official release from the school:

Eight former University of Cincinnati football players will continue their football careers this weekend as the first round of NFL rookie/free agent camps open up.

Adding in draftees Mardy Gilyard (St. Louis Rams), Tony Pike (Carolina Panthers), and Ricardo Mathews (Indianapolis Colts), 11 of UC's 16 seniors from 2009 will have a shot at making an NFL squad.

Defensive lineman Alex Daniels signed a free agent deal with the Oakland Raiders.

Offensive lineman Jeff Linkenbach will be the second former Bearcat in Colts camp after signing with Indianapolis this week. He joins 2010 draftee Mathews in camp.

Safety Aaron Webster signed a free agent deal with the Houston Texans and will join former UC standout Connor Barwin on the defensive side of the ball.

Long snapper Mike Windt signed a contract with the Cincinnati Bengals, reuniting him with former UC all-America punter Kevin Huber, who enters his second year with the hometown Bengals. Windt snapped for Huber at UC for two years.

Several unsigned players earned invites to try out with NFL teams.

Running back Jacob Ramsey and defensive lineman Curtis Young both earned tryouts with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Linebacker Craig Carey earned an invite to the Chicago Bears' rookie free agent camp and defensive back Brad Jones was invited to the Cleveland Browns rookie camp.

Former UC defensive back DeAngelo Smith was picked up off waivers by the Cleveland Browns this week after being cut by the Detroit Lions.

College Football, NFL cincinnati bearcats, 2010 nfl draft, mardy gilyard, tony pike, ricardo mathews, alex daniels, jeff linkenbach

The Cincinnati Bengals decided to pass on signing Terrell Owens today, and instead they went in a younger, possibly more risky direction. Antonio Bryant signed a four year, $28 million deal today, with incentives that could make the deal worth up to $29 million. There was a lot of speculation that the Bengals would sign Owens, especially with Chad Ochocinco pushing so hard for the organization to bring him here. The Bengals were also in talks of possibly pursuing Brandon Marshall from the Denver Broncos. Instead Mike Brown and the Bengals decided to go with Bryant, who comes by way of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Last year Bryant suffered a knee injury in training camp that limited him in action during the season. He finished 2009 with 39 catches for 600 yards and four touchdowns. In 2008, however, Bryant set career highs with 83 catches for 1,248 yards and and seven scores. Bryant could be the guy they've been looking for to compliment Ochocinco on the outside. He will replace a disappointing Laveraneus Coles, who the Bengals released a short time ago.

With the signing of Bryant questions now arise as to what the Bengals will do with their first round pick in the draft. They have the 21st overall pick, a pick they would have had to trade away had they decided to pursue and sign Marshall. Its very likely that the team will go with Jermaine Gresham, a tight end out of Oklahoma. Gresham missed all of last season with the Sooners due to a knee injury. If he is fully recovered, there's a good chance he could be just the guy they've been looking for to fill the void at tight end. The Bengals thought they had that last year when they drafted Chase Coffman out of Missouri, but unfortunately he hasn't impressed and never saw the field last season. Gresham would provide the pass catching tight end the team so drastically needs.

There's also been a lot of buzz around Cincinnati saying the Bengals should try to get Cincinnati Bearcats' wideout, Mardy Gilyard if at all possible in the second round. Adding Mardy to the mix would make this offense insane! Gilyard would give Carson Palmer his down the field, breakaway threat. He would also boost the kick return game, something this team desperately needs! Its not likely that Gilyard will fall to the Bengals in the second round, but its not out of the question either. Nobody thought Rey Maualuga would fall as far as he did last year and the Bengals snatched him up in the second round. Its also very possible that the Bengals may take a chance and draft Gilyard in the first round, but that might be stretching it.

Regardless of what the Bengals do in the draft, the additions of Bryant and Matt Jones (picked up last month in free agency) have this offense taking shape as possibly being one of the most lethal in the NFL. Ochocinco, Bryant, Jones and Andre Caldwell should dramatically improve on the numbers put up by the 26th ranked passing attack from last year. And with Palmer at the helm and a solid running attack headed up by Cedric Benson, this Bengals team could be scary. They could be 2005 playoff team scary!

