April 11, 2025 • 10 mins
Chad Brendel of Bearcat Journal joined us to discuss UC's spring practices in football and the search for players in the transfer portal in basketball.
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Podcasts of The Mo Egger Radio Show are a service of Longnecks Sports Grill.
Listen to the show live weekday afternoons 3:00 - 6:00 on ESPN1530.
Listen Live: ESPN1530.com/listen
Get more: https://linktr.ee/MoEgger
Follow on X: @MoEgger
Instagram too: @MoEgger
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
There's a lot going on because the portal is open
and Corey Evans and West Miller Ney players and Scott
Sanderfield's football team as an open practice as they get
said to wind down spring workouts on Saturday, although that
is not the last spring practice.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Chads here, hi, chad hi, I'm at close practice right now.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Really, how is it?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
It's a delightful day at Nippert Stadium. Delightful The things
that you.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Want to start by talking about? Do you want to
start by talking about football?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
I mean it's your show, you're the you're the number
four radio program in the entire city, So it's your choice.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
I'm still trying to figure out if that's good. Are
the Bearcat football teams? The Bearcat football team going to
be good this year?
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I think they're going to be better. Like they're starting
to look more like a big twelve team, which was
something that we have talked about a lot. Like when
you saw those other teams come out on the field
and you compare them man for man against you see
warming up before games, You're kind of like, oh boy, uh,
this isn't this isn't as close to a gap as
(01:11):
I thought it was. They're they're definitely getting bigger and
longer and more athletic, and you know, uh that's usually
a good sign as long as they've done their their
scouting properly. I like what I've seen from the new
wide receiver Bunch. I like a lot of the new
defensive backs that they brought in, especially the safeties and
UH all nineteen candidate at corner, Matthew McDoom. They just
(01:36):
call him Doom, which is phenomenal. But they they're looking
the part. I think they're going to be better. How
much better is probably the million dollar question.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I was gonna ask you, what should I put the
season win total over under at.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Uh for Scott Baderfield sanity, it better be at like
six point five, because I don't think six and six
is gonna make anybody feel great. I think even at
seven and five people are going to be a little
a little jumpy. But this is a team that's got
to get over five hundred. It's year three, They've they've
(02:18):
had a chance to retool the Robster and and build
it the way that they'd like to. But I I
don't feel confident with anything because my two biggest questions
are still offensive line and getting after the quarterback with
the pass rush, and those are two pretty critical factions
(02:38):
of the sport. So they they've done a really good
job run blocking so far this spring. A lot of
a lot of really good looking run plays where there's
sizeable gaps for guys to run through. That's been promising.
But in terms of pass blocking, in terms of getting
after the passer on the other side, I need to
(03:00):
be more confident there. The problem is I probably won't
be until the real game start in September, because it's
hard to tell when you're going against each other.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Well, the portal does open up next week, and so
we can spend some time talking about the Bearcats and
what they might get in the transfer portal. From a
football perspective, let's focus on that. From a basketball perspective,
I sense impatience among many Bearcat fans because there's been
a relative lack of movement, certainly involving players joining the program.
(03:33):
And I do want to ask you about the two
players we know are coming to UC. Should fans feel
impatient or do we have to slow things down and
understand that this process maybe takes a little bit longer
than we would like.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I've got a pop quiz for you now, Okay, the
portal opened a week earlier last year. Last year it
opened the Monday after selection Sunday. Okay, at this point
last year, how many commitments do you think UC had
from the portal.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
At this point last year? So with an extra.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Week, an extra week? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Four?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Zero?
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Really?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
I think it was April eleventh that Connor Hickman committed,
and then Arrington Page was a couple of days after that,
and then Dylan Mitchell remembered didn't happen until May. And
they only took three guys from the portal last year,
so at this time last year they had zero. So
they've already got two and the dead period ends tomorrow,
(04:43):
so players will be able to take visits and get
back on campuses again starting tomorrow. I don't think there's
any need for panic. I do think there is one
thing that you know is important in terms of of
where this is at. They need big men, and it's
(05:03):
not a great portal market to date on big guys.
