by 2023 Recap
The Bobcats are coming off a season where they finished 10-3 overall with a 6-2 record in the MAC. This was a relatively low-scoring offense scoring 24.3 points per game, which ranks 84th in the country. The defense was elite, however, only letting up 15.8 points per game, which was 6th in the country. The season was capped off with a bowl win in the Myrtle Beach Bowl over Georgia Southern, where quarterback Parker Navarro, Ricky Hunt Jr., and the offense were able to have a great day on offense and the defense played like they had all season, leading to a final score of 41-28 (Sports Reference).
Key Additions
RB Anthony Tyus III
WR Coleman Owen
Key Departures
QB Kurtis Rourke
QB CJ Harris
RB Seih Bangura
RB O’Shaan Allison
WR Miles Cross
WR Jacoby Jones
TE Tyler Foster
LB Bryce Houston
CB Torrie Cox
Offense
The 2024 Ohio Bobcats will have a completely new offense as 11 starters or prominent members of the 2023 offense have either graduated or transferred to another school.
Quarterbacks
It will be an uphill battle to replace two quarterbacks including Kurtis Rourke, a starter who had led the Bobcats to three straight bowl game appearances before his transfer to Indiana. The Bobcats will lean on Parker Navarro, who will try to bring that momentum from the Myrtle Beach Bowl with him into the 2024 season.
Wide Receivers
the two top wide receivers Jacoby Jones and Miles Cross have decided to leave via the transfer portal as well, with a total of 92.5% of the wide receiver production in 2023 will not be there in 2024. The Bobcats will look for incoming transfers and younger players to use this opportunity to step up and make a name for themselves. Coleman Owen, a transfer student from Northern Arizona, will be one of those players looking to fill that void in the wide receiver room for this upcoming season. Owens is coming off a career at Northern Arizona where he finished top ten all-time in the record books for touchdowns, receptions, and receiving yards.
Running Backs
There will also be a major hole in the running back position. With Bangura and Allison, both transferring, the Bobcats looked to gain that production back via the transfer portal. They were able to land Anthony Tyus III, a running back transfer from Northwestern. Also, Sophomore Ricky Hunt Jr. will seek more touches as he is coming off a bowl game where he was able to rack up the MVP honors for his performance.
Tight Ends
This article sounds like a broken record, but the tight end room will be missing some key pieces this season as well. The Bobcats were not able to retain Tyler Foster for the upcoming season as he transferred to Oklahoma State. This could prove to be a major loss as the season progresses.
Offensive Line
The offensive line is returning veteran Parker Titsworth, who has been the anchor of this offense the last few seasons along with another program veteran Jacob Dennison. Titsworth and Dennison hope to use their senior presence and experience to help push this Bobcats offense in the right direction for this upcoming season.
Defense
Along with the offense, the defense will have question marks all over the field on this side of the ball as well. With the departure of key players such as Bryce Houston, Torrie Cox, and Keye Thompson, this unit will have a brand new look to it and will look to gel early on in the season.
Coaching Staff
The Bobcats made some changes on the coaching side defensively this offseason. John Hauser, who was the safeties coach, has gained more responsibility as he has been promoted to defensive coordinator for this season to replace Spence Nowinsky, as he is heading to Memphis to be the defensive line coach. The Bobcats were also able to acquired Kurt Mattix to be the defensive end coach from San Diego State, a defense that held the Bobcats to 13 points in their week zero matchup last season (Hustle Belt).
Defensive Ends
Returning defensive end and team leader in sacks Bradley Weaver looks to come back and have an even better in the 2024 campaign. Weaver led the team in sacks season with 6.0 sacks, finishing 8th in the MAC with that number last season. Weaver has proved to get better year over year and will look to be one of the most important players in the MAC and one that every offensive coordinator will have to plan for and know where he is on the field at all times.
Linebackers
The team has lost both linebackers Bryce Houston and Keye Thompson, leading to a major hole on the defense in terms of leadership and experience. The next man up for the Bobcats in that position is Shay Taylor as he looks to step up and fill that void both as a linebacker and a leadership presence on the defensive side of the ball.
Defensive Backs
The group that is returning with the most amount of experience would be the defensive backs. Although the Bobcats did lose both starting cornerbacks in Torrie Cox and Justin Birchette, the Bobcats were able to gain multiple players through the transfer portal with experience to battle it out to see who is able to fulfill those starting positions.
The battle will mainly be between three players to see who will get the two corner positions: Roman Parodie, a veteran in the Bobcats program who has appeared in 38 games; The next player is returning player is Tank Pearson, a backup cornerback from last year who appeared in 13 games. The final player is Michael Mack, an incoming transfer for this season who was a two-year starter at Air Force before sitting out a season last year at Wisconsin. Mack will look to prove to coach Albin and the rest of the staff that he deserves a spot on that field.
Special Teams
The special teams will look very familiar in the 2024 season. The only new addition is transfer kicker Jacob Lewis from Minnesota, who will look to compete for the starting kicker role. With all of the departures, the Bobcats will look to have someone step up to fill the punt and kick returner role for the team.
Final Analysis
The Bobcats have a lot of holes to fill on both sides of the ball as they were depleted from the transfer portal and players graduating. This season will be about coach Albin and the staff trying to get as much as they can out of the young guys in terms of being “the next man up” and filling the void whether that be at defensive tackle or at running back. Coach Albin and the staff also aimed to bring in veteran experience through the transfer portal. Although they do not have snaps in the green and white, these transfer players have played meaningful roles and been in situations at their former schools that will allow them to help out the younger players and get them ready for the season.
We will see how well the Bobcats are prepared in their first game of the season which is a tough road game at Syracuse. This game will be a true indicator if the Bobcats were able to come together this offseason and are ready to go for another 10-win season, or will need a few more weeks under their belts to get adjusted to their roles.
