4 Cincinnati Bearcats football players named to AP All-Big 12 team

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4 Cincinnati Bearcats football players named to AP All-Big 12 team

Four members of the Cincinnati Bearcats football team earned All-Big 12 honors from the Associated Press on Thursday, Dec. 11.

Redshirt senior linebacker Jake Golday and redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Evan Tengesdahl were placed on the first team, while redshirt junior offensive lineman Joe Cotton and redshirt senior defensive lineman Dontay Corleone both received spots on the second team.

All four also received all-conference nods from the league last week. Golday was a first-teamer while the other three Bearcats earned second-team distinctions from the league’s head coaches.

Cincinnati Bearcats All-Big 12 selections from AP

Linebacker Jake Golday

Golday has had a terrific 2025 campaign, leading UC with 105 tackles while adding six tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and three pass breakups. He’s the first Bearcat to post a 100-tackle season since Ivan Pace Jr. in 2022. He ranks among the conference and national leaders in tackles per game (8.8) and has eight games with double-digit stops. Golday was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection last season.

UC linebacker Jake Golday (11), shown during the season-opening game against Nebraska, was named first team all-Big 12 by both the league's coaches and the Associated Press.

Offensive linemen Evan Tengesdahl, Joe Cotton

Cotton and Tengesdahl have started every game at left tackle and left guard, respectively, and have helped form one of the best offensive line units in the Big 12. UC is tied for third nationally in fewest sacks allowed (seven) and ranks third in fewest TFL allowed (39). Behind the play of Cotton and Tengesdahl, Cincinnati’s offense leads the Big 12 in yards per play (7.13) and yards per carry (5.90), ranking seventh and third in the nation, respectively.

Evan Tengesdahl was voted All-Big 12 by the AP for his work on the Cincinnati Bearcats offensive line. Teammate Joe Cotton made second team.

Defensive lineman Dontay Corleone

Corleone is an all-conference performer for the fourth straight season, joining former Bearcats Mike Mickens (2005-08) and James Smith (2017-20) as the only players in program history to earn all-conference honors in four straight seasons. Despite battling through injuries early in the season, Corleone started 10 games and was a menace for opposing offensive lines.

Cincinnati Bearcats defenders Dontay Corleone (2), Jake Golday (11) and Jack Dingle (49) prepare for the next play Sept. 6 against Bowling Green at Nippert Stadium.

Cincinnati Bearcats football personnel department gets raided

UC football General Manager Zach Grant saw a pair of staffers who had been with them since the opening season in the Big 12 in 2023 move on from his department.

Assistant GM Carter Wilson, who handled a lot of high school recruiting, was offered and accepted the GM position with the USF Bulls under former Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, their new head coach.

"He will do a great job," Grant said. "I'm very thankful for the hard work he put in here."

Director of Player Personnel Jack Griffith, a former Ohio State program assistant and New York Jets employee, left Thursday, Dec. 11 to become Assistant GM for former Iowa State coach Matt Campbell's new regime at Penn State.

On X, Grant posted, "Rising star doesn’t even begin to describe you. Penn State is getting a real one!"

Griffith focused on the transfer portal and played a part in quarterback Brendan Sorsby, tight end Joe Royer, running back Evan Pryor and linebackers Jared Bartlett and Jake Golday becoming Bearcats.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 4 Cincinnati Bearcats make AP All-Big 12 football team

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