So you know, this is where hiring a GM and
maybe having to moneyball things a little bit and be
a little bit more creative in where you find guys. Uh,
is going to come into play or is going to
at least, you know, give Corey Evans a chance to,
(05:26):
uh to make an impression.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
But you know that is Uh, that is where I
would you know, have the most like, Okay, if there's
something to keep an eye on. There's not a lot
of big guys out there, and they need at least two,
probably three to round this thing out right now. So uh,
that's if you're if you're concerned at all, that's where
I would be concerned.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
I'm trying to think who I figured was the fourth
portal guy, given the fact that they only brought in three.
How does kerk Crease a fit Alvin?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
I mean, was a late edition but not a portal guy. Yes,
I got you. That's why you have me on.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
That's exactly why I have you on.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Uh. Gives you a guy that knows how to run
an offense, gives an offense that has struggled passing the ball,
a guy that can really pass, and also a guy
that has the pedigree of a big time perimeter shooter.
He's a little hot and cold at times, but he
(06:34):
has had some big time games shooting the basketball. So
guy that can pass, guy that can really shoot. Those
are two things that if they had more of that
a year ago or you know, a month ago, the
season might have ended a little differently. The question, of course,
is he's coming off the season with an injury. It
is not a you know, an acl or an achilles,
(06:57):
but you know strets, fracture or bone breaks in your foot.
You know, never never good, so to speak. So that
would be the concern with Kirkrees.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
He's also going to talk a lot of trash, which
a lot like, yeah, what.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
About this team? This goes for Sincere Harris too, you
know as well as I did. This team didn't have
a lot of edge to him last.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Year, does to right?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Those are two guys that they brought in that changed
the internal dynamic of how many guys on our roster
will will uh uh get in a skirmish maybe not
a fight, but like a little a little kerfuffle uh.
And those two guys are guys that play hard, play
(07:48):
with an edge. This team desperately lacked that a season ago.
So if for nothing else, you go get two guys
that add that to your locker room. I'm a big
fan of that. Uh. Sincere hair was for my money,
the best perimeter defender in the conference last year. And
this is a team that allowed a lot of guards
and wings to have a career level nights against the
(08:12):
Cincinnati defense. So if you can get a guy that
can limit that, maybe those games where you're like hanging around,
you don't have that guy get hot and take a
six point game and make it a twelve point game,
or take a tie game and make it a nine
point game, like we saw in the Crown Tournament against UCF.
(08:34):
So that's another you know, it's kind of you took
you had the needs of one elite guard, right, and
you got two guys that are going to fill the
need of like you know what you would get in
like a star player. So does that work? I don't know,
but at least they identified here's the things we were
(08:57):
bad at, and we went out and we got two
guys that address a lot of those issues.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
I got like thirty seconds here of the players from
this past year's team who have put their name in
the portal, were any of them a surprise to you?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Josh Reid a little bit, because I thought they would
find a common ground to bring Josh back. But Josh
was looking for starter type money and Cincinnati calls. I
kind of saw him in a, you know, a rotation
type role, and so there's a disconnect there. Uh So
(09:36):
that created a situation where Josh made a decision to
bet on himself. For lack of a lesser used sports term,
but he bet on himself, and that you know, I
had Josh. If you would have asked me ten days ago,
who's coming, who's going, the only name so far that
(09:58):
I would have missed was Josh Reed.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Enjoy the rest of close practice. I'm coming. I'll see
you Saturday.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Perfect. Are you gonna come down on the field and
hang out with us?
Speaker 3 (10:10):
I am, Yeah, I'm gonna come down on the field.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
You'll probably just hang out with Dan Hord and like
look over, look over at us.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
But I'm excited to be No, no, no, no, no,
I'm gonna I'm going to divide my time evenly among everybody.