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from NBCSports.com:

Helped themselves - Mardy Gilyard, WR/KR, Cincinnati
Though Gilyard did not dominate at Mobile, he showed he has the athleticism and explosiveness to be a playmaker in the NFL. Throughout practice, he had no trouble getting separation from defenders and displayed the agility to change directions in a flash. He also looked good as a returner. He dropped some passes during the week, raising concerns about his hands. But he caught the ball well in the game — as he did in games all season — and flashed his knack for making big plays. He had a big return and pulled in a 32-yard TD pass on an over-the-shoulder catch. Though some may still have concerns about his hands, we hear Gilyard has locked up a spot between picks 20 and 45.

Hurt themselves - Sean Canfield, QB, Oregon State
After struggling throughout the week, Canfield did not step up in the game. In practice, he showed a slow throwing motion and struggled to get enough zip on his passes, which floated and tended to dip and die in front of receivers. In the game, he also looked slow and deliberate. Defenders were able to read him and make plays on the ball. After arriving in Mobile with a chance to be a third-round pick if he shined, Canfield has probably fallen into sixth- or seventh-round territory.

COMPLETE ARTICLE

College Football, NFL senior bowl, senior bowl analysis, mardy gilyard, sean cranfield

from NFL.com:

STOCK UP
Tony Pike, Cincinnati, QB
It's way too early to judge Pike's ability to grasp a pro offense, but based on his performance during his initial practice, it is apparent that he has the arm strength to make all of the throws on the next level. He showed good touch on his intermediate and deep balls, but still needs to improve his consistency and accuracy from the pocket. While some of his struggles can be attributed to him adjusting to take snaps from under center, Pike's upside has to be encouraging for teams hoping that he can make a quick transition from a spread offensive system to a conventional pro-style scheme.

STOCK DOWN
Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati, WR
The "do-it-all" playmaker earned rave reviews throughout the season due to his dependable hands and game-changing ability. However, he had his struggles holding onto the ball during his first practice, and didn't look like a prototypical No.1 receiver. To his credit, Gilyard did flash some explosiveness with the ball in his hands, but he has to show more consistency as a pass catcher to remain among the elite receivers in this year's draft class.

COMPLTE ARTICLE

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The bowl games finally start this weekend. Fellow GetSportsInfo.com writer, Jeremy Fischer, and myself have put together our picks including how confident we are in them. In case you've never done a pick 'em game like this before, here's how it works. In addition to picking who you think will win the game, you assign a number to that pick as to how confident you think that pick is going to be right. There are 34 bowl games this year (way too many in most people's opinion, but that's beside the point), so the max number of confidence points you can give to one game is, yep, you guessed it, 34. The game you are least confident in you assign one point too, and fill in everything in between.

A lot of office pools are done like this and make it much more challenging than simply picking a winner for each game. As J-Fish states when it comes to doing a pick 'em game like this, "I have seen many strategies and I prefer the one that calls for using the higher confidence points on the bigger BCS games." He goes on to give his reasons as to why.

"Right or wrong, the larger conference teams get more coverage. The more information that is out there, the better informed pick you can make. The more informed you are, the more confident you'll be about a particular selection." Makes sense right? So picking the BCS bowl games really isn't as difficult as picking some of the more obscure games like the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl between Southern Mississippi and Troy that provide more difficulty in not only picking who will win, but deciding how confident you are in that pick.

J-Fish goes on to say, "Unless you fancy yourself as the next Jimmy the Greek, don't over analyze. The amount of games will definitely lead to paralysis-by-analysis." In my opinion, when it comes to picking some of the lower level bowl games, its almost more of a gut feeling when making that selection than anything else.

With all that said, let's get to the picks. What you'll find below is the bowl schedule starting with the first game on the docket all the way to the National Championship game on January 8th. With each pick you'll see both J-Fish's pick as well as my own with a little bit of analysis and how many confidence points (#) we have assigned to the pick we've made. Let's get to it with a look at the BCS games.

