Ohio Bobcats 2026 Football Preview
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The program that Frank Solich built is undergoing some major rebuilding in 2026. A new head coach and only five returning starters means change is up in Athens. John Hauser takes over after former head coach Brian Smith was fired for off-field issues after one season. This makes previewing the Ohio Bobcats difficult because there’s too much inexperience across the board.
At quarterback, senior Nick Poulos (6’6” 243 lbs.) started one game in 2024 before redshirting last year. He’s a dual threat quarterback who completed just 45% of his passes that season. He did rush for 149 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Junior transfer Matt Vezza (6’0” 200 lbs.) completed 61% of his passes for FCS New Hampshire last season; Vezza also rushed for 601 yards, averaging 4.0 yards per carry.
Junior Duncan Brune (5’11” 218 lbs.) rushed for 585 yards and eight touchdowns last season as a backup, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Senior transfer Victor Rosa (5’11” 210 lbs.) has 1,341 career rushing yards at UConn, which should give the Bobcats a solid backfield in 2026.
The lone returning starter on offense is sophomore wide receiver Dom Dorwart (6’2” 208 lbs.), who caught 11 passes for 119 yards last season. Seniors Eian Pugh (6’3” 182 lbs.) and Max Rodarte (6’0” 192 lbs.) combined to catch 13 passes last season.
Even more concerning is the lack of experience on the offensive line. Senior right guard CJ Dawson (6’4” 310 lbs.) was a two-year starter at FCS Gardner-Webb while senior right tackle Tigana Cisse (6’3” 305 lbs.) started seven games earlier in his career at Idaho.
Defensively, Ohio does have four starters returning, but the Bobcats may actually have more experience returning than they had last year. Up front, senior defensive tackle Nehemiah Dukes (6’1” 288 lbs.) had 30 tackles last season. Junior defensive end Evan Hermann (6’5” 245 lbs.) had 15 tackles last season as a backup, but led the Bobcat with six quarterback hurries.
The linebacking corps should be the best part of the Ohio defense as they are the most experienced. Senior middle linebacker Mike Molnar (6’3” 227 lbs.) had 62 tackles before tearing his ACL in the eighth game last season. Sophomore Charlie Christopher (6’0” 227 lbs.) took over and had 63 tackles as a true freshman. Senior weakside linebacker Jack Fries (6’2” 222 lbs.) had 54 tackles.
Junior free safety DJ Walker (6’1” 196 lbs.) was a second team All-MAC honoree in 2024. Last season, he had 61 tackles, including a team-leading six for a loss. He’ll be joined by two FCS transfers in cornerback KJ Sejour (5’9” 150 lbs.) and nickle back Eli Thompson (5’10” 185 lbs.) Sejour had 41 tackles and 11 passbreakups at Chattanooga, while Thompson had 114 tackles with 8 pass breakups and 6 interceptions the last two seasons at Holy Cross.
Knowing the precedent that Frank Solich and his successors have set at Ohio, one should expect this Ohio team to be competitive when MACtion takes over weeknights in November. But that’s two months after this season opening matchup in Lincoln. This should be a good game to ease all of the new Nebraska coaches and players into game situations, but nobody should expect this game to be all that close.
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