The college football holiday that comes in mid-December every year was filled with excitement and new beginnings this year. National signing day came and went on Wednesday, December 20th, and the Cincinnati Bearcats added a slew of new talent to their building roster. This 2024 class is significant as it’s Scott Satterfield’s first full group that he and his staff recruited and signed to Cincinnati. Here are the most notable signings for the Bearcats’ 2024 class.
Overview of the Class
The first thing to note is that this class is ranked 51st overall in the country. This compares to 75th in the composite rankings a year ago, according to 247Sports. Cincinnati sits at seventh-ranked in the new Big 12 with the departures of Oklahoma and Texas and the additions of Arizona, Arizona St., Colorado, and Utah.
21 high school players inked their names on their NLI papers this week and officially became Cincinnati Bearcats. The group consisted of 20 three-star players and one four-star player. The new group covers a total of 11 states. In particular, Satterfield and the staff crushed the talent-filled state of Georgia, getting six guys from the Peach State. Five Ohio players and two Pennsylvania players made the other two states with multiple signees to the Bearcats.
The general philosophy when building a class each year is to either start in the trenches or get the playmakers. Cincinnati chose the latter and addressed some positions where there isn’t a ton of depth on the roster. A total of 10 skill position players were signed, including both sides of the ball. Specifically, three wide receivers, two athletes, one running back, and four defensive backs are headed to Clifton. The class is rounded out by two tight ends, six offensive and defensive linemen, two linebackers, and a quarterback.
Biggest Additions
Daniel James highlights the 2024 Cincinnati class. He is a 5’11”, 175-pound cornerback from Georgia. James is the only four-star prospect and is number one in the class for the Bearcats. 247Sports lists him as the 17th-best cornerback prospect in the country. James looks to be the next great cornerback to dawn the red and black at Nippert Stadium. He is the highest-rated corner-back recruit in the Big 12 in the 2024 class.
Playmakers in the Top Ten
The second, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh-ranked guys are all listed as tight end, wide receiver, or athlete. This starts with Gavin Grover, a Lewis Center, Ohio, native, at number two. Grover has an impressive 6’6″, 220-pound frame that can be built on. He looks to follow in the footsteps of Brent Celek, Travis Kelce, and Josh Whyle as Ohio tight ends who stayed in-state and found great success in Cincinnati. In addition, Kale Woodburn, Willie Goodwyn, Marquavious Saboor, and Dakari Anderson are the next four members of this group. All of these guys come to Cincinnati from the state of Georgia.
The Quarterback
Cincinnati added just one quarterback in this year’s class to join the currently young room. This is in addition to the transfer of Brendan Sorsby. Semaj Jones will be the lone freshman in the room in 2024. Jones comes from the Pennsylvania powerhouse high school, St. Joseph’s Prep. Jones led his school to its second straight Pennsylvania state title and a final finish of seventh-ranked in the country. ESPN lists Jones as the top-ranked dual-threat quarterback in this class. He chose Cincinnati over the likes of Tennessee, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, among many others.
Further, Jones’ high school target, Elijah Jones, will also join the Bearcats as a three-star wide receiver listed at 5’11″, 175 pounds.
The Trenches
Garrison Butler is the lone Florida signee. Coming in at 6’1″, 270 pounds, Butler is a top-10 recruit for Cincinnati in this class. He’s accompanied by fellow defensive linemen Marquaze Parker and Lendric Barber. Dontay Corleone leads an experienced defensive line room and will look to mold these young signees.
The entire Cincinnati offensive line will return for the 2024 season. This will allow these recruits time to mature, grow, and learn in this system. Aiden Paastoriza, Jake Wheelock, and Zac Clarke step into arguably the best position room on the team and will have plenty to learn when around the vets.
Recap
Overall, this is a quality first class for Satterfield that addressed many spots. Given that Cincinnati was the last-place finisher in the Big 12 in 2023, having a top-half-ranked class is significant. Most of these guys won’t be relied on much in 2024 or even 2025, but there are some big-time contributors from this class, and it will be exciting to see who evolves into the next Cincinnati star.