January 1st
ROSE - Penn State vs. USC
JFISH: USC (34) - Too much defense.
DICO: USC (32) - Too much USC! PSU hasn't seen anything like the Trojans this year. Ask OSU how things worked out for them. Plus this is a "home game" for the Trojans.

FEDEX ORANGE - Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
JFISH: Cincinnati (22) - 1st BCS bowl berth will drive the Bearcats.
DICO: Cincinnati (10) - Special teams could be the difference in this game. Mardy Gilyard for the Bearcats is one of the best in the country in the return game. A chance to finish the season in the Top 10 will push the Bearcats to a win.

January 2nd
ALLSTATE SUGAR - Utah vs. Alabama
JFISH: Alabama (32) - Utah hasn't faced a defense like this.
DICO: Alabama (33) - See JFISH's comments...the Utes will have a hard time stopping the 'Bama offense as well.

January 5th
TOSTITOS FIESTA - Ohio State vs. Texas
JFISH: Texas (33) - Too much speed on defense, and the Horns will be playing angry because of the whole BIG XII, BCS screw job.
DICO: Texas (31) - QB Colt McCoy will be too much even for a good Buckeyes' defense. Terrelle Pryor will see what team speed on defense is all about against the Longhorns.

January 8th
FEDEX BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP - Florida vs. Oklahoma
JFISH: Florida (26) - Tebow/Harvin will find a way.
DICO: Oklahoma (22) - Bradford leads the most potent offense in the country. Even with the loss of DeMarco Murray at RB, the Sooners won't miss a beat. Expect a high scoring affair.

COMPLETE PICKS (ALL 34 GAMES) 

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It was made official yesterday that the Cincinnati Bearcats (11-2) are headed to Miami, FL to play in the Orange Bowl against the winners of the ACC, the Virginia Tech Hokies (9-4). The No. 12 ranked and BIG EAST champion Bearcats will play in their first BCS Bowl game and with a win, could end up finishing in the top 10 in the rankings.

Its been a great season for the Bearcats, capped off by a come from behind 29-24 victory over Hawai'i Saturday night. No team in college football has had as many issues when it comes to the quarterback position this season than the Bearcats. Dustin Grutza started the season and looked like he was going to fill in very nicely for Ben Mauk who was denied a sixth year of eligibility. Unfortunately in the second game of the season against Oklahoma, Grutza broke his leg. In stepped Tony Pike who was playing well until he broke his non-throwing arm in the Akron game.

It was up to the redshirt freshmen Zach Collaros and Chazz Anderson to take over with Grutza and Pike out. Anderson played respectably until Pike was able to return in the UCONN game. Pike was able to get back into a rhythm after having to step out early in the UCONN game. From that point on, he held down the fort at the quarterback position. He didn't play great in the Bearcats' last game against Hawai'i, but I would attribute that to fatigue as well as him still recovering from his injury. Pike finished the regular season throwing 2,168 yards and 18 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He led the BIG EAST in passing efficiency with a rating of 141.07.

Pike's success is a great story for the Bearcats this season. It helped that he had a great wide receiver duo to throw to in Mardy Gilyard and Dominick Goodman. The two receivers gave defenses two different styles to have to contend with. Gilyard is the speed receiver that could blow by a defender and be in the open field before a defensive back has the chance to react. Goodman, Pike's favorite target, is the possession receiver. Pike could get the ball to him in a small window with the confidence that Goody would catch the ball and not let it go. Goodman is also a great route runner with helped in the trust factor with Pike that he knew if he threw the ball to a spot on the field, Goodman would be there.

The Bearcats' defense was led by Connor Barwin's BIG EAST leading 11 sacks. Barwin transitioned amazingly from playing tight end last season to defensive end this year. He was also a presence on special teams with three blocked punts. Defensive back Mike Mickens made a big impact this season for the Bearcats as well before getting injured and missing the last two games of the season. He finished the regular season with four interceptions and should be ready to go for the Orange Bowl game. In addition to Barwin and Mickens, the leading tackler (74) on the defense, Ryan Manalac, seemed to be involved on almost every play this year.

