Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell declines to name starting QB ahead of opener at Arkansas

University of Cincinnati football coach Luke Fickell knows who his starting quarterback will be Saturday at Arkansas. He's just not willing to share that roster decision publicly.

"I don't think there's any reason to talk about it," he said Tuesday. "I don't know that it does anything good for our team. It doesn't do anything good for the opponents and the preparations of things."

Fickell will open his sixth season at Cincinnati against the No. 19/23-ranked (Associated Press/coaches polls) Razorbacks (3:30 p.m. on ESPN), and he will do it with a starting quarterback who's not Desmond Ridder for the first time since his debut campaign at UC in 2017.

Here's who might be leading the Bearcats Saturday

The No. 23/22-ranked Bearcats will either be led offensively by senior Ben Bryant or sophomore Evan Prater. The two have been engaged in a highly competitive yet friendly battle since the spring to see who will replace Ridder, the third-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in April's 2022 NFL Draft.

Cincinnati on Monday released its first unofficial two-deep depth chart ahead of Saturday's opener. The Bearcats listed Bryant "or" Prater as the first-string quarterback. Bryant was listed first. Sophomore Brady Litchtenberg was listed behind the quarterbacks.

Fickell: "There's no reason for us to announce things"

"I don't know that last year we announced a starter," Fickell said. "I don't know that it was much of a question. I don't think the year before we announced a starter. Again, I don't if there was much of a question.

"For us, obviously you've got to have a plan; you've got to move forward with it. But there's no reason for us to announce things."

Ridder, the third-winningest quarterback in FBS history (44-7), was the 2018 American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year. After winning the battle for the starting job against Bryant during the 2019 and 2020 preseasons, Ridder was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Year in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

A bit about Bryant and Prater

Now, the two players competing to fill Ridder's record-breaking shoes have a combined 14 career college starts, with all of them belonging to Bryant.

The 6-foot-3-inch, 220-pound La Grange, Illinois, native started last season at Eastern Michigan, throwing for 14 touchdowns against seven interceptions and more than 3,000 yards in 13 games.

Prater, the Wyoming High School product, 2019 Ohio Mr. Football and the highest-rated recruit in program history, has yet to start a game for the Bearcats. The 6-foot-4-inch, 200-pound athlete redshirted his freshman campaign and then sat behind Ridder last season en route to Cincinnati earning a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Fickell said he was able to at least have a starting quarterback in place internally by the end of fall camp Aug. 20.

"You wanted it to be a little bit earlier, but I thought that with the way that those guys competed, it was a little bit harder to do," he said. "There's never a perfect time. There's never the exact right time. But I think it was important for us just to make sure we're getting those guys the reps that they need, especially going into that Week 1."

Fickell acknowledged Bryant and Prater's different playing styles affect the personnel decisions for the rest of the offense. Bryant is a traditional pocket passer, while Prater is more of a dual-threat option.

"Those guys are going to continue to grow," Fickell said. "But there is a plan because they are a little bit different guys. Based on who was in there, we would have to adapt a little bit because you want to do what guys do well. It doesn't mean you change who you are, but you've got to kind of start to figure that out."

Fickell said he's not planning to play both quarterbacks this season. But he also admitted that could change.

"It could (happen)," he said. "We've always got plans, and plans are subject to change. Plans don't always come out the way that they're supposed to."

As for the other battle in Cincinnati's offensive backfield, Fickell said the plan is for senior running back and punt returner Ryan Montgomery to get the first snaps at running back against the Razorbacks.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: CIncinnati football: Who will be Bearcats' starting QB at Arkansas?