Cincinnati DL Dontay Corleone announces decision to return to Bearcats for 2025 season

Cincinnati received some big news on Monday as star defensive lineman Dontay Corleone announced that he is returning to play for the Bearcats in 2025.

Corleone, who is nicknamed The Godfather, made the announcement Monday on Twitter. The redshirt junior has recorded 26 tackles, five tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in 2024. He also has four quarterback hurries.

Dontay Corleone earned first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2024 after receiving second-team honors in 2023. Speaking of that 2023 season, he had 39 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks that year.

Corleone also had an excellent season in 2022, finishing with 45 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.

Prior to beginning his college football career, Dontay Corleone was ranked as a three-star recruit in the class of 2021, per the On3 Industry rankings.

He explained his decision to return for one more season on Twitter:

“Growing up in Cincinnati, I always dreamed of being a Bearcat,” Dontay Corleone said. “To run onto the field in Nippert Stadium in front of thousands of Cincinnati fans. The past three years, I have lived that dream every Saturday.

“Cincinnati has given me some of the best memories of my life and I have made relationships that will last a lifetime here. After much consideration and reflection with my family, I have decided that my time as a Bearcat is not over. Lets run it back one more time!”

Cincinnati CB Kalen Carroll planning to enter transfer portal

While Cincinnati received good news from Dontay Corleone on Monday, Bearcats cornerback Kalen Carroll is planning to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal. On3’s Steve Wiltfong reported his entry that he’s hearing through sources in a tweet last month.

Carroll had spent the past three seasons with the Bearcats. After redshirting while not playing as a freshman, he has appeared in 19 games over the past two years, including 15 starts, in the secondary for Cincy.

In those outings, Carroll has had 31 tackles and six deflections. Through his 11 games this fall, he had 19 tackles and one pass deflection.

Carroll, a native of Brownsburg, Indiana played high school football as a three-star prospect. He was the No. 974 overall recruit in the 2022 cycle. That’s according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also rated as a Top-100 CB and a Top-20 player out of his state.