I'm coming on Saturday. I will be there and I
can't wait.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
So you know what happens on like Spring game Day
is Dan Horde corners Dave Simone at some point in time,
and Grill's Dave on his NFL Draft thoughts. So maybe
you can be part of that.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
I'm not gonna do that. Dave's draft Joy, no doubt
he is. I'm I'm not going to do that.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
I'm no I'm gonna do I'm gonna do something else.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
I'll see you Saturday.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Thanks mane, Okay, good, all right, thank you
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Brow bearcad you got a bearcat journal dot com for
o'clockie SPN fifteen thirty
There's a lot going on because the portal is open
and Corey Evans and West Miller Ney players and Scott
Sanderfield's football team as an open practice as they get
said to wind down spring workouts on Saturday, although that
is not the last spring practice.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Chads here, hi, chad hi, I'm at close practice right now.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Really, how is it?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
It's a delightful day at Nippert Stadium. Delightful The things
that you.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Want to start by talking about? Do you want to
start by talking about football?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
I mean it's your show, you're the you're the number
four radio program in the entire city, So it's your choice.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
I'm still trying to figure out if that's good. Are
the Bearcat football teams? The Bearcat football team going to
be good this year?
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I think they're going to be better. Like they're starting
to look more like a big twelve team, which was
something that we have talked about a lot. Like when
you saw those other teams come out on the field
and you compare them man for man against you see
warming up before games, You're kind of like, oh boy, uh,
this isn't this isn't as close to a gap as
(01:11):
I thought it was. They're they're definitely getting bigger and
longer and more athletic, and you know, uh that's usually
a good sign as long as they've done their their
scouting properly. I like what I've seen from the new
wide receiver Bunch. I like a lot of the new
defensive backs that they brought in, especially the safeties and
UH all nineteen candidate at corner, Matthew McDoom. They just
(01:36):
call him Doom, which is phenomenal. But they they're looking
the part. I think they're going to be better. How
much better is probably the million dollar question.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I was gonna ask you, what should I put the
season win total over under at.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Uh for Scott Baderfield sanity, it better be at like
six point five, because I don't think six and six
is gonna make anybody feel great. I think even at
seven and five people are going to be a little
a little jumpy. But this is a team that's got
to get over five hundred. It's year three, They've they've
(02:18):
had a chance to retool the Robster and and build
it the way that they'd like to. But I I
don't feel confident with anything because my two biggest questions
are still offensive line and getting after the quarterback with
the pass rush, and those are two pretty critical factions
(02:38):
of the sport. So they they've done a really good
job run blocking so far this spring. A lot of
a lot of really good looking run plays where there's
sizeable gaps for guys to run through. That's been promising.
But in terms of pass blocking, in terms of getting
after the passer on the other side, I need to
(03:00):
be more confident there. The problem is I probably won't
be until the real game start in September, because it's
hard to tell when you're going against each other.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Well, the portal does open up next week, and so
we can spend some time talking about the Bearcats and
what they might get in the transfer portal. From a
football perspective, let's focus on that. From a basketball perspective,
I sense impatience among many Bearcat fans because there's been
a relative lack of movement, certainly involving players joining the program.
(03:33):
And I do want to ask you about the two
players we know are coming to UC. Should fans feel
impatient or do we have to slow things down and
understand that this process maybe takes a little bit longer
than we would like.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I've got a pop quiz for you now, Okay, the
portal opened a week earlier last year. Last year it
opened the Monday after selection Sunday. Okay, at this point
last year, how many commitments do you think UC had
from the portal.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
At this point last year? So with an extra.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Week, an extra week? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Four?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Zero?
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Really?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
I think it was April eleventh that Connor Hickman committed,
and then Arrington Page was a couple of days after that,
and then Dylan Mitchell remembered didn't happen until May. And
they only took three guys from the portal last year,
so at this time last year they had zero. So
they've already got two and the dead period ends tomorrow,
(04:43):
so players will be able to take visits and get
back on campuses again starting tomorrow. I don't think there's
any need for panic. I do think there is one
thing that you know is important in terms of of
where this is at. They need big men, and it's
(05:03):
not a great portal market to date on big guys.
