Cincinnati Bearcats football: New faces in 3-3-5 attack in 513

The upside of losing a Big 12 football game to Iowa State 30-10 is that University of Cincinnati head football coach Scott Satterfield may have found a more effective defense.

Satterfield trusts and has worked with Iowa State coach Matt Campbell who was on the plus side of that score. When Bryan Brown departed UC to coach defense at his alma mater, Ole Miss, Satterfield eyeballed Iowa State associate head coach/linebackers coach Tyson Veidt to shore up a defensive unit that gave up 402.8 yards per game. Iowa State's group averaged out at 363.2 per game.

Along with a new defensive coordinator comes a new scheme for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats this spring: the 3-3-5.

That's three down linemen, three linebackers/rushers and five guys in the secondary with an array of talents and possibilities to give quarterbacks headaches. That's the look Veidt brought to the "513" from Ames where Iowa State deployed it to much success. It stifled a Bearcat offense last Oct. 14 that averaged 217.1 yards rushing and 209 yards passing to 115 yards rushing and just 99 through the air.

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The so-called "flyover" defense is meant to balance, the run, pass and run/pass option. Two of UC's major college transfers should help, defensive end Mikah Coleman and linebacker Jared Bartlett.

Mikah Coleman

Depending on who did the measuring, the transfer from Eastern Michigan is in the 6-foot-4 to 6-foot-5 range with a wingspan that helped lead the Eagles in sacks with 4.5 and tackles for loss at 6.5. Coleman packs 265 pounds on his frame and is happy to be in Cincinnati, not far from his hometown of Reynoldsburg, outside of Columbus.

Coleman had played some basketball in high school and tight end in football, but a knowledgeable coach told him he needed to rush the passer and a defensive end was born.

"Having this size is a blessing," Coleman said. "It's an advantage playing football. I found out football was my sweet spot."

Coleman was at Eastern Michigan for four years, one of his only two offers out of high school. He thinks there's a lot of talent in the Mid-American Conference and is out to prove himself with the Bearcats in the Big 12. Likewise, the Bearcat personnel staff hopes they've found a diamond in the rough.

"Going into my senior year I had zero offers," Coleman said. "I started camping real heavy my senior year. I ended up with two offers, from Ball State and Eastern Michigan. If you're ever counting out a player in the MAC, don't do that!"

At Eastern Michigan, he was part of three bowl games: the Lending Tree Bowl twice and the Idaho Potato Bowl.

On UC's defensive line, he's surrounded by veteran Dontay Corleone and others with experience elsewhere like Kyree Moyston from Virginia Tech, Darian Varner from Wisconsin and Jalen Hunt from Michigan State. Redshirt senior Eric Phillips, a Colerain Cardinal like Corleone, is also back.

"I think this defense is going to do pretty well with Coach Veidt coming in," Coleman said. "He has a history of good defenses at Iowa State. It's good for change."

Jared Bartlett

At West Virginia, they call Jared Bartlett the "bandit". The 6-foot-1, 235-pounder is a linebacker who led the Mountaineers with 4.5 sacks, six tackles for loss and 50 tackles overall. Three of those tackles were in Morgantown last fall when WVU routed the Bearcats 42-21.

UC sought the redshirt senior out and now he's ready to fulfill his obligation.

"I'm familiar with the league," Bartlett said. "As a transfer, I'll do the best of my abilities to put this team in a greater position than I found it in. After these past couple of practices, it's definitely something I can do."

He's a linebacker who likes to mix it up but says he's versatile rushing the passer, dropping in coverage and playing the run. Like most linebackers, he's partial to chasing quarterbacks.

"That was my primary responsibility at West Virginia," Bartlett said. "I was primarily an edge rusher. I probably rushed the quarterback two-thirds of the time. Here, it'll be about the same if not more."

West Virginia did not play Iowa State last year to see the 3-3-5, but Bartlett has seen plenty of tape and did have some experience against the Cyclones. He thinks the new scheme will work.

In addition to saying that he can outeat teammate Corleone (who walked by and disagreed as he said it) Bartlett is enjoying the camaraderie that has come about through some grueling winter workouts designed by Director of Football Performance Niko Palazeti.

"I think that brought a lot of guys together as far as our bond and relationships off the field," Bartlett said. "It ties into how you perform during the spring practices and in the regular season. The things we've done this offseason to prepare us for our spring session will push us into the season."

Two days after Jason and Travis Kelce return to host their "New Heights" podcast at Nippert Stadium, April 11, UC will test their 3-3-5 in the Red and Black Spring Game at noon on April 13.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 513's 3-3-5: New Cincinnati Bearcats should help new defensive scheme