---

It’s out with the old and in with the new, as the University of Cincinnati football team announced its 2012 recruiting class Wednesday on National Signing Day.

To replace the 21 departing seniors, the Bearcats inked 30 new players, which made up the team’s strongest recruiting class to date, ranked No. 29 in the nation and second in the Big East by Scouts.com.

The Bearcats’ 2012 class includes one ESPN four-star recruit and 22 three-star prospects. Sixteen of the recruits were defensive players, and the remaining 14 were offensive.

“Today, we get to welcome 30 new individuals into our football family,” said UC head coach Butch Jones. “Really, the mark of a recruiting class is measured two, three, four years down the road, but obviously the thing that excites me about this class is that we were able to meet many needs that we needed in our football program.”

One high-priority area Cincinnati needed to improve was its secondary, which gave up 3,394 yards last season — second most in the Big East.

To help bolster their pass defense, the Bearcats signed safety Marcus Foster — the team’s lone four-star recruit of the 2012 class.

The 6-foot, 195-pound Troy, Ohio, native runs a 4.5-second 40-yard dash and posts a 35-inch vertical leap, and will be joined by three-star defensive backs Alex Dale and Andre Jones.

Jones is a Cincinnati native who played his high school ball at Colerain, and is a player who Jones said he’s particularly excited about.

“Obviously we’re very, very excited about Andre,” Jones said. “In our conference, we’re forced to match up with a lot of big, tall receivers, so that’s one area we felt like we needed to get better was just our overall size in our back end.”

To replace the departing offensive standouts Isaiah Pead and Zach Collaros, the Bearcats bolstered their ranks with two quarterbacks and four running backs.

At running back, Cincinnati signed highly recruited ESPN three-star back Ti’on Green — who had offers from 10 other schools — and Southwestern junior college transfer Aaron Harris, who had offers from Georgia and Iowa on the table in addition to Cincinnati.

“I’m ecstatic about the running back position,” Jones said. “When you add the likes of an Aaron Harris, who was very high on our board — he’s an individual who comes in from the junior college ranks that I think will add some maturity and stability to that position.”

At the quarterback position, Cincinnati inked Bennie Coney and Trenton Norvell.
Norvell is a 6-foot-5-inch Daytona Beach, Fla., native, who Jones said reminds him of Tony Pike.

Coney was rated UC’s second-best recruit by ESPN, and was also recruited by perennial powerhouses such as Auburn, Arkansas, Michigan, Florida State and Virginia Tech.

The Plant City, Fla., native was clocked running a 4.8-second 40-yard dash, and Jones said the 6-foot-1-inch quarterback looks more like a linebacker than a quarterback, currently weighing in around 230 pounds.

“I think this year we were able to go toe-to-toe with a lot of programs that people recognize maybe by the logo,” Jones said. “I think we’re a national brand here at UC, and I think people understand the C-paw and what it represents.”

In addition, the Bearcats also signed highly touted wideout Nathan Cole to help replace the three departing senior wideouts.

“I think he’s going to bring another dynamic to our receiving core,” Jones said.

Out of the 30 players inked, nine have already enrolled in classes and started in the team’s strength and conditioning program, which Jones said will help bring a competitive edge come spring ball.

“I think there’s a renewed sense of spirit and energy, commitment and competitiveness in our football program right now, and that’s a lot in due to the new signees — all nine of them — here on campus,” Jones said.

The Bearcats are coming off a 10-3 season capped by a 31-24 victory in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl against Vanderbilt, Jan. 31, 2011, which is something Jones said helped bring in talent.

“We’ve been playing football here for 124 years,” Jones said. “Right now we’re experiencing the most successful era of Cincinnati football. We’re not selling anyone on the past, we’re selling them on the present — right now.”

Cincinnati is set to begin spring football March 1.