This week is sort of like that for football.
The actual season may be far away, but America’s favorite sport is producing all kinds of news at every level.
While fans of the Cincinnati Bengals and every other team in the NFL wait to see what kinds of gifts the NFL Draft will provide them, the college football transfer portal and high school football recruiting roll on.
Here’s a closer look:
Hamilton High School is likely to have a pair of draftees
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Big Blue alumni Kaleb Johnson and Malik Verdon were the highest-rated prospects heading into the draft, and their old high school coach Nate Mahon said they have more than that in common.
“I think both of them are exceptional athletes for how big they are,” he said. “I mean, they are large athletes that can move, and I think that’s what makes them special. And they’ve always been very reliable and trustworthy as far as making sure they’re at practice, and you can trust them in school.
“They’re just reliable guys checking a lot of good boxes.”
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Several other players could also be picked or sign as free agents
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Ben Sauls of Tippecanoe is also a good bet to have an NFL team by the end of the weekend even if he is not drafted.
He was a standout kicker at Pittsburgh.
Northmont grad Jestin Jacobs, who played college football at Iowa and Oregon, is the 84th-ranked linebacker while Middletown’s Cheiksaliou Fall (California) is No. 203 at “edge” according to The Athletic.
Trotwood-Madison grad Jaison Williams is No. 77 at offensive tackle after being a multi-year starter at Youngstown State, and Chaminade Julienne grad Shane Cokes is No. 104 at defensive tackle after graduating from Dartmouth and playing two seasons for coach Deion Sanders at Colorado.
Michael Brown-Stephens of Springfield is the No. 258 receiver prospect after splitting this college career between Minnesota and South Florida, Lakota West’s David Afari (Miami University and Northern Colorado) is No. 85 at running back, and Lakota East’s Avi McGary is No. 267 at safety after playing at Bowling Green.
Although he did not make The Athletic rankings for kickers, Greenon grad Nathan Hawks is hoping to find an NFL team after kicking for the Cincinnati Bearcats.
As the transfer portal world turns
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Quarterbacks Tim Carpenter Jr. (Trotwood-Madison) and J.T. Kitna (Lakota East) are two of many collegians to enter the transfer portal since it opened for spring last week.
In both cases, a coaching change likely played a role in the decision.
Carpenter initially committed to Indiana during his senior season of high school but ended up with Tulsa after the Hoosiers fired head coach Tom Allen at the end of the 2023 campaign. This year he was facing the prospect of playing under another new coach after Tulsa fired Kevin Wilson at the end of last season.
Kitna also found himself under new management as Eddie George replaced Scot Loeffler as head coach in March. That was a more unusual situation as Loeffler abandoned BG to become quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in February.
The portal also offers players who might have been under-recruited out of high school a chance to move up the ladder if they succeed.
Majaden Lewis of Middletown could be an example. He’s reporting getting Division I offers after a productive freshman season at Division II Findlay.
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Bengals getting closer to locking in future with Cincinnati
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
While this is a big weekend for the Bengals’ on-field product, we already had big news off the field even before the draft began.
Hamilton County Commissioners had their first look at a new memorandum of understanding on Tuesday morning in which the team and the county will share the cost of upgrades to Paycor Stadium.
Final details still need to be worked out, but this indicates they won’t be kicking the can down the road before a June deadline.
How likely that ever was is not quite clear, but recent comments from team officials raised some doubts.
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