Sunday, April 25, 1999
UC improved, though offense still struggles
BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Spring scrimmages tell little about how improved a football team will be in the fall. But the University of Cincinnati Bearcats are sure about one thing: After Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage, they believe they're much better now than they were at the start of spring practice.
And after a 2-9 season last year, improvement is expected but is still a big deal.
Coach Rick Minter preached some of the feel-good sentiment, declaring the scrimmage a 22-22 tie even though the offense had scored on a Joe Judge field goal in the final four seconds to win 23-22 over the black-shirted defense.
But Minter also saw the reality of a program coming off its worst season since 1990, and one whose offense could manage only two touchdowns in the scrimmage and trailed the defense — the squad that ranked last in the nation last year in points allowed per game — for much of the day.
“We're better than we were a month ago,” Minter said. “Are we where we need to be? No. We're a long way away.
“But this team is willing to work and listen and put the time in. It's an enthusiastic, young football team. We're finding out we can still make some plays. We still need our big-play receivers to come through with big plays.”
The bad news is that the Bearcats also lost their starting center to a broken right foot. Junior Doug Rosfeld (Moeller High) went down on the fourth play and was wearing a cast by game's end, expecting to be near full strength by the start of fall practices.
But not even a broken foot could dampen Rosfeld's enthusi asm about the team.
“This team that just got done is better by leaps and bounds,” Rosfeld said. “We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores, most of whom didn't have any experience playing with each other. More than anything, I think the team chemistry has improved. And fundamentally, this team has really made strides.”
Minter called Rosfeld's loss “devastating right now,” but the 6-foot-4, 280-pound center said he should be ready to resume full-bore workouts by June.
Running back Robert Cooper, who began the scrimmage as the No.1 offense's featured back because of a sprained thumb that sidelined starter DeMarco McCleskey, also went down with an injury in the first half — a sprained ankle, not considered serious.
Cooper rushed for 58 yards on 12 carries before the injury. P.J. Mays, who got more carries than he expected because of Cooper's sprain, ended with a game-
high 69 yards on 17 attempts and caught the only TD pass.
The offense stalled much of the game, however, and the receivers rarely broke free.
Quarterback Deontey Kenner completed 11 of 22 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown, while Greg Hergott was 5-for-12 for 48 yards and former Moeller star Ryan Cooper 8-for-15 for 122 yards.
Tye Keith led all receivers with six catches for 75 yards but dropped a couple of catchable balls.
“It looks a lot different from last year,” Kenner said of new offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher's more wide-open attack. “I like it. It's just a matter of getting it all in. We only showed a couple of formations. It spreads the ball out more.”
The defense ruled until the final minutes. St.Xavier alum Andy Kettler intercepted a Hergott pass, and the field goal defense blocked one.
“The defense has made strides,” said Minter, noting that perhaps as many as half the probable defensive starters are junior-college transfers who won't join UC until fall. “The defensive line is going to be a mainstay for us. We've got a bunch of no-names on defense right now, and they're going to have to grow up quickly.”
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 UC improved, though offense still struggles
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