Cincinnati Head Football Coach Scott Satterfield on Class of 2024
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00:00 Yeah, I think first of all, man, I'm glad today's finally here.
00:05 Recruiting has been a long journey this past season.
00:09 You know, when you think about all these high school players that we started off
00:12 over thousands back when we first got here trying to recruit this class.
00:16 And to get narrowed down to this group right here, 21 high school recruits that,
00:22 you know, are going to become a part of our family now,
00:25 we're extremely excited about that.
00:27 You know, we have several players, five players from the state of Ohio.
00:32 I think obviously we want to start right here in the city of Cincinnati
00:35 and work within that three- to four-hour radius all the way up through our state.
00:39 We're really proud of this state of how good the high school football is
00:42 and how great the high school coaches do.
00:44 They do an absolute great job, one of the best in the country,
00:47 in coaching their players in high school and developing them.
00:52 When they get to college, they're ready to go.
00:54 They've been coached hard and you like what you're going to get
00:57 when they come to your program.
01:00 You know, I'm excited also because this has been a lot of hard work that's been put in,
01:04 you know, starting with our recruiting department, Zach Grant,
01:07 and those guys that are in there.
01:09 I mean, they do a fabulous job.
01:11 I mean, they've tirelessly been working all year, not only identifying talent,
01:15 but also in the communication.
01:17 I mean, Cass has done great, Carter, Jack, all those people.
01:21 Caroline, you know, putting together all the visits that are on the campus.
01:25 I mean, so many great things that they did.
01:27 And our coaches, our coaches, you know, worked their butt off
01:30 to try to put this class together, too.
01:32 The thing we wanted to set out in this class to find, number one,
01:34 obviously good players, but really more important for me is, you know, great men,
01:38 you know, character was one of the high priorities when you're thinking about this class
01:42 and what we're bringing in here.
01:44 These are some outstanding young people with great families.
01:48 We got to know them over the period of basically, you know, a year.
01:52 And we're so excited about getting them here.
01:54 Ten of them are coming early.
01:56 We'll have ten guys in January that will be early enrollees,
01:59 which is almost half your class, which is really, really great.
02:03 You know, we're excited about getting this guy here to start working early.
02:06 You know, we also at this point in time, you know, we've announced some, you know,
02:10 these transfers that will be here as well.
02:12 I think right now we're sitting at eight.
02:14 You know, the guy that will be here early is also --
02:16 we're not done with that either.
02:18 When it opens back up in January 3rd, I believe, we'll be able to host some more
02:22 to try to get some more in here before the semester starts in January.
02:26 So, we'll continue to work on that throughout Christmas to get more guys in here.
02:32 You know, but I think, again, just excited about this group
02:34 and excited to get them here.
02:37 A lot of guys that come from winning programs, right,
02:40 you just can't get them on this list.
02:43 They're on the priority list for the paper winning program.
02:47 Yeah.
02:48 Historically, they're well coached, I guess.
02:50 Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, certainly that's an added bonus.
02:53 You know, you never know when you're recruiting them how good their team may
02:56 or may not be.
02:57 You know, that is -- but it is awesome to see, you know, like Dakar, you know,
03:02 Perry has a first state championship at their high school.
03:04 That's awesome.
03:05 You know, and he's such a great leader for their team and playmaker that, you know,
03:10 we didn't know that coming into it, but we know he's a great person.
03:13 And to be able to see that happen was awesome.
03:16 You know, several others that won state championships and that played for it,
03:19 a lot of these guys were captains of their team.
03:21 You know, those are the kind of players we're looking to find, you know,
03:24 leadership, character, you know, all those type things.
03:27 You know, you want to surround everybody in that locker room
03:29 and our locker room with those type people.
03:31 Ron.
03:33 [Inaudible]
03:42 Yeah.
03:43 Yeah, you know, Samaj was a guy we recruited heavily when we were at Louisville.
03:47 And, you know, he continued that relationship once we got to Cincinnati.
03:50 And then he was able to come down, him and his mom, several times.
03:54 He came to two or three games in the fall.
03:57 You know, I think early on we saw him in camp about two years ago
04:01 and he loved the way he threw the football, but also he could run.
04:05 You know, at that time I think he was a 4'6" guy.
04:08 He was probably close to 195 at that point in time.
04:10 So, he had good size.
04:12 He could run, he could throw.
04:14 Really what sold us in camp was the ball jumped off his hand.
04:17 And I think just really tracking him.
04:20 And Coach Thomas went and watched him play in the playoffs the last couple weeks.
04:24 You know, they ended up winning the state championship.
04:26 And, you know, I think in the state championship game he was 14 for 17.
04:30 A couple of touchdowns and then rushed for 125, a few more touchdowns.
04:34 So, he's that kind of dual threat that we like.
04:36 He's a solid build guy.
04:37 He's not extremely tall.
04:39 You know, but he's put together.
04:41 You know, and so we love the versatility and the playmaking ability.
04:45 He's very knowledgeable in football.
04:47 And, you know, we're so glad to get him in.
04:50 And then, quite honestly, to be able to get him early.
