Brownsburg Bulldogs WRSB Branden Sharpe (12) rushes up the field Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during the IHSAA Class 6A state championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Recruiting Roundup: Cincinnati Makes Final Four Schools For Three-Star 2027 Talent

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bearcats on SI
By Russell Heltman | Last updated Apr 8, 2026 9:03 AM ET

The Recruiting Roundups keep flowing during spring football for the Cincinnati Bearcats. We pick up this edition with a top schools announcement involving UC. Three-star 2027 Brownsburg (Indiana) wide receiver Branden Sharpe has Cincinnati in his final group along with Indiana, Vanderbilt, and Purdue.

The Indy Star's Kyle Neddenriep reported he is officially visiting Cincinnati June 12-14. According to 247Sports, Sharpe is the 658th-best player nationally and the 74th-best wide receiver.

Sharpe caught 59 passes for 1,143 yards and 13 touchdowns on the way to Brownsburg's 2025 6A Indiana State Title.

Check out his highlights here.

We move to an offer for 2027 linebacker Zion Paul out of Houston County (Georgia).

The unranked player is not slotted on a major service but does hold 23 offers from schools like Duke, Kansas, NC State, and South Florida.

Check out the 6-foot-1, 200-pound linebacker's highlights here.

Cincinnati offered @BearDownHOCO @CoachEdwards10 @CoachB_Defense @CoachJBurbage @CortBraswell @UC_Recruiting @GoBearcatsFB @On3 @247Sports pic.twitter.com/YYb92kKU3G
— Zion Paul (@ZionPaul_4) April 7, 2026

Another offer went out to three-star 2027 defensive tackle Eli Thornton out of Valley View (Arkansas).

According to 247Sports, Thornton is ranked 980th nationally and 106th among defensive tackles.

The 6-foot-3, 315-pound talent holds 12 offers from schools like Kansas State, Wisconsin, and Arkansas. He notched 18 tackles for loss and four sacks this past season as a junior.

Check out his highlights here.

After a great phone call with @TheGuruStew I’m grateful to receive an offer from the University of Cincinnati ‼️⚫️ @GoBearcatsFB @CoachSattUC @CoachNateWoody ‼️@ValleyViewFB
Can’t wait to be on campus April 14 pic.twitter.com/al0d3Xxzbm
— Eli Thornton (@EliThornton27) April 1, 2026

Cincinnati quarterback target Dane Weber also commented on his visit this past weekend as the four-star talent continues mulling his options.

Weber is down to UC, Oregon, Kansas, Michigan, Cal, Stanford, Kansas State, and UCLA.

According to 247Sports, Weber is the 365th-best player nationally and the 25th-best quarterback.

He held 10 other offers from schools like Kansas and Nevada at 6-2, 210 pounds when Cincinnati offered him last June, but he now has 25 offers.

Weber would be the highest-rated QB to commit to Scott Satterfield since he took over as UC's head coach.

Desmond Ridder is the last quarterback Cincinnati signed out of high school and went on to start multiple games for them in the same tenure.

Check out highlights from Weber here.

Thank you @GoBEARCATS @GoBearcatsFB For an incredible Official Visit. Loved every second, and can’t wait to be back!!#gobearcats @CoachSattUC @CoachPeteThomas @ZachGrantUC pic.twitter.com/LWEukkD0tE
— Dane Weber (@DaneWeber08) April 7, 2026