So you know, this is where hiring a GM and
maybe having to moneyball things a little bit and be
a little bit more creative in where you find guys. Uh,
is going to come into play or is going to
at least, you know, give Corey Evans a chance to,
(05:26):
uh to make an impression.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
But you know that is Uh, that is where I
would you know, have the most like, Okay, if there's
something to keep an eye on. There's not a lot
of big guys out there, and they need at least two,
probably three to round this thing out right now. So uh,
that's if you're if you're concerned at all, that's where
I would be concerned.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
I'm trying to think who I figured was the fourth
portal guy, given the fact that they only brought in three.
How does kerk Crease a fit Alvin?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
I mean, was a late edition but not a portal guy. Yes,
I got you. That's why you have me on.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
That's exactly why I have you on.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Uh. Gives you a guy that knows how to run
an offense, gives an offense that has struggled passing the ball,
a guy that can really pass, and also a guy
that has the pedigree of a big time perimeter shooter.
He's a little hot and cold at times, but he
(06:34):
has had some big time games shooting the basketball. So
guy that can pass, guy that can really shoot. Those
are two things that if they had more of that
a year ago or you know, a month ago, the
season might have ended a little differently. The question, of course,
is he's coming off the season with an injury. It
is not a you know, an acl or an achilles,
(06:57):
but you know strets, fracture or bone breaks in your foot.
You know, never never good, so to speak. So that
would be the concern with Kirkrees.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
He's also going to talk a lot of trash, which
a lot like, yeah, what.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
About this team? This goes for Sincere Harris too, you
know as well as I did. This team didn't have
a lot of edge to him last.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Year, does to right?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Those are two guys that they brought in that changed
the internal dynamic of how many guys on our roster
will will uh uh get in a skirmish maybe not
a fight, but like a little a little kerfuffle uh.
And those two guys are guys that play hard, play
(07:48):
with an edge. This team desperately lacked that a season ago.
So if for nothing else, you go get two guys
that add that to your locker room. I'm a big
fan of that. Uh. Sincere hair was for my money,
the best perimeter defender in the conference last year. And
this is a team that allowed a lot of guards
and wings to have a career level nights against the
(08:12):
Cincinnati defense. So if you can get a guy that
can limit that, maybe those games where you're like hanging around,
you don't have that guy get hot and take a
six point game and make it a twelve point game,
or take a tie game and make it a nine
point game, like we saw in the Crown Tournament against UCF.
(08:34):
So that's another you know, it's kind of you took
you had the needs of one elite guard, right, and
you got two guys that are going to fill the
need of like you know what you would get in
like a star player. So does that work? I don't know,
but at least they identified here's the things we were
(08:57):
bad at, and we went out and we got two
guys that address a lot of those issues.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
I got like thirty seconds here of the players from
this past year's team who have put their name in
the portal, were any of them a surprise to you?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Josh Reid a little bit, because I thought they would
find a common ground to bring Josh back. But Josh
was looking for starter type money and Cincinnati calls. I
kind of saw him in a, you know, a rotation
type role, and so there's a disconnect there. Uh So
(09:36):
that created a situation where Josh made a decision to
bet on himself. For lack of a lesser used sports term,
but he bet on himself, and that you know, I
had Josh. If you would have asked me ten days ago,
who's coming, who's going, the only name so far that
(09:58):
I would have missed was Josh Reed.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Enjoy the rest of close practice. I'm coming. I'll see
you Saturday.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Perfect. Are you gonna come down on the field and
hang out with us?
Speaker 3 (10:10):
I am, Yeah, I'm gonna come down on the field.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
You'll probably just hang out with Dan Hord and like
look over, look over at us.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
But I'm excited to be No, no, no, no, no,
I'm gonna I'm going to divide my time evenly among everybody.
I'm coming on Saturday. I will be there and I
can't wait.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
So you know what happens on like Spring game Day
is Dan Horde corners Dave Simone at some point in time,
and Grill's Dave on his NFL Draft thoughts. So maybe
you can be part of that.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
I'm not gonna do that. Dave's draft Joy, no doubt
he is. I'm I'm not going to do that.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
I'm no I'm gonna do I'm gonna do something else.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
I'll see you Saturday.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Thanks mane, Okay, good, all right, thank you
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Brow bearcad you got a bearcat journal dot com for
o'clockie SPN fifteen thirty
Mo Egger News
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