Cincinnati O-line Fall Camp Check-in
The Cincinnati Bearcats have had one of the better offensive lines in the entire country over the past two years. Through subpar quarterback play, defensive lapses, and poor special teams execution, the Bearcats have always been able to lean on their offensive line and running game.
Now, there will be three new starters on UC’s offensive front in 2025, creating one of the bigger question marks on the entire roster heading into the first week of the season.
One of those new arrivals is Taran Tyo, who Gerhardt admitted had a tough spring during his adjustment period to his new team and new scheme. But now, he’s been exceeding expectations, playing like a “maniac” according to Gerhardt, while the Ball State transfer sets the tone for how long it takes to transition to UC’s offense.
“ Those guys working together, they’re out here working with Nico, lifting and running, and then we start spring ball and it’s like night and day,” Offensive Line Coach Nic Cardwell told Bearcat Journal. “We’re running off the football; we run a lot outside zone. There’s no question about that. In the spring there were some questions. Now it’s ‘Oh my gosh, he’s moving now.’ Kudos to Nico and his staff for getting him to that point. I just think it’s time on task. The more he’s working in our system, the more he’s working our drills, the better he’s been with all that.
Opposite Tyo is where things could possibly get interesting. Even Tengesdahl started fall as the most likely option to start. However, former tackle Xavier Lozowicki has been taking a lot of snaps at left guard with the starting O-line, making his case for playing time. Cardwell confirmed after Friday’s practice that Lozowicki will play a lot in the three-man rotation he keeps during the season, and it’s worth monitoring who ends up playing that first snap at left guard against Nebraska on Aug. 28.
With the rotation at guard, that likely means Deon Buford will stick at right tackle and not have to play as much inside, assuming UC can be rather injury-free. In 2024, Buford often found himself on the inside, sharing playing time at right tackle with Phillip Wilder.
“ Deon just wants to play. He doesn’t care. Last year, he said, ‘Absolutely. Coach, I’ll go play guard.’ He don’t care. He just wants to play ball.”
Joe Cotton is going through that “first semester” acclamation stage that Tyo went through in the spring. Gerhardt says Tyo has the best chance to have the biggest impact early, but Cotton could very easily get to that point as he gets fully comfortable in the system.
“ I think Joe eventually will get to that point,” Gerhardt said. “If you go back and watch spring ball, Taran struggled in the spring, and now he’s out here playing like a maniac, running off the ball, doing everything right.
“Joe’s starting to slowly progress, just understanding the system. So I’d say at the point we’re at right now, definitely Taran, I think once the season hits, hopefully Joe has got it down pretty good and then it’ll probably be either one of them [having the biggest impact].”
Despite the amount of turnover, there have been rumblings that this offensive line group could exceed what their predecessors did in 2023 and 2024. While Cardwell didn’t go that far, he did say this year’s room has the talent to do it, and they are also the most connected group he’s coached.
Much of that is due to Gavin Gerhardt, who Cardwell paints as the glue as the offensive line, especially in regards to how the group communicates. The biggest test will be the first piece of game action, which is hard to replicate during fall camp.
“ We gotta be able to communicate, we gotta be able to talk,” Cardwell said. “I think Gavin brings a lot to the table in getting everybody on the same page. I think Evan and Taran are very talented. I think Lozowicki is very talented at the guard position.
“You got some talented guys in there. I feel great about ’em, but I’m interested to see how the communication goes and once we get into a game-like situation, how are we going to execute when things get hard and nasty?”
The Bearcats’ O-line will be tested in week one against Nebraska, which brought in lots of talented transfers after losing multiple key contributors to the draft and transfer portal.