2026 Big 12 Media Day Storylines: Cincinnati Bearcats
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In the early 2020s, the Cincinnati Bearcats were a premier power in college football. They concocted an undefeated regular season in 2020 and fell one field goal short of perfection. In 2021, they took a step further and became the only American Conference team to qualify for the College Football Playoff in the 4-team era.
But two years later, that momentum evaporated when the Bearcats moved from the American to the Big 12. However, there has been slow but steady progress each year as a member of the new conference. Head coach Scott Satterfield posted a 3-9 record in his 2023 debut year, improved to 5-7 in 2024, and finally got over the .500 hump at 7-6 last fall.
Does the progress continue? Satterfield spoke about the 2026 Bearcats at Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, TX alongside quarterback JC French IV, center Taran Tyo, guard Evan Tengesdahl, and linebacker/safety Antwan Peek Jr. Here are several storylines to monitor this fall in Cincinnati:
The French connection
Cincinnati is turning to a new quarterback. After Brendan Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech in early January, the Bearcats filled their vacancy with an established starter in JC French IV.
French, a former Memphis commit, posted a 15-11 record as a two-year starter at Georgia Southern, firing for over 2,800 yards in each season. French arrives with 5,882 passing yards (the most in Georgia Southern history), a 65.0 completion rate, 38 touchdown passes to 20 interceptions, and 601 rushing yards in his career, providing much-needed experience to a Cincinnati offense which retains zero skill position starters.
“I think we all know no matter what level or league you’re in, whether it be rec league, high school, college, or pro, you better have a good quarterback,” Satterfield said. “We went in the portal trying to find a guy that fit what we want to do, and JC was one of the guys that was out there… He’s a guy who has a lot of great experience, lit it up at times. Then you start digging deeper and calling and talking to people and finding out about his character, his leadership, and how he handles himself off the field.”
“When we got JC on campus, he was very humble but very confident in his ability,” Satterfield said. “I thought he had an outstanding spring. He came in and we split a lot of time at the quarterback position this spring, and he rose to the top. He throws an excellent ball. It’s a very catchable ball, tight spiral, he can make the throws down the field and can also move around a little bit. For us and our offense, we’ve always had a quarterback that’s able to move around a little bit. I’m excited to see what he’ll be able to do for our team this year.”
French cited the opportunity to play in the Big 12 as one of his draws to Cincinnati, believing the move would be beneficial in preparing for a future NFL career. While he continues to progress attributes such as his arm strength and speed, the Roswell, GA native put his greatest emphasis on film study this offseason — hoping to have a substantial edge in the mental aspect each gameday this fall.
“As I get older, your body — I wouldn’t say I’m maxed out, but I’ve been working for a couple years in the weight room and all that,” French said. “But in the film room, that’s a huge aspect of the quarterback. I think that’s where you can separate yourself from other people and build that firm foundation of the mental aspect.”
Woody’s round-up
Cincinnati ranked 10th in the Big 12 in scoring defense and 13th in run defense a year ago, allowing 25.6 points and 399 yards per game. The Bearcats will start anew defensively as coordinator Tyson Veidt accepted a linebackers coach role on Matt Campbell’s staff at Penn State.
Filling in for Veidt is Nate Woody, the architect of Army’s defenses from 2020-25. As coordinator, Woody led the Black Knights to the No. 1 total defense in the American Conference in each of the past two seasons. Woody, who was Satterfield’s defensive coordinator at Appalachian State from 2013-17, now takes on the challenge of organizing a Cincinnati defense which lost all but two starters.
“(Defense) was one of the things we needed to get better at for the last couple years,” Satterfield said. “For the last couple years we were mainly a drop-8 defense, and in this league with so many great quarterbacks — these quarterbacks, they pick you apart. You have to mix it up and change some things to cause a little bit of havoc for the offense. Coach Woody, having been with him already for five years, we have a good relationship and understanding what he’s trying to get done.”
Woody is known for his signature East Coast 3-4 scheme, which differs from Cincinnati’s previous 3-3-5 look. The East Coast 3-4 relies heavily on speed with linebacker personnel on the defensive line and safety personnel at linebacker and utilizes frequent pre-snap disguises. This style of defense involves more aggressive blitzing than a 3-3-5 and has been successfully implemented by Shiel Wood at Texas Tech.