04:52 You know, we anticipated not -- didn't think we were going to be able to make
04:55 that happen, but he did things he had to do on his part to be able to come here early.
04:59 It's huge.
05:00 You think about the guys we got coming in that quarterback room,
05:02 that's going to be a great competition this spring in the quarterback room.
05:05 You know, essentially you have all your guys here that will be competing in the
05:09 spring and then, you know, we'll see how that comes out.
05:12 But that's going to be a great competition and a bunch of great quarterbacks.
05:16 [Inaudible].
05:19 Yeah.
05:20 What is it about that record?
05:23 Mm-hmm.
05:25 Yeah, I think, you know, for us in our offense,
05:27 you want those guys that are quick but also have some speed.
05:31 You know, Dakar is very solid.
05:33 He's put together, you know, built like a Braden Smith.
05:36 I think Cale's a little -- not as big, but has some juice.
05:40 You know, he can go.
05:41 And so, you know, I think for that position there, we do so much, you know,
05:46 as far as motions, the jet sweeps, the fly motions.
05:49 But also we want those guys to be able to, you know,
05:51 to knock the top off down the middle of the field.
05:53 And so to be able to have those two guys that come in here
05:56 and really gives us some more options, you know,
06:00 we like what we have coming back, you know,
06:02 with some of the guys on our team now.
06:03 But with A.T. and Barry Jackson and these guys that are coming back
06:06 that play similar positions, it just gives you a lot of guys where you can kind of
06:10 really, you know, do a lot more with that position with those type of athletes.
06:14 [Inaudible].
06:17 Yeah, I mean, we certainly want to get some more speed.
06:24 You know, I think speed's the name of the game,
06:26 really at any position that you have.
06:28 The other thing that I think, you know, that we look to address is also a little
06:32 bit, you know, with some length.
06:33 You know, you think about, you know, Gavin Grover and Sir Hirsky at tight end.
06:37 I mean, those big 12 looking like tight ends,
06:40 be able to bring in here that have some great size,
06:43 also with good hands and soft hands.
06:45 You know, you think about some of the guys, the DBs, you know,
06:48 with Zay Johnson who's 6'3", you get some more length right there.
06:52 You know, Willie Goodwin's 6'1".
06:54 So, I mean, you know, those corners that have a little bit more length,
06:56 like some of the guys we've had here in the past, you know,
06:59 you love to be able to have that.
07:01 But also that athleticism speed.
07:03 I mean, you have to be able to have that speed.
07:05 You know, really excited Marques Parker is a guy who we think, you know,
07:10 that great size and quick twitch.
07:13 You know, I think he came to camp for us last year and really put on a show
07:19 and got coached hard by Coach Stu.
07:22 And then, you know, but at that size, being able to move like he does,
07:25 we're excited about getting him as well.
07:27 So, there's a lot of things in this class that you're excited about.
07:31 And with the speed and the size
07:33 and really addressing a lot of the needs that we have on this team
07:36 that we need to continue to build out.
07:38 [Inaudible]
07:45 How does it help you [inaudible]
07:49 Yeah.
07:51 [Inaudible]
07:54 Yeah.
07:56 Yeah, no, you know, great points.
07:57 I mean, we certainly use those guys that guys have played here
08:01 that had great careers here that have gone on to be some of the top DBs
08:05 in the National Football League.
08:07 And, you know, and Coach Combs has been a guy who's coached, you know,
08:11 first rounders, he's coached in the NFL,
08:13 he's seen what it takes to get those guys to that next level.
08:16 Did a great job recruiting these guys.
08:18 And, you know, these guys, they have a lot of promise.
08:22 You know, obviously we wouldn't have signed them if they didn't.
08:24 You know, now it's up to us, them and us,
08:26 when we get here to continue to develop them.
08:28 They do have the traits that we feel like it takes
08:30 to be a very successful defensive back.
08:33 You know, but now at this point, like, listen,
08:34 how much stronger can you get and faster can you get with the size that you
08:38 have to be able to come in here and have a huge impact
08:41 in the defensive back room.
08:45 [Inaudible]
08:56 Daniel James?
08:57 Yeah, yeah.
08:58 Yeah, I mean, number one, awesome family, awesome kid.
09:02 I mean, he's just really what you're looking for character-wise.
09:05 You know, comes from a really good high school program there.
09:08 I mean, it's like a small college.
09:09 I mean, these guys are, you know, competing at a high level
09:12 just within their school as well as the teams they're playing.
09:16 But very athletic.
09:17 You know, he's a guy who ran track and runs track
09:19 and does a great job of that.
09:21 One of the better track runners there is in the state of Georgia.
09:25 And you take that athleticism with his size
09:27 and the way he can move and flip his hips,
09:29 I mean, we feel like, man, it's a really good player that has versatility.
09:33 You know, he's a guy that can play corn, he can play safety,
09:35 he can play nickel.
09:36 There's a lot of things he can do.
09:38 And with that versatility, with that size and speed,
09:40 so he'll be one that, you know, you can't wait for him to get here
09:43 so you can start, you know, looking at him
09:44 and figuring out where exactly you want to use him.
09:47 Brendan, you made a target pretty quick once he entered the portal
09:51 and he was here that first week.