ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – Former UCF quarterback Parker Navarro led the Ohio Bobcats to a thrilling 30-27 victory over Jacksonville State in the 2024 Cure Bowl at Camping World Stadium. Navarro’s stellar performance earned him the Cure Bowl MVP award, solidifying his status as a game-changer.

Ohio Bobcats QB Parker Navarro #13 celebrates his touchdown run against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks during the 2024 StaffDNA Cure Bowl | Photo by J Willie David, III / Florida National News

Navarro, who played as #14 quarterback for the UCF Knights during the 2020-21 seasons before transferring to Ohio in 2022, demonstrated resilience and growth in his new role with the Bobcats.

Ohio’s victory capped off a historic season for the program, characterized by record-breaking achievements, overcoming key injuries, and showcasing unparalleled teamwork and perseverance. Adding to the emotional weight of the game, the Cure Bowl’s charitable mission resonated deeply with the players, many of whom shared personal stories of their connections to the fight against cancer.

For the Bobcats, the win was more than just a trophy—it was a triumph of spirit and determination.

Ohio Bobcats Head Coach Brian Smith talks with the media at a press conference ahead of gameday against Jacksonville State Gamecocks. | Photo by J Willie David, III / Florida National News

2024 StaffDNA Cure Bowl Postgame Quotes:

Ohio Head Coach Brian Smith

Opening Statement:
I am happy that they came together the way that they did. I think it’s a fun team to watch play. They play the right way and how much they enjoy playing with each other. It’s been a fun team to coach and it’s been an exiting year for Ohio Football.

On the defensive performance:
Our defense is fun to watch. The way that they play. The way our coaches get them to play as hard as they do is really impressive. That’s a group that battle injuries throughout the entire year. Shay [Taylor] being taken, out the game, being ejected, that’s not something new for them as a group. They’ve had to have other guys step up into larger roles. They’ve done it throughout the season. The way that they play; the energy they play with is fun to watch. For a kid to get interception, he’s got cast on his hand. Those are things that’s are fun about this group, just how tough and physical they are. You have guys out there playing with casts on hands and playing at the high level and intercepting balls.

On Parker Navarro:
You couldn’t be more excited about that kid’s success because of the type of kid that he is. He works so hard. He cares so much. He has such strong faith, and is just such a great person. When someone like that has the success that he’s having, you’re just so happy for him that the being a great person is paying off for him.

On containing Jax State’s pair of top rushers:
Yeah, that was something that I thought was interesting going into the game. How everyone kept talking about their running game, but I didn’t think they were talking about our defense and how talented our guys are stopping the run. How they’ve knocked the run out of every team that we play. I think Coach [John] Hauser is a tremendous support maker, and those guys have done such a good job as making it hard people to run the football. That’s a big reason why we have been able to have success running on our side. Our guys are battling against them day in, day out, and going through fall camp and spring ball, and going through the frustrations of a unit that can knock the run out of one of the best rushing teams in the country. It just allows us to be such a complimentary football team.

On closing out the game:
It’s such a great way to end the game. We’ve had that happen once earlier in the year too. But when a kid does some people wrote it like that. A great description of a hero that happens in the past is someone who wins, tests themselves and doing so inspiring. That’s what Ricky did? He’s inspiring his teammates by how he’s playing, how he’s finishing that play. What a proud way to end the game honestly.

On the difference offensively between the first and second half:
The biggest difference between being up and being down is the energy, and I’ve enjoyed being up, because you don’t make as as many decisions that are impulsive as you might make when you’re on the field. You kind of feel the energy of the team and the energy of what’s happening on the field, and call things out of frustration. It was fun to be around our guys. It’s fun to have that interaction with them, and be able to look at guys in their eyes. It was different for me, using the technology from the sideline, using the guys sitting up in the booth. Now, I’m rewatching our drives. Unfortunately, I’m not able to watch as much as our defense when they are on the field. But yeah, the energy is great.

On what Parker Navarro means to this team:
I think everyone just has so much respect for him, because of the type of person that he is, how hard he works. How much he cares about winning, about his teammates, and then how much he’s approved throughout the year. He’s had us in the house. The things that he has struggled with, he’s worked really hard to get that around and improve on. There’s not a lot of kids in the country that can play well as he does, off schedule and the ability to scramble and extend and still make plays like he did if he missed any.

On John Hauser being promoted to associate head coach:
There was no better person to fill that role. Him and I have worked great together. We have a really strong relationship. There’s a lot of trust between the two of us. I think this last year has been great for us both being coordinators. We’ve communicated really well about what’s going to make us best as a team. And of the three years that I’ve been here, this team was probably the best complimentary team, where the offense and the defense played really well off with each other. When I was fortunate to be hired to be the head coach, the first thing I was trying to do was figure out how to keep him.

On the history that Ohio has made this season:
There’s a lot of things about this year that have never been done before. The this program has won 10 games six times. Three of the those six have been these last three years. Is the first time winning 11 games. Haven’t won in that championship, since 1968. Six straight bowl wins — I’m sure that hasn’t been done before. There’s so many things that are amazing about this team. On top of it, they have the highest team GPA in in season in recorded history of Team GPA, so that’s going back 22 years. It’s the first time they get over three point. So it’s just such a special group.

