Samaj Jones

ANALYSIS
Jones may have seen more action than expected in the Liberty Bowl due to a torrential downpour throughout the contest, which limited the effectiveness of the passing game. The redshirt freshman made the most of his opportunity to notch his first career rushing touchdown and could be among the favorites to start under center for the Bearcats in 2026 with Brendan Sorsby hitting the transfer portal and Brady Lichtenberg graduating. Cincinnati has an incoming freshman to add to the room and seems a likely candidate to add another signal-caller or two via the transfer portal before evaluating its options, Jones included, to handle the starting duties next season.