UC Bearcats finish with No. 1 football class among AAC, Group of Five teams

The 2018 college football recruiting classes are pretty much complete, with analysts continuing to rank the University of Cincinnati class No. 1 among American Athletic Conference and Group of Five teams.

UC this week has announced seven additions to its 2018 class, including three scholarship players and four walk-ons. UC previously signed 22 players during the December 2017 early signing period for football, with the NLI (National Letter of Intent) regular signing period running Feb. 7 through April 1.

The UC class is ranked No. 1 in the AAC by both 247Sports.com and Rivals.com, and also No. 1 among Group of Five schools. Overall, the UC class also is ranked No. 47 nationally by 247Sports.com and Rivals.com.

New signings for UC include tight end Leonard Taylor (6-5 1/2, 246; Springfield, Ohio), who ranks No. 181 in the ESPN 300 and is rated a four-start recruit by both 247Sports and Rivals; running back Tavion Thomas (6-2, 225; Dayton, Ohio/Dunbar), considered one of the top power backs in the Midwest and rated a four-star recruit by Rivals; and defensive lineman Myjai Sanders (6-4, 223; Jacksonville, Fla.), who ESPN.com ranks as one of the Top-75 defensive ends in the 2018 class.

More: Takeaways from UC's 37-point rout of Central Florida

Get the latest UC sports news. Download the Bearcats app on both the Apple App Store and Google Play for Android users.

"Obviously a good closing day," second-year UC coach Luke Fickell said in a statement. "We signed two local kids and added some much-needed length to our program. The most impressive thing is to see 15 guys from the state of Ohio and 19 from inside our 300-mile radius. It still leaves us a little bit of wiggle room to continue to do what we need to do, and to also reward the guys who are in our program already."

During the December 2017 early period, UC's local signees included La Salle High School tight end Josh Whyle, Fairfield defensive end Malik Vann, Franklin running back Ryan Montgomery, Colerain wide receiver Ja'von Hicks and St. Xavier defensive end Blake Bacevich.

SPRING PRACTICE: UC is expected to begin spring football practice in early March, but a start date has not been finalized.

2018 SCHEDULE: The Bearcats open the 2018 season on Saturday, Sept. 1, against UCLA in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

UC's other non-conference games include Miami (Ohio) at Paul Brown Stadium on Sept. 8, and home games in Nippert Stadium against Alabama A&M and Ohio University on Sept. 15 and Sept. 22, respectively.

In American Athletic Conference play, UC will face ECU, Navy, Tulane and USF at Nippert and travels to UConn, SMU, Temple and UCF. Dates and times are to be announced.

UC has finished 4-8 in each of the last two seasons.