The final recruiting weekend before the December dead period is always extremely busy for coaches across the country as they try to squeeze in as many visits as possible before bowl preparations begin. It is even more bust if the staff is hosting junior college prospects as national signing day for those players is December 17th. JUCOs are primarily brought in to be an immediate solution to weaknesses in next years’ roster. Over this past weekend, the Bearcats recieved a total of three pledges from either in prep school or junior college.
New #UC fb commits: LB Jaylyin Minor, Tyler JC, Tex; LB Antonio Kinard, Ariz. Western CC; DE Bryan Wright, Jireh Prep, NC. #Bearcats
— Tom Groeschen (@TomGroeschen) December 14, 2014
Jaylyin Minor
@NavasotaISD RT @JUCOFFrenzy: (Tyler JC) JUCO LB Jaylyin Minor just committed to Cincinnati pic.twitter.com/1e0YxmWB0L
— ArtiePhoto (@ArtiePhoto) December 14, 2014
Jaylyin Minor was the first reported commitment of the weekend. Minor is an inside linebacker from Tyler, Texas and measures 6’1″ and 240lbs. He starred this past season for Tyler Junior College and was also recruited by a few smaller schools in addition to Cincinnati. Minor will be needed to come in and contribute with stalwart Jeff Luc graduating this year. That would leave the position extremely thin for next year with Kevin Mouhon the only returning player with any kind of experience. Mouhon will most likely be granted a redshirt year for this season so this is definitely a position of need in this class. Jaylyin’s film shows that he can get to the ball quickly and tackles pretty well. In addition, Minor is a known fan of the rodeo and even participates himself. Overall, this under the radar player is a much, much needed for this team going forward.
http://instagram.com/p/wkrKFlldD7/?modal=true
Bryan Wright
The next reported commitment was defensive end Bryan Wright from Matthews, North Carolina. He announced his commitment on his Twitter page shortly after Jaylyin Wright.
I will be taking my talents to The University of Cincinnati In January 💪💯‼️ pic.twitter.com/oIe2VMuXA4
— DoubleSticks (@Bryan_wright11) December 14, 2014
Wright is another under the radar player who was on an official visit this past weekend. Wright currently plays for Jireh Prep and measures 6’4″ and 235lbs. Since he is attending prep school, he will have 4 years of eligibility once he arrives in Clifton. There is not much out there about Wright so we will have to trust the staff and their eye for talent was we have seen in the past. Even better, Wright’s main recruiter would be Coach Prunty and we know he can see talent. This seems to be a solid addtion to this class.
Antonio Kinard
The final commitment of the weekend is outside linebacker Antonio Kinard from Arizona Western College. Kinard was originally committed to Michigan out of Youngstown (OH) Liberty high school but failed to academically qulalify which led him towards the JUCO route. In addition to his offer from Cincinnati, Kinard also had offers from California, Louisville and Utah. His Hudl page shows him at 6’3″ and 215lbs. He will be an early enrollee which will allow him to play spring ball with the team and allow him to get adjusted to the speed of division 1 football.
Overall, these three additions to the recruiting class will add much needed depth to positions that could be weaknesses for the Bearcats next season. Kinard will be joing Eric Wilson and Kevin Brown on at the outside linebacker position with Nick Temple graduating, Minor will be dueling with Kevin Mouhon for the inside linebacker position and Wright will be going against Mark Wilson for time at the defensive end position with the graduation of Terrell Hartsfield. While playing time is not guaranteed, it is expected that these players will be coming in competing from day one.
Commitment to Watch
One commitment to watch over the next few days will be Lackawanna Junior College offensive lineman DeLonte Murray. According to Bearcat Journal’s Sam Kwiatkowski, Murray will be deciding between Cincinnati & Kansas tomorrow.
https://twitter.com/SKwiatkowski247/status/544614663686590465
Murray recently visited Cincinnati a few weeks ago so the Bearcats are fresh in his mind. He will be a much needed addition to the offensive line since depth will be an issue as the staff likes to rotate players in and out during games. No word on what time he plans on announcing but this is definitely a player the staff wants.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
