Bearcats Earn More National Attention Ahead of 2025 Season
Cincinnati football continues to rack up national recognition as the 2025 season approaches, with four key players landing on prestigious award watch lists.
Last Wednesday, three Bearcats—Dontay Corleone, Jake Golday, and Joe Royer—were named to the 2026 Senior Bowl Top 300 list, highlighting some of the top senior NFL prospects in the country.
Corleone continues to build on an already stellar career. A two-time All-American and three-time all-conference selection, the dominant defensive lineman was named First Team All-Big 12 last season despite a turbulent offseason in which he was sidelined for three months with blood clots. The Colerain High School alum bounced back in impressive fashion, finishing with 26 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks, while also landing on multiple national award watch lists and earning preseason All-America honors from Walter Camp and Phil Steele.
Joining Corleone on the Senior Bowl list is linebacker Jake Golday, who quietly put together a breakout season in 2024. A PFF standout, Golday was the second-highest-graded linebacker in the Big 12, recording 58 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, and earning Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors after a standout game at UCF. He enters the 2025 season with preseason All-Big 12 recognition from both Phil Steele and Athlon Sports.
On the offensive side, tight end Joe Royer made waves in his first season as a Bearcat. A Mackey Award watch list honoree and First Team All-Big 12 selection, Royer shattered Travis Kelce’s school record for receptions by a tight end, finishing with 50 catches for 521 yards and three touchdowns. He led all Big 12 tight ends in both receptions and receiving yards in 2024 and has quickly become one of the most reliable weapons in the Cincinnati offense.
Meanwhile, quarterback Brendan Sorsby earned a spot on the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award watch list, given annually to the top offensive player in Division I who either graduated from a Texas high school or plays for a Texas program. The Denton, Texas native had a standout 2024 season, emerging as one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the country. Sorsby became the only FBS quarterback to post a 425-yard passing game and a 125-yard rushing game in the same season, finishing the year with 2,813 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns, 447 rushing yards, and nine rushing scores. He was also named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week twice.
Sorsby, a former star at Denton High School, was recently named one of Cincinnati’s four team captains, solidifying his leadership role heading into a pivotal 2025 campaign.
With a roster full of proven playmakers and rising stars, Scott Satterfield has his most talented team to date....making expectations even higher this fall.