CINCINNATI - University of Cincinnati head football coach Butch Jones announced 30 members of the 2012 recruiting class on Wednesday, Feb. 1, the beginning of the NCAA initial signing period for football.
In addition to the 28 signees, UC announced the addition of two preferred walk-ons.
“Today is a very exciting day in our football family as we officially welcome 30 individuals to UC,” Jones said. “There’s a lot that goes into a recruiting class and a lot of people here at the University of Cincinnati have done a great job in helping us attract what we feel is a class that fits the standards and expectations associated with the program.”
The signing class features 16 defensive players set to join UC. Defensive back (8), and linebacker (5) lead the way along with three defensive linemen. Of the 14 offensive players, four are running backs, four offensive linemen, three wide receivers, a pair of quarterbacks and a tight end.
“The class lends itself to filling many needs within our program,” Jones said. “We wanted to put an emphasis on team speed in general while addressing needs at defensive back and linebacker. We feel like we attracted a very high caliber of student-athlete in this class, which will continue to allow us to build a championship culture both on the field and in the classroom.”
UC added recruits from nine different states, including 11 student-athletes from the State of Ohio, 10 from within the Tri-State area and five products of Indianapolis. The Bearcats added commitments from California (1), Florida (6), Illinois (1), Michigan (1), Pennsylvania (1) and Tennessee (2).
“We are always going to take care of our home base here in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky,” Jones said. “From there we branched out into a 115-mile radius from our campus, to Indianapolis, through the state of Ohio and then we moved into other areas of the country, Cleveland, Detroit, Florida and Memphis.”
The recruiting pundits rank this UC class as the best ever. Scout.com slots the Bearcats at No. 29 and second the BIG EAST Conference rankings. This marks the first team UC has entered Scout’s Top-30 its best ever league ranking. Rivals.com ranks the UC class as No. 44 overall out of 120 FBS schools.
Nine student-athletes, Kevin Brown (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central), Deionte Buckley (Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central), Jonathan Burt (Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central), Errol Clarke (Miami, Fla,/Central), Bennie Coney (Plant City, Fla./Plant City), DeShawn Dowdy (Akron, Ohio/North), Marcus Foster (Troy, Ohio/Troy), Trenton Norvell (Daytona Beach, Fla./Seabreeze) and Josh Posley (Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central), enrolled at UC in January and are participating in the Bearcats’ off-season workout program in preparation for spring football.
The Bearcats, 2011 BIG EAST and AutoZone Liberty Bowl Champions, begin spring football on March 1.
UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI FOOTBALL SIGNEES
2012 MIDYEAR ENROLEES
Kevin Brown DB 6-1 195 Fr.-HS Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central
Deionte Buckley RB 5-9 195 Fr.-HS Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central
Jonathan Burt DL 6-3 248 Fr.-HS Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central
Errol Clarke LB 6-2 210 Fr.-HS Miami, Fla,/Central
Bennie Coney QB 6-2 210 Fr.-HS Plant City, Fla./Plant City
DeShawn Dowdy TE 6-4 222 Fr.-HS Akron, Ohio/North
Marcus Foster DB 6-1 190 Fr.-HS Troy, Ohio/Troy
Trenton Norvell QB 6-4 215 Fr.-HS Daytona Beach, Fla./Seabreeze
Josh Posley DL 6-2 238 Fr.-HS Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central
2012 SIGNEES
Shakim Alonzo WR 6-5 205 Fr.-HS Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills
Deyshawn Bond OL 6-3 283 Fr.-HS Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central
Drake Bruns DB 6-0 190 Fr.-HS Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands
Franklin Bruscianelli LB 6-0 220 Fr.-HS Woodridge, Ill./Montini Catholic
Nate Cole WR 6-0 177 Fr.-HS Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell
Dylan Coombs DB 6-1 185 Fr.-HS Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain
Alex Dale DB 5-10 170 Fr.-HS Memphis, Tenn./University School
Zach Edwards DB 6-1 180 Fr.-HS Middletown, Ohio/Middletown
Jeremy Graves WR 6-2 185 Fr.-HS Cleveland, Ohio/Maple Heights
Tion Green RB 6-0 197 Fr.-HS Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lake Brantley
Corey Griffin LB 6-1 205 Fr.-HS Miami, Fla./Coral Reef Senior
Aaron Harris RB 6-0 200 Jr.-JC El Cajon, Calif./Granite Hills/Southwestern CC
Andre Jones DB 6-1 195 Fr.-HS Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain
Joey Jones LB 6-0 190 Fr.-HS Homestead, Fla./South Dade
E.J. Junior RB 6-0 210 Fr.-HS Middletown, Ohio/Middletown
Ryan Leahy OL 6-6 256 Fr.-HS Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle
Ey’Shawn McClain LB 6-2 220 Fr.-HS Jacksonville, Fla./Raines
Alex Pace DL 6-3 284 Fr.-HS Cleveland, Ohio/Ginn Academy
Leviticus Payne DB 5-9 176 Fr.-HS Southfield, Mich./Southfield
Caleb Stacey OL 6-4 280 Fr.-HS Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills
Kyle Williamson OL 6-5 275 Fr.-HS Cincinnati, Ohio/Madeira
