deionte Buckley RB 5-9 195 FR-HS Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central
32 George Winn RB 5-11 198 RS SR-2L Southfield, Mich./U. of Detroit Jesuit
33 Solomon Tentman LB 6-2 222 RS SO-RS Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon
34 Pat O'Donnell P 6-5 217 JR-1L Lakeworth, Fla./Palm Beach Central
35 Eric Ernst P 6-.5 177 RS FR-HS Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas
35 Josh Russ TE 6-5 231 RS FR-RS Elyria, Ohio/Elyria Catholic
36 Marcus Foster DB 6-1 190 FR-HS Troy, Ohio/Troy
38 Adam Fearing RB 5-9 182 SR-SQ Dayton, Ohio/Carroll
39 Demitri Beal DB 5-10.5 188 RS SO-RS Pembroke Park, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna
40 Kevin Brown DB 6-1 195 FR-HS Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central
41 Kevin Hyland LB 6-1.5 219 RS FR-HS Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder
43 Nick Temple LB 5-10 215 SO-HS Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central
44 Corey Mason LB 6-2.5 229 RS SO-RS Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder
46 Mitch Meador LB 6-4 270 RS JR-1L Greenwood, Ind./Whiteland Community
47 Colin Lozier LB 6-0 220 SR-2L Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain
48 Matt Staubach TE 6-5 247 RS FR-HS Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas
49 Anthony King RB 5-11 206 JR-HS Chicago, Ill./Ayersville
50 Innocent Macha LB 5-11.5 216 SO-HS Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon
51 Greg Blair LB 6-2 240 SR Pittsburgh, Pa./Schenley/Lackawanna CC
52 Dwight Jackson LB 6-1 213 SO-HS Miami, Fla./Miami Central
54 Walter Stewart DL 6-4.5 248 RS SR-2L Ashville, Ohio/Teays Valley
55 Roney Lozano DL 6-1.5 272 RS SO-1L Miami, Fla./American
56 Errol Clarke LB 6-2 210 FR-HS Miami, Fla./Central
57 Clemente Casseus LB 6-1 205 SO-HS Mirimar, Fla./Everglades
58 Brandon Mills DL 5-10 251 RS SR-2L Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain
60 Sam Longo OL 6-5 289 JR-TR Spring Valley, Ohio/Bellbrook/Ohio State
61 Kirk Willis LS 6-2 227 RS FR-HS Granville, Ohio/Granville
62 Cory Keebler OL 6-6.5 286 RS SO-RS Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota East
63 Dan Sprague OL 6-3 278 RS JR-SQ Worthington, OH/Kilbourne
66 Sean McClellan OL 6-4 281 RS JR-SQ Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller
68 Daniel Murray OL 6-2.5 284 RS FR-HS San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines
69 Dominic Mainello OL 6-3 266 JR-SQ Fort Mitchell, Ky./Beachwood
70 Brandon Mitchell DL 6-2 320 RS FR-HS Cincinnati, Ohio/Withrow
71 Eric Lefeld OL 6-6 285 RS SO-RS Coldwater, Ohio/Coldwater
74 Justin Murray OL 6-5 245 SO-HS Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore
75 Kevin Schloemer OL 6-6.5 303 SO-RS Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota West
76 Austen Bujnoch OL 6-4.5 274 RS JR-1L Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder
77 Sean Hooey OL 6-9 298 SR-1L Litchfield, Mich./Hillsdale
78 Parker Ehinger OL 6-7 278 RS FR-HS Rockford, Mich./Rockford
79 Andre Cureton OL 6-5.5 299 RS JR-1L Indianapolis, Ind./Pike
80 Alex Chisum WR 6-2.5 178 SO-HS Fayetteville, Ga./Sandy Creek
81 DeShawn Dowdy TE 6-4 222 FR-HS Akron, Ohio/North
82 Max Morrison WR 6-1 166 RS FR-HS Kenton, Ohio/Kenton
83 Danny Milligan WR 5-8.5 172 RS SR-1L Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier
85 Bruce Horner WR 6-1 172 RS SR-1L Farmington Hills, Mich./Harrison
86 Blake Annen TE 6-5 258 RS JR-1L Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington
89 Demetrius Richardson TE 6-2 243 SR-1L Marlton, N.J./Cherokee/USMAPS
90 Camaron Beard DL 6-5 278 RS SO-RS Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral
91 Adam Dempsey DL 6-2 260 SR-SQ Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands
92 Silverberry Mouhon DL 6-3.5 233 RS FR-HS Norcross, Ga./Norcross
93 Brad Harrah DL 6-5 250 RS SO-RS Marion, Ohio/Marion Pleasant
94 Jordan Stepp DL 6-.5 287 RS JR-1L Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis
95 Jonathan Burt DL 6-3 248 FR-HS Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central
96 Josh Posley DL 6-2 238 FR-HS Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central
97 Chad Hannah DL 6-5.5 218 RS FR-HS Tampa, Fla./Gaither
98 Chad West DL 6-6 240 RS FR-HS Perry, Ohio/Perry
99 Dan Giordano DL 6-4 261 RS SR-2L Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East