The Bearcats had the best season in the history of the school. The eleven wins they have is a school record. It is the first time the team has won 10 games in back-to-back seasons. They averaged almost 32,000 in attendance per game, a school record. Now comes the biggest and most important piece of the puzzle for this season, the Orange Bowl game on January 1st. A win in this BCS Bowl game would propel the team to heights they've never reached and would be a great tool when it comes to recruiting for next season and for seasons to come.

A full pregame write up for the Orange Bowl game is forthcoming when we get a little closer to the actual game. For now, enjoy the spotlight Bearcats! You deserve it. Party on South Beach, here we come!

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The Cincinnati Bearcats (10-2) will play the last game of the regular season in all of college football this weekend when they travel to take on the Hawaii Warriors (7-5).  The last time these two teams met was back in 2003 when the Warriors stole a win 20-19. It was a very controversial game with the referees playing a big role in the outcome with bad calls all over the place. The game actually ended with the teams getting into a fight because of how the game went. Its hard to believe its been five years since that game.

The Bearcats officially won the BIG EAST last week and are headed to a BCS bowl game for the first time in the program's history regardless of the outcome of the game this weekend. They have won 10 game in back-to-back seasons for the first time in the school's history and are currently ranked No. 13 in the AP poll as well as in the BCS rankings. Its likely that the team will head to the Orange Bowl in Miami on January 1st. They will find out for sure on Sunday during the bowl selection show.

The Warriors have had a lot of success recently, but this season has not gone nearly as well. With Colt Brennan gone, the Warriors have struggled to find that explosive offense they have come accustomed to. First year coach Greg McMackin has lead the team to a 7-5 mark after the team went 12-1 last season and won the WAC and went on to play in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The Warriors will ironically enough, play in the Hawaii Bowl.

The Cincinnati defense has stepped up their game over the last few games. The team as a whole has 27 sacks in their last eight games after having just four in the first four games. Their led by Connor Barwin who leads the BIG EAST with 10 sacks, which ranks him tied for seventh in the country. The defense will have to shut down quarterback Greg Alexander who is coming off his best game of the season against Washington State where he threw for 315 yards and two scores. The Bearcats' have shut down opposing quarterbacks as of late and shutting down Alexander will put the Warriors in a big bind with them not having much of a rushing attack.

The Cincinnati offense has been lighting up the scoreboard both with their scores as well as racking up the yards. Quarterback Tony Pike heads up the charge for the BIG EAST leading passing offense that averages 260 yards per game. The Bearcats also lead the BIG EAST in passing efficiency with a rating of 140.6. Pike has bounced back from breaking his non-throwing arm earlier in the season to provide some stability at the position that turned into a carousel ride with injuries and projects. Pike's success has come because of the spread offense that head coach Brian Kelly runs and because he has two receivers that will likely both be named to the First Team All Big East at the end of the season, Mardy Gilyard and Dominick Goodman.

This game doesn't mean much to either team. A win by the Bearcats will set a record for wins in a season by the program. That alone could drive the Bearcats to play just as they have all season long. Under Kelly, one wouldn't expect them to go out and just think of this as a vacation. Its been a great season for the Bearcats that will be capped off in a BCS bowl game. The game kicks off at 11:30 PM EST on ESPN2.

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Even before taking the field Saturday afternoon, the Cincinnati Bearcats (10-2, 6-1) knew they were champs of the BIG EAST thanks to Pittsburgh knocking off West Virginia the day before. This is the first BIG EAST title for the Bearcats which will allow them to play in a BCS Bowl game. That bowl game will either be the Orange or Sugar Bowl.

Though their game against Syracuse (3-9, 1-6) didn't matter as far as the BIG EAST title went, the Bearcats still came out and played as though it did, winning 30-10. The defense played hard and swarmed to the ball, holding the Orange quarterback, Cam Dantley, to just five yards passing going into the fourth quarter. Dantley would finish the game goinng an abysmal 6-of-23 for 59 yards, one interception and three sacks.

The Bearcats' offense kept their foot on the gas as well as quarterback Tony Pike took advantage of a defense that left a lot of cushion. Pike hit his receivers with short passes and a lot of screens that went for big yards at times. He ended the game 28-of-44 for 272 yards.

