Cincinnati Football Moves up in ESPN's Latest 2022 Class Rankings

UC secured their biggest defensive recruit of the 247Sports era this past weekend.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Dec 2, 2021 3:44 PM EST

CINCINNATI — When the college coaching carousel starts spinning, so do the recruiting rankings. ESPN released their first updated top-50 class list since late October on Thursday. UC moved up nine spots from No. 38 to No. 29.

Cincinnati has ESPN's No. 1 ranked Group of 5 class, and they only trail Oklahoma State (No. 26) and Baylor (No. 28) among prospective members of the "new" Big 12.

"The Bearcats are making the most of back-to-back undefeated regular seasons," Haubert wrote in the article. "Squarely in the College Football Playoff hunt, they are putting together not only one of the top Group of 5 classes, but one of better classes in the nation overall. They had landed some strong defensive line prospects, led by ESPN 300 DE Eugenio, who can be a disruptive edge rusher, as well as in-state DL Derrick Shepard and DEs Cecil Doggette Jr. and Tyler Gillison. They also pulled out of Florida an offensive weapon in Burroughs, a raw prospect with good hands and high upside. Three-star running back Stephan Byrd was a key in-state keep on the offensive side of the ball. On the offensive line, three-star in-state OT Ethan Green has an ideal frame to develop."

The biggest reason for Cincinnati's jump into the top-30 is Eugenio, who committed this past Saturday. Bearcat fans hope he fills out a similar mold to defensive end Myjai Sanders who is one of three Bearcats who landed on Mike Renner's top-100 prospects. The Pro Football Focus writer slotted Sanders at No. 47.

Eugenio hopes to be a driving force for the next era of Bearcats Football. The current generation is trying to capture another AAC Championship at home when they take on No. 21 Houston this Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.Make sure you bookmark All Bearcats for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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