Cincinnati football has a good shot of crashing playoff in 2021

Despite losing coordinator Marcus Freeman, Bearcats defense will remain elite

Cincinnati football lost defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman, as he was hired by Notre Dame for the same position. Fickell brought in Mike Tressell to be the new defensive coordinator and I think this defense won’t lose a beat in 2021.

The defensive line has a really talented pass rusher in Myjai Sanders, who has 11 career sacks. Marcus Brown and Malik Vann are going to be the other starting defensive linemen and they bring plenty of experience. Look for Virginia transfer Jowon Briggs to also crack the rotation and be a difference-maker.

The linebacker room suffered a big loss in the offseason with All-Conference member Jarrell White not returning to Cincinnati. However, there are still talented linebackers on the Bearcats defense. Darrian Beavers and Joel Dublanko are going to be two of the starters and junior Ty Van Fossen is the other projected starter.

The secondary is going to be one of the best in the country, even without All-Conference safety James Wiggins. Ahmad Gardner, Arquon Bush, and Coby Bryant form what might be the top cornerback trio in the nation. Ja’Von Hicks and Bryan Cook will be the returning safeties.