The Bearcats officially kicked off fall camp last week as after arriving to West Harrison, Indiana over the weekend to kick off their yearly trip to Camp Higher Ground.
Last week, Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield sat down with the media to discuss the Bearcats fall camp as they prepare for the 2024 season with the home open just over three short weeks away when they welcome in Towson on August 31st.
The tight end position was a huge point of emphasis for Cincinnati this offseason as they completely reshaped that position group heading into the 2024 season. A group that was a very big weak spot for the Bearcats in 2023 in terms of depth, including seeing reserve offensive tackle Trevor Radosevich see time at tight end in the later half of the season due to injuries and the team needing depth at that position.
The Bearcats tight end room was led by Chamon Metayer who finished with 253 yards and team high five touchdowns on just 23 receptions in 2023. Metayer would then enter the transfer portal quickly following the conclusion of the 2023 season where he spent the spring at Colorado with Deion Sanders before quickly transferring to Arizona State following the conclusion of spring camp.
Joining Metayer, was Payton Singletary who finished the season 5th in receiving where he hauled in twelve receptions for 115 yards and two touchdowns as a junior. However, Singletary's season would be cut short after suffering a season ending ankle injury in the back half of the season which was the last thing Cincinnati needed in the moment in an already depleted tight end room.
Fast forward to 2024, Singletary participated throughout spring ball with the Bearcats before electing to hit the portal following the conclusion of the spring camp. Luckily for Singletary, he ends up at a very familiar program down in Tampa, Florida where he joined the USF Bulls prior to summer workouts.
Now, for Singletary on the other hand the reason behind his transfer was unknown, but it was safe to say the addition of Joe Royer and a healthy Joey Beljan returning maybe played a role in his decision to transfer with it being known that Joe Royer would come in and make an immediate impact for the Bearcats in 2024.
Fast forward to the 2024 roster, Cincinnati tight end coach Josh Stepp has quickly rebuilt and tooled his tight end group heading into the 2024 season. A room highlighted by Joe Royer and Joey Beljan who combine for eleven seasons of college football between the two. Now, both are expected to play huge roles for the Bearcats this season and provide two big red zone targets for either Brendan Sorsby or Brady Lichtenberg.
"The tight end rooms is probably the most improved position on the football team. I think we are a lot better in that room," Satterfield told reporters. "We love to use the tight ends, every snap you will see a tight end on the field, sometimes even two or three. The guys we brought in we are fired up about and feel like they can be really great tight ends. The two freshman we brought in Gavin Grover and Devyn Zahursky, love those two guys. We added size, guys who could catch and great depth. We are really excited about that group."
Now let's break down the Bearcats TE Room heading into the 2024 season.
Redshirt Junior, Joe Royer- The Cincinnati native and former four-star recruit returns to Cincinnati after spending the last three seasons with Ohio State. A 6'5" 255-pound tight end who fans should expect to have a huge season for the Bearcats and should be the firm leader for the starting tight end position. Royer can do some many different things in terms of his athletic abilities and skillset, you can use him in the run game as an extra blocker due to his size and frame. Now the biggest part of Royer's game is the ability to split him out wide and use him as a receiver which is something fans should expect to see often heading into the 2024 season.
Redshirt Senior, Joey Beljan- The Western Kentucky transfer enters his seventh season of college football and second with the Bearcats. Beljan missed the 2023 season after suffering a torn ACL in the early portion of spring ball that sidelined him the entire season.
Beljan opened up about his recovery and excitement to play at Nippert Stadium on Monday when talking to reporters.
"The knee feels great, it felt a little weird throughout spring having that mental block after overcoming a yearlong injury that happened to be my first real serious injury," Beljan told reporters. "Right now, the knee feels great, and I personally feel more confident than ever heading into the season and that makes me super excited.”
“Nippert Stadium is the loudest stadium I have ever heard or played in. Im super excited to have the opportunity to play my final season there,” said Beljan. “Being able to walk out to Nippert Stadium on game days was bitter and sweet. When I walked out there vs EKU last year for the home opener, the student section was already full. I came from Western Kentucky University where’d you only have 10,000-12,000 fans per game. However, at Nippert you have that many people in the stands nearly two hours before kickoff. I’m super excited.”
Beljan discussed the tight end room with reporters and what his initial thoughts were on the new revamped tight end room. "I feel like this tight end group is miles ahead of what we were last year," Beljan told reporters. "We have a lot of experience in that room and play very well together."
Senior, Francis Sherman- The Arkansas transfer was a late addition this offseason after transferring in following spring camp. Prior to his time in Arkansas, Sherman spent three seasons at Louisville under coach Satterfield and alongside current tight end coach Josh Stepp. The 6'3" 250-pound tight end only recorded one catch for just eight yards in 2023, but should be a guy that provides great depth and experience behind guys like Beljan and Royer.
Freshman, Gavin Grover- The 6'7" 250-pound true freshman has continued to turn heads since arriving on campus back in January due to his size and athleticism. Satterfield mentioned earlier this offseason about the potential for a guy like Grover having all the traits to be a dominant tight end across college football. Now throughout the first week of fall camp it is clear to see that Grover could come in and make an immediate impact due to his skillset whether that is split out wide or use as an extra blocker in the run game.
The highly touted freshman also garnered high praise from veteran Joe Royer following practice on Monday and it is safe to say the freshman is quickly turning a lot of heads heading into his first collegiate season. "Gavin is really big, look at his size and frame, he is a lot bigger than I was when I went into college," Royer told reporters. "I was probably about 6'3" 230-pounds, he has great ball skills for someone his size and could be a huge player for us."
Freshman, Devyn Zahursky- A high three start tight end in the class of 2024 out of Berea, Ohio who stands 6'4" 250-pounds is another interesting name to keep an eye on their within the tight end room as well. After watching Zahusrky throughout spring and the early portions of fall camp it was clear to see why Coach Stepp and Satterfield locked in on Grover and Zahursky as their one-two punch at that tight end position there within the 2024 class for many reasons.
Expectations- It’s safe to say that the tight end position is expected to play a substantial role for Scott Satterfield and the Bearcats this season. It’s worth noting the physical size difference in the tight end group compared to last season as well. Cincinnati has shown they want to run the football and that was something they did extremely well last season after ranking fifth in the nation in terms of rushing offense (217.5 yards per game) in 2023.
Now, I expect Cincinnati’s tight ends to be the x-factor for Cincinnatis offense this season. That position group highlighted by Joe Royer who’s poised for a breakout season alongside Joey Beljan could be a dynamic 1-2 punch especially when within the red zone.
We saw Cincinnati really look to utilize the tight ends within the red zone last season with Metayer and Singletary racking in seven of the team’s 21 touchdowns a season ago. However, both moved on to their respected new schools and the opportunity awaits for guys like Beljan, Royer, Grover and the rest of the tight room during the season.
Now for me personally, I would not be surprised to see the Bearcats utilize that match up throughout the season just simply due to the size and mismatches that group presents with their size and skillsets.
Expectations for me are fairly high in this group and you can clearly see the depth at this position compared to where it was a season ago. A season ago, the Bearcats had only two players with experience at the tight end position that played significant snaps throughout their career.
Now you turn the page and see that room has nearly twenty seasons of collegiate experience between the group. That is something that had stood out to me the most within that group was the amount of experience and depth they added there at that position.
Could there be another great tight end come out of Cincinnati that joins the likes of Lenny Taylor, Josh Whyle, Josiah Deguara, Bruno Labelle, Brent Celek and plenty more?