“You also have to look at your personnel,” Satterfield said about Woody’s defense. “What can they do? What positions do we need to put them into for them to have success? Antwan Peek’s a great example of that. He’s a guy who has played in the secondary. Now we’re moving him close to the ball. He’s gonna be playing that SAM position to have more impact in causing havoc for the offense. Hopefully we’ll be able to create more pressure… We got some great linebackers that can really put pressure on offenses, and we have to be able to utilize those guys. In this defense, we’re gonna be able to do that and be able to mix in some coverages with that as well. That’s what we’ve been doing this whole spring as we approach the summer — finding different ways of being able to do that.”
Not only does the defense look different schematically under Woody, but the energy he brings to practice does as well.
“With him coming from Army, he definitely brings in a different energy,” Peek said. “I haven’t had too many coaches like him who stay consistent every day. He walks around each position group making sure that the coaches and players are doing everything that they need to do. Personally, I haven’t been part of a team where a coach has been doing stuff like that. He’s a great coach. He makes sure we know every single little detail of the defense so we can be as good as possible.”
Finding a new Peek as a defense
There are only three players on the Cincinnati roster that predate Scott Satterfield — defensive end Drew Logan, outside linebacker Jonathan Thompson, and outside linebacker/strong safety Antwan Peek Jr. All three of these players were true freshman during the Bearcats’ swan song season in the American Conference in 2022, and they prepare for their fifth and final run donning black and red.
“Day one when Coach Satterfield got here to now is definitely a whole lot different,” Peek said. “The way that people are bought into the program, the way people just go about their day, the way the coaches are bought in and making sure everyone’s doing what they’re supposed to do. With all the transfers that are brought in, the thing us leaders need to do is, as we get more people into the program, make sure that they know what it takes to be a Bearcat. If we stay the most connected team, we can be the best.”
Peek produced 115 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and six forced fumbles over the last two seasons. He has been one of the few constants in a Bearcat uniform through a transient decade that featured a coaching change, a conference realignment change, and even two uniform redesigns. While the former strong safety is the program’s ambassador for stability, he is experiencing significant change this offseason. Peek, who is about 10 pounds heavier this season, has been assigned a new role in the defense by Coach Woody.
“Nowadays it’s called nickel. Coach Woody likes to call it outside linebacker,” Peek said of his new role. “Pretty much, I’ll be in coverage 70 percent of the time and the other 30 percent of the time, I’ll be in the rush. It will definitely be a little bit different for me. My dad (Antwan Peek Sr.) also went to the University of Cincinnati, but he played this same position in the NFL. So he’s been giving me a lot of tips and pointers, and he’s been making it a lot easier for me to go out there and be confident.”
Finishing stronger
A concerning trend has developed since Cincinnati joined the Big 12 in 2023.
In 2023, the Bearcats started 2-0. They lost nine of their last 10. In 2024, the Bearcats started 5-2. They lost each of their last five. In 2025, the Bearcats started 7-1 and controlled their own destiny for the Big 12 Championship in November. Once again, they lost each of their last five.
Cincinnati’s energy in the first half of a season is not carrying over to the second of the season. It’s the team’s priority to find the root of the issue and buck that trend in 2026.
“It starts with our leadership,” Peek said. “Making sure that we get all our guys into the facility, making sure they’re still watching film, making sure they’re still doing all the recovery things that they need to do, because as the season progresses, guys aren’t gonna want to be in the facility anymore — getting tired or whatever it may be. We just have to make sure as leaders, we get everyone to stay bought into the program.”
Finishing stronger is not just a mantra for Cincinnati from a season perspective but from a game perspective as well. In 2025, the Bearcats outscored opponents 252-152 in first halves but were outscored 181-142 in second halves. In Big 12 play, they had a +43 differential in first halves and a -41 differential in second halves.
“It’s going to take finishing games,” guard Evan Tengesdahl said. “I feel like last year, we started out really, really strong. That was a strong suit of ours last year — offense come out firing and defense come out firing. Then going into the second half, we come out — not dead — but maybe a little bit duller, satisfied with us being up a few scores. In this league, it’s way too competitive to be satisfied with beating somebody by a couple scores at halftime. You gotta come out and battle that second half and come out the same way you did the first half. I think it’s going to come down to the fourth quarter almost every game in the Big 12. You don’t really see too many blowouts. It’s gonna come down to the last quarter, last game.”
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