Cincinnati Bearcats Football DC Nate Woody Updates System Install During 2026 Spring Practices

The veteran coach is pleased with the defense's progress so far.

Apr. 2, 2026 at 9:49pm

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A fragmented, geometric painting depicting a football play, with players and the field broken down into sharp, overlapping shapes and planes of color.A cubist interpretation of a Cincinnati Bearcats defensive play, capturing the intensity and movement of the game.Cincinnati Today

Cincinnati Bearcats defensive coordinator Nate Woody provided an update on the team's spring practices, noting that the defense is making good progress in installing his 3-4 blitzing scheme. Woody said the players are giving great effort, but there is still work to be done on the finer details of the system, like reading plays and understanding pre-snap clues from the offense.

Why it matters

The Bearcats are transitioning to a new defensive system under Woody, who has a lot of experience implementing this style of play. How quickly the players can grasp the new scheme will be crucial to the team's success in the upcoming season as they join the Big 12 conference.

The details

Woody said the players are doing a good job with the blitzing aspects of the defense, which is the easiest part. However, he noted that they still need to work on developing the poise and play recognition required to excel in the base 3-4 defense. The coach is pleased with the effort the players are giving in practice so far, and believes they have enough time left in the spring to polish up the finer details of the system.

  • Spring football practices are currently underway for the Cincinnati Bearcats.

The players

Nate Woody

The new defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bearcats, who is installing his 3-4 blitzing scheme during spring practices.

Antwan Peek Jr.

A Cincinnati Bearcats defensive back who was featured in a photo from a previous game against UCF.

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What they’re saying

“Spring has been outstanding. So far, we've thrown an awful lot of things from alignments and assignments at those guys, and they're eating it up. Are they going to be perfect at it right now? Heck no. Are they giving us effort? You better believe it. And so as long as we can continue to put in the effort, we still have enough practices where we can polish up some things, so guys, you know their intent. You know, in our meetings, they come out to practice, and they want to do well. We just got to coach them up a little bit better, on a few things.”

— Nate Woody, Defensive Coordinator

“I think the easiest thing for those guys to do is to blitz. You know, what we have to be able to do is continue to teach the poise, how to understand, how to read flow or plays, and how to look at clues that that offense will give you before the ball is ever snapped, those are all things that will take a little bit of time. Blitzing is easy, you know, just being able to play base and just bring four and drop seven, that's where we got to get some more work.”

— Nate Woody, Defensive Coordinator

What’s next

The Bearcats will continue their spring practices over the next few weeks as they work to fully install Woody's defensive system.

The takeaway

The Bearcats' transition to a new defensive scheme under Coordinator Nate Woody appears to be on track, with the players showing good effort in practice. However, there is still work to be done on the finer details of the 3-4 blitzing system, which will be crucial for the team's success as they join the competitive Big 12 conference.