One of the more difficult things about putting together this list is figuring out the right context for the most recent Bearcats. The last five years are without question the golden age of Cincinnati Bearcat Football and thus the players from this era having a little something extra in their ledger. At the same time there is a tendency to overrate the present at the extent of the past.
I really struggled on those issues placing John Hughes on this list. As half of the best Defensive Tackle duo in the history of the program Hughes deserves a spot. But at the same time Hughes individual production was not that great for his career.
Hughes played a ton of Football for UC, 50 games with 26 starts and yet he doesn't rank in the top 10 of UC history in either sacks or tackles for loss which are the principal determinants of a Defensive Tackle's worth and ability. Still Hughes deserves a spot on the list because of how well the DLine played last year with him as the anchor.
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