Look: Seven Cincinnati Players Earn All-Big 12 Football Honors

The Big 12 announced first and second-team all-conference players this week and UC landed defensive tackle Dontay Corleone and right guard Luke Kandra on the second team.

Five other Bearcats also cracked the honorable mention list: Fifth-year senior Jowon Briggs, junior punter Mason Fletcher, redshirt junior center Gavin Gerhardt, senior wide receiver Xzavier Henderson, and senior defensive back Deshawn Pace.

Corleone announced he is returning for his redshirt junior season this week as a major fulcrum piece for the Cincinnati defense. He should be the team's top defensive player in 2024 after posting 39 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, and three sacks this past season.

Kandra was UC's most consistent offensive player in 2023, grading out as the third-best talent on that unit by PFF's metrics.

The Lousiville transfer solidified the right guard spot across 895 snaps and should be the lead man again for the most encouraging unit on the team that looks like it'll have all five starters back in 2024.