CORRYVILLE - The roster is chock-full of Tristate area players as new University of Cincinnati football coach Luke Fickell has tried to rope off Interstate 275 and keep a number of prep standouts in town.

His recent recruiting class reflected some early success as La Salle's Jarell White and Colerain's Kyle Bolden signed and are on the field fighting for jobs. Several local players were in place already when Fickell was hired and more have come since.

Many come with impressive high school credentials but have to work their way up on a roster full of Friday night heroes. A pair of those are Garrett Weaver from Amelia High School (recently merged with Glen Este to form West Clermont) and Cameron Naber from Oak Hills.

Weaver was a top basketball and football player at Amelia, making first-team Southern Buckeye Conference-American Division in football as a senior and first team in basketball for three seasons. He initially went to Mount St. Joseph for football where he caught 46 passes for 744 yards and 14 touchdowns last season and 44 for 995 yards and 17 scores as a freshman.

"After my freshman year (at Mount St. Joseph) I was actually thinking about transferring," Weaver said. "I talked to my family and everything and thought it wasn't the right move."

After a second successful season at MSJ, Weaver started making contacts. Eventually, UC receivers coach Joker Phillips offered him a spot at tight end and Weaver began sporting red and black in June.

"Actually I was a wide receiver at 'The Mount'," Weaver said. "I just started transitioning to tight end. I definitely had to put on some weight. Since summer I've put on about 10-15 pounds."

Naber came from a high-powered offense at Oak Hills where he led the Greater Miami Conference as a senior with 74 catches for 1,093 yards with 9 touchdowns.

"Maybe down the line in a couple years here we'll see," Naber said when asked if he could duplicate those efforts in college. "I watched them last year and they didn't look very good. We're getting things clicking now. We've got a new offense and things are starting to look good."

Both Naber and Weaver grew up Bearcat fans. Recruiting director Brian Mason was instrumental in keeping more homegrown talent home.

"It's nice being a Bearcat," Naber said. "I didn't really want to go that far from home. I've been a Bearcat fan ever since we had Mardy Gilyard and Tony Pike. I had some DII and NAIA offers but I really wanted to come to Cincinnati and be part of the Bearcats."

Added Weaver, "I was a pretty big Bearcat fan, Cincinnati fan. My brother also went here. I came to visit him a couple times. The tradition is great and I want to be a part of it."

Weaver is a 6-foot-3, 227-pound junior transfer who will be required to sit out this season. Naber is a 6-foot 190-pound freshman who will likely sit out and redshirt. Despite often having to play the "scout team" and simulate the opposition in practice, Weaver and Naber seem content with their roles and happy to be able to wear a UC jersey in Nippert Stadium.