Keith Jenkins|Cincinnati Enquirer
Luke Fickell didn't mince words on Thursday.
The University of Cincinnati football coach, who is entering his sixth season at the helm of the Bearcats program, said the next handful of weeks will be the "most important" stretchof his tenure at Cincinnati.
"For us and the program, this will be as big a spring ball and as big a next four or five weeks as we've had," he said.
More: Luke Fickell spends National Signing Day introducing additions to UC coaching staff
Fresh off signing a new contract extension, Fickell will officially open spring camp Saturday morning with his team's first practice since losing to Alabama in the semifinal of theCollege Football Playoff.
However, Fickell's Bearcats will look drastically different from the 13-0 team that took the field in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Eve.
Fickell said Saturday will be like starting a new book; abook he suggested titling "Life Without Desmond Ridder."
"The quarterback position is always the most unique position," Fickell said. "If not a great quarterback, the thing that a quarterback in general does is it gives everybody a lotof confidence. Not that we don't believe we've got every bit as good a quarterback and a quarterback battle, but I just think the start in some ways is like a new book."
The last book ended with Ridder becoming the program's all-time winningest quarterback, while compiling the most total yards and touchdown passes in school history and earning back-to-back American Athletic ConferenceOffensive Player of the Year honors.
The new book will start with Evan Prater and Ben Bryant vying to be the guy who replaces Ridder.
Bryant backed up Ridder for three years, making one start andpassingfor 553 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions before transferring to Eastern Michigan after the 2020 season. Bryant threw for 3,121 yards and 14 touchdowns at EMU in 2021.
Prater, the 2019 Ohio Mr. Football, backed up Ridder the last two seasons, completing 5-of-11 passes for two touchdowns and an interception and running for 105 yards and two scores in 2021.
"I see it as a battle," Fickell said. "What we're going to have to do is give them an opportunity to show their skill sets because they're a little bit different. Ben Bryant's a little bit different than Evan Prater. ... So we've got to put them in some positions and situations where they can do what it is that they do well, and then that's where we have to adapt and adjust. So, yes, It's going to be a battle. I think it's going to be a healthy competition, and I think that we'll demonstrate a lot in that new book to that entire locker room."
The other intriguing position battle for the Bearcats is the one at cornerback. That position has been a consistent strength for Cincinnati over the past three seasons thanks to the play of All-Americans Coby Bryant and Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner.
Bryant and Gardner, like Ridder, are spending the week at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, interviewing with and working out for teams ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft (April 28-30).
Arquon Bush is the undeniable leader of the cornerback room.The 6-foot, 190-pound senior has 84 tackles, 17 pass breakups and seven interceptions in23 career starts. But Bush has done most of his damage at the nickleback position.
It remains to be seen if Bush will transition to one of the outside cornerback spots or continue to be a high-impact player from the inside.
"Whatever I need to do to make the team better is what I'm going to do," Bush said. "I really don't mind playing wherever."
Regardless of who's under center on offense or locking down opposing pass catchers on defense for Cincinnati, the standard will remainthe standard in 2022.
More: Cincinnati Bearcats to open 2022 football season Sept. 3 at Arkansas
Fickell's goal has beento build UC into a top-10 program. Fickell, who led the Bearcats to a 44-7 record over the past four seasons, said a bunch of new faces on the field and on the sideline this spring won't change that.
"The expectation doesn't change," he said. "The train continues to move forward. It's not slowing down. It's not stopping. I will just let you know that the run is not over, which maybe some people would think. But nobody who sits inside these walls or in these seats are going to believe or think that."
Cincinnati's spring game will be on Saturday, April 9.