After every score for the Bearcats, oranges were hurled onto the field. Everytime it happened the public address announcer would tell fans to not throw anything of the field because the Bearcats could get penalized. That didn't stop fans from doing it though, actually it just encouraged them to do it more, mostly coming from the student section. The Bearcats didn't need any help getting penalized, however. They were hit with 10 penalties for 107 yards, something that has become a common theme for this team.

Penalties aside, this team has played well all season. They've had to overcome an early season carousel of quarterbacks after Dustin Grutza broke his leg in the second game and then Pike broke his non-throwing arm in the fourth game. In total, the Bearcats used five different quarterbacks throughout the season with redshirt freshmen, Chazz Anderson and Zach Callaros getting playing time. Notre Dame transfer Demetrius Jones got in for one play in the Louisville game as well.

The passing offense has been the most prolific in the BIG EAST regardless of who was taking snaps. That speaks to the great receivers on the team, most notably Dominick Goodman and Mardy Gilyard. The defense has played well this season too, led by Conner Barwin who leads the BIG EAST in sacks.

One welcome sight from Saturday's game was kicker Jake Rogers connecting on all three of his field goal attempts. Prior to the Syracuse game, Rogers had missed five straight tries. He connected from 45, 38 and 45 again on Saturday. Earlier in the season Rogers was being considered as an All-American candidate at his position. The five straight misses may have hurt his chances at that, but seeing him hit his attempts on Saturday is a good sign going into the final game of the season and into whatever bowl game the Bearcats are invited to.

Its been an amazing season. The Bearcats, under second year head coach Brian Kelly, have now won 10 games in back-to-back season. Kelly has taken this team from obscurity and as a bottom feeder in the BIG EAST to champs of the conference. When asked if he's done all he can in Cincinnati, Kelly responded saying, "There's so much more to accomplish. We averaged around 31,000 fans; we need to see 35,000. We can show that not only do we play for BIG EAST championships, we now want to get into the conversation for the national championship." With the recruiting going on in Cincinnati, that idea is becoming more and more of a possibility.

The Bearcats have one game left on the schedule. They travel to play Hawaii Saturday night. They will learn their BCS bowl fate come Sunday evening. All indications are pointing to the Orange Bowl, but the Sugar Bowl is a possibility as well. They would end up taking on the winner of the ACC most likely, which would either be Boston College or Virginia Tech.

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The No. 16 Cincinnati Bearcats (9-2, 5-1) are on the verge of winning their first BIG EAST Conference title. They can do so with a win over the Syracuse Orange (3-8, 1-5) this Saturday or if Pittsburgh beats West Virginia Friday afternoon. Both the Bearcats and the Orange are coming off big wins with Cincinnati beating PITT for the first time ever and Syracuse upsetting Notre Dame in South Bend. On paper Syracuse shouldn't stand a chance this weekend, but crazier things have happened.

The series between these two teams is tied 4-4, with the Bearcats winning the last three including a 52-31 thrashing last year in Syracuse. No game in this series could end up being more important than the one this weekend. Cincinnati could very well be playing for the conference title should WVU beat PITT. Syracuse is playing for both pride and for their head coach, Greg Robinson, who will coach his final game for the Orange Saturday afternoon.

The Bearcats have been led by the strong quarterback play of Tony Pike over the last few games. Pike had a career day against PITT last weekend going 26-for-32 for 309 yards and three touchdowns. His solid play has made many forget the fact that he broke his non-throwing arm earlier in the season and missed a couple games. He leads an offense that ranks first in the BIG EAST in passing yards per game (258.9) and passing efficiency (142.4). Best of all, he showed in the PITT game that he's not afraid to take a hit on that broken arm that's being held together with a plate an six screws. He has also showed some mobility in the last couple games, scrambling out of the pocket to make plays either with his arm or his feet. Pike is mixing the ball around well, but his two favorite targets are still his big playmakers in Mardy Gilyard and Dominick Goodman, both of which were on the receiving end of a score this past week.

The Bearcats' defense has had a stretch of tough games in the last month or so, but they have risen to the challenge and shut down big name players like Pat White, Noel Divine, and even LeSean McCoy last week. The defense is led by defensive end, Connor Barwin, who leads the BIG EAST with 10 sacks and ranks seventh in the country in that category. Unfortunately the defense will be without their biggest playmaker, Mike Mickens, for a second straight game. He will be out the rest of the regular season after having knee surgery earlier this week.

Syracuse has had a really rough go of it this year. Their three wins have come against Notheastern, Louisville and Notre Dame, none of which are really anything to brag about considering the seasons those teams are having. Running back Curtis Brinkley leads the Orange offense. Without him, there really wouldn't be much offense. The team as a whole is only averaging 275.5 yards of offense and less than 19 points per game. Compare that to Cincinnati's 376.8 yards and almost 27 points per game, and you can see why Syracuse is having such a bad season. In addition to the offense not putting up very good numbers, the defense has struggled as well giving up almost 33 points per game. Unfortunately for coach Robinnson, all these numbers combined with a bad last few seasons led to his demise at the school.

It will be senior day down at Nippert Stadium this weekend. Look for senior quarterback Dustin Grutza to get some play time, possibly early on if Cincinnati can jump out to a big lead. Another way Grutza may get a lot of playing time this weekend is if PITT beats WVU Friday. If that happens, this game will be just a formality for the Bearcats.

The winner of the BIG EAST will likely go to the Orange Bowl, but there is a chance that they go to the Sugar Bowl as well. It would be fitting and ironic if the game this weekend ended up mattering and the Bearcats beat the Orange to go earn a trip to the Orange Bowl.

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The River City Rivalry comes to Nippert Stadium Saturday night when the No. 19 Cincinnati Bearcats (8-2, 4-1) take on the No. 20 Pittsburgh Panthers (7-2, 3-1). This has been a one-sided rivalry with Pittsburgh taking all seven contests. If the Bearcats were to win it would be the first time ever that they will have in their possession the Victory Bell (from the rivalry game with Miami (OH)), the Keg of Nails (rivalry with Louisville) and the 46-inch tall, 96 pound River City Rivalry Trophy.

Both teams are coming off wins over Louisville. Pittsburgh beat the Cardinals 41-7 two weeks ago. They had a bye last week. Cincinnati beat Louisville last week, 28-20. It was their first win over the Cards in six years. The winner of the game this weekend takes control of the BIG EAST and very well could end up winning the conference which would guarantee them a BCS bowl game.

The Bearcats have had back-to-back emotional games against West Virginia and Louisville. Both games were on the road and both went the Bearcats way and could very well help them in their game against PITT.

Cincinnati has made it to where they are at this point in the season thanks in large part to having the best passing attack in the BIG EAST. They average 253.9 yards passing per game. There was a question as to whether Tony Pike would play this week after leaving the Louisville game early due to injury, but it appears he is OK and will start this weekend. The Bearcats have used five total quarterbacks this season due to injuries. Pike has the majority of the starts and is second in the BIG EAST in passing efficiency (137.5). It helps that he has great receivers to throw to in Mardy Gilyard and Dominick Goodman.

While the Bearcats have a strong passing game, the Panthers have one of the best rushing attacks in the BIG EAST. They're led their sophomore running back, LeSean McCoy who has 1,043 yards on 210 carries. That's an average of 5.0 yards per attempt. He also has 16 touchdowns this season. The Bearcats have done well against the run for most of the season. They will have to keep McCoy in check and force junior quarterback Bill Stull to beat them. Stull has only thrown for 1,778 yards and five scores this season. He doesn't have a multi touchdown game this year. If the Bearcats can force the game onto his shoulders either by shutting down McCoy or by getting out ahead by a good margin on the scoreboard, their first win in this rivalry may finally come to pass.

The game kicks off at 7:15 pm and will air on ESPN2. Its the fourth game in a row to be broadcast on one of the ESPN networks. Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly delcared this game as the Ring of Red game. The Bearcats will sport their all red uniforms for the first time since 2003. Coach Kelly is asking for fans to participate by wearing red to the game as well. So remember to come early, be loud, wear RED!

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