UC's highest-ever football recruit commits to Scott Satterfield's Bearcats
University of Cincinnati picks up its highest-rated recruit in the recent era in Georgia pass rusher Qua Birdsong
Scott SpringerThe University of Cincinnati football staff reached for a peach in Georgia and have pulled out a gem. Jaqualin "Qua" Birdsong visited UC's spring scrimmage Saturday and committed to play for Scott Satterfield early Tuesday morning.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound linebacker is a heat-seeking-missile four-star pass rusher with a composite rating on 247Sports.com of .9287. That makes Birdsong the highest-rated UC recruit ever, not just in the Satterfield era, since the evolution of the rating system.
Birdsong chose the Bearcats out of a final five that included Arkansas, Michigan, Miami (Florida) and Central Florida. Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Pitt, Southern Cal and Virginia Tech were also on his offer list. According to the Macon Touchdown Club, Birdsong had 81 tackles as a junior with 13 tackles for loss and four sacks.
"He's an elite edge rusher," Birdsong's coach at Troup County High School, Tanner Glisson said. "He can cover in space as well. He's a little undersized weight-wise but has a good frame to hold 215-220 pounds. He's still a little baby-faced that leads us to believe he may still be growing. He's a tremendous competitor and a 2024 Under Armour game commit."
For comparison purposes, the previous top-rated UC recruit was current redshirt junior quarterback Evan Prater who registered a .9279 as a four-star selected by Luke Fickell's staff. The commitment moves the 2024 UC class to No. 22, currently ahead of Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, UCF, Baylor, BYU, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and West Virginia in the Big 12.
In terms of recent Bearcats who have made the NFL, Birdsong's recruit rating is higher than many who have starred in the red and black:
- 2023 draftee Tyler Scott (.8504)
- Colts receiver Alec Pierce (.8465)
- Jets corner Ahmad (Sauce) Gardner (.8344)
- Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder (.8180)
- 2023 draftee Ivan Pace Jr. (.7894)
Current UC senior Deshawn Pace was at .8337 out of Colerain. Birdsong could fill the void left by Utah State transfer Daniel Grzesiak, who will be out of eligibility after this season. Among the linebackers, Louisville transfer Dorian Jones and Jack Dingle would have remaining eligibility. Pace could return but has insinuated this could be his last season.