On the miscues in the third quarter:
We need to keep our composure. There were more penalties. There were the turnovers. We weren’t playing clean of football. Just trying to figure out how to just execute better. You try not to get frustrated with what has happened in the previous plays. You try to flush those plays and move on to the next thing. When you are coaching, the things that you want to focus on are answers and focus on solutions to problems. That’s all it’s going through my head is, what are the problems? How can we fix it? How can we start executing better?

On how much the offense has evolved this season:
A fair amount. I think what’s probably evolved more is just my better understanding of the players we have. When you add so many new players in key roles immediately, the way we did with Coleman and Trey. Parker was injured most of the of the season three years ago. There’s a lot of just figuring out, what are guys good at? What do we do well? That’s where a lot of our growth came from, was calling the games that that fit us better and fit our personnel better.

On the defense playing well in the second half, despite the offense struggling:
Yeah, that that’s happened throughout the entire season. That’s part of the complimentary football of what we do. When there is time when we struggle on offense, they’ve been able to hold it together. We need to score and extend. Obviously, we have done a great job with that. We’ve done a really nice job of getting points at the end of halves and trying to steal possessions, which helps expand leads. Then, the ability to a lot of times two keep our defense off the field in the fourth quarter, running the ball and owning clock.

On the bowl week experience in Orlando:
The bowl week has been awesome. The Cure Bowl is extremely hospitable. The thing that’s probably the most special about it is it’s a bowl game that represents more than just football, and it’s a great cause. It affects so many of our players. It impacts them. I had a lot of our guys come up to me after we found out what bowl we’re playing in. And told me how it impacted them, how they recently found out that a loved one had just been diagnosed with cancer. For them, they thought it was almost like fate, but they playing in a game that was tied to raising money to find a cure for it. I think that’s special to be a part of something that means more than just football. It connects to a lot of players.

Ohio Quarterback Parker Navarro, Running Back Anthony Tyus III, Linebacker Blake Leake

On being named Cure Bowl MVP:
Parker Navarro: Yeah, it was awesome. It was beautiful day out. This team fought their butt off, everyone on the defense to all the coaching staff to support staff. It was just a hard-fought win. Those are the sweet ones. It was sweet.

On the defense rallying after losing Shey Taylor:
Blake Leake: Losing Shey was very tough. He’s been the lead of our defense all year. He makes those calls, makes those mic checks. First, I’m going to give him the props for having that communication all year. I was about two times as gassed as I normally am. Shout out to Shay and all the Mike linebackers that have to make those calls. We’re just a unit, a solid unit. We want to play for each other. We want to play for the other 10 guys that are on the field. It doesn’t matter what 10 are out there. We’re all going to show up and play for each other and I think we did that

On being able to overcome adversity:
Blake Leake: We had to face some early adversity in that Syracuse game. We had a bunch of injuries that lasted throughout the year, so we’ve missed some holes early on and had some bumps in the road here and there. I think that prepared us for these last couple games, this last stretch, and really show today.

On what he saw out there early in the game:
Parker Navarro: I think it’s just a matter of settling in for me. I loved our play calls. I felt like I have seen what I was seeing. Once I was able to settle in, I think things started to roll. Honestly, that was the case all game when we were just settling in, executing, the opportunities were there.
It was nice to see some old friends. I will say that I saw some faces that I seen a while in the crowd. It was good to see some of those buddies.

On your career and overcoming an injury:
Blake Leake: The good Lord knew what he was doing last year. I had some some high hopes going into my last season, big dreams, big aspirations for myself. I tore my ACL in the middle of last season. Then, those dreams kind of were a little shaken. I wasn’t sure about coming to Ohio. It was a great opportunity. I couldn’t have been more happy coming here. He really just blessed me and put me in the perfect opportunity, because who knows where I would have ended up if I had never tore my ACL last year. It was truly a blessing, and I’ve enjoyed every single moment here from the rounds on the golf course with these guys and eating team dinner and all the other stuff. But these guys, it’s just a team full of outstanding guys, the best guys you will ever meet. At the end of day, I have 100 brothers from Athens, Ohio that I would have never had.

On your success at Ohio:
Anthony Tyus: I am beyond blessed for the opportunity. Playing with a great group, like Coach was saying earlier, our offense complements the defense, the defense complements the offense. Honestly, I could have ended up anywhere, but God wanted me here. Very grateful for the opportunity.

On the special season:
Parker Navarro: Yeah, it’s special. I think it’s special for the people of Athens, the Bobcat community, something that hasn’t been done here with 11 wins and the first MAC Championship in a while, so that means a ton. I’ve talked to some people back in Athens, and I just have realized how much it actually means to that community. For me personally, this will be a memory that I will forever cherish. And like these two said, I’m just grateful for this team.

On Parker’s incredible touchdown play:
Anthony Tyus: Yeah, like I said Parker is one of the most athletic quarterbacks ever played with. With him, the play is never dead. I saw the corner there, you know, two on one basketball. He had to either take Parker or take me. I kind of gave Parