Who, What, When: Cincinnati
By Paul Myerberg // Jul 22, 2010
Want a Cincinnati player to watch? A theme key to this team’s success? One game to circle in red ink? Let’s take a look.
Who: wide receiver Vidal Hazelton
Mardy Gilyard is gone, taking with him impressive production both in the passing game and as a return man. Armon Binns, a senior, will see his role increase. As will D.J. Woods. If there’s one player to keep an eye on, however, it’s Hazelton, the former U.S.C. transfer finally eligible for action with the Bearcats. Widely acknowledged as one of the nation’s top recruits coming coming out of high school, Hazelton will have to overcome two years of rust — he hasn’t experienced any significant playing time since 2008 — before making an impact. Hazelton, with Binns, will give Cincinnati a physically imposing wide receiver pair.
What: depth on defense
At each level. The defensive line, due to the move to the 4-3 set, will be severely strained. Moving linebacker Walter Stewart down to end does help, however. As of now, the two second-team tackles are redshirt freshmen. Stewart’s position change opened things up at linebacker, where sophomore Maalik Bomar seems to be the logical replacement at both outside spots if either J.K. Shaffer or Robby Armstrong suffer injuries. Is there depth in the secondary? Not quite, though the starting quartet — a group led by two returning starters — doesn’t look terrible.
When: Dec. 4 vs. Pittsburgh
Or West Virginia three weeks earlier. Or Connecticut the previous week. Or, in fact, the three noteworthy games in non-conference play. Let’s go with Pittsburgh, for the sole reason that the Panthers seem to be the Big East favorite — not necessarily the Countdown’s favorite, mind you — heading into the season. If Pittsburgh wants the crown, they’ll have to take off Cincinnati’s head; the Bearcats are the two-time defending conference champs, if you’d forgotten.
Tags: Armon Binns, Cincinnati, D.J. Woods, Pittsburgh, Vidal Hazelton, Walter Stewart
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Paul, I see Vidal Hazelton, a NEW YORK NATIVE picked in the 1st Round of the NFL draft. By far he is the BEST receiver I’ve seen so far. Obviously he has not played for 2 years. NFL Scouts don’t buy the hype. If they do the homework scouts will see that this guy is the REAL DEAL. Here is an interview with Kerry Coombs, Cincinnati’s DB Coach at ESPN. No surprise he was awarded the MVP player on the scout team. http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/10452/qa-with-cincinnatis-kerry-coombs-part-ii He is a very physical player. Reminds me of Anquan Boldin and Blocks like Hines Ward. Those who have seen him knows he is a contender that will move up draft boards. Believe it or not. This guy was ranked higher than Percy Harvin, Matt Stafford and a number of high profile players coming out of high school. According to Mike Farrell and Bob Litchenfel of both Rivals and Scout.com. He was the best WR at the 2006 Army All American game. Percy Harvin, Tim Tebow, Mathew Stafford, Chris “Beenie” Wells, Gerald McCoy and Andre Smith all played in that game. Hazelton was ranked the #1 WR in the Nation by Scout.com and the # 3 player overall by ESPN in 2006. This is not by coincidence. Several reputable football authorities saw the same things in this playmaker. I see great things for this NFL prospect. DJ Woods is another player that people are sleeping on. He will rocket up draft boards as well. Hazelton is definitely helping the UC recruiting. New York is not know for big time recruits. The title goes to Texas, California and Florida. This guy is probably the biggest recruit since Jim Brown to come out of New York. This is rare since New York is know more for the basketball.