Scott Satterfield explains challenges of taking on multiple transfers

Scott Satterfield took his talents from Louisville to Cincinnati over the offseason, leading the Bearcats on their move to the Big 12.

Of course, as it’s become the norm when a new coach comes to town, Cincinnati hit the transfer portal hard over the last couple of months. At Big 12 Media Days, Satterfield explained the benefits and challenges of doing so, and how the Bearcats are adjusting.

“As a coach you’re always looking at the transfer piece, how are the guys going to get into your team. Ultimately it’s a team game and you have to play together and play as a team,” said Satterfield. “When we go out and we’re looking for guys to bring in like that, that’s what we’re looking for.

“Obviously these guys are individuals and they want to do the best they can do for themselves, but I want guys to come in and play for Cincinnati football.”

Thankfully, Satterfield has seen immense buy-in from the players the Bearcats have added through the transfer portal, and while some of the newer kids on the block have some more learning to do, he believes in their abilities.

“These guys have all done that, but I think that is the challenge,” the freshly-minted Cincinnati leader said. “We brought several in this January and then obviously the rest this summer. The guys that come in this summer have some catching up to do.

“They’ve done a good job with that in the month of June to get acclimated to how we work in the weight room, how we do our things, and then also what we do offensively and defensively in the kicking game.”

Alas, it’s going to be an interesting mesh when it comes to Cincinnati’s roster in 2023, but Satterfield isn’t fretting. The former Louisville coach is a believer in his team, even if many of them just moved onto campus, like he has.

“I like our mix of players that we’ve brought in,” Satterfield explained. “I feel like most all the guys that we’ve brought in will help us this year, will play, that will, if not start, they’ll have extensive roles through our football team at a lot of different positions.

“You don’t normally like to have that many come through the portal, but in the transition we had a lot of players leave, and so you have to be able to fill those needs to be competitive.”

Time will tell, but Scott Satterfield has big shoes to fill at Cincinnati. At the least, he seems confident that he’ll be able to lead them to glory moving forward.