UC’s defense youngest among BCS schools

When UC started eight sophomores on defense last week against Louisville, it officially became the least experienced defense among the nation’s BCS programs.

That’s an unwelcome situation for a program trying to win its third straight Big East title, but as UC coach Butch Jones said, “It’s just the state of where our program is right now.”

The Bearcats began the season with six sophomore starters on defense, but lost junior cornerback Dominique Battle to a season-ending injury and last week played without injured junior free safety Wesley Richardson.

If Richardson returns from an injury this week to play against South Florida the number of sophomores will be reduced to seven, but the Bearcats will still be one of only two BCS teams in the country with no senior starters on defense. The other is defending national champion Alabama.

UC has only 14 seniors on its roster, including wide receiver Vidal Hazelton, who’s out for the season with a torn ACL. Louisville, which UC beat last week, has 26.

Six of UC’s seniors start on offense. With that kind of experience, it’s no surprise that UC ranks second in the Big East in total offense.

But the situation is just the opposite on defense, where the players are young and learning on the fly.

“You’ve just got to be really smart in what you ask them to do and try not to over complicate and give them a chance to go out and be successful,” said defensive coordinator Tim Banks. “With more experience, you can do a little bit more, but at this point we feel like we’ve got enough in to give us a chance to be successful.”

The inexperience on UC’s defense is not surprising considering that previous head coach Brian Kelly was an offensive coach. And it might be a major reason why the Bearcats rank last in the Big East in total defense, allowing 366 yards per game.

But they’re fifth in scoring defense, allowing 21.0 points per game, an indication that they’re making plays in key situations, even if they are surrendering a lot of yards.

“We’re trying to find the best 11 guys we can find and get them out on the field,” Banks said. “It just so happens they all are young. It’s a blessing and a curse. You look up three years from now and we continue to get better you’d like to see what those guys look like in three years. The problem is we’re hoping three years is next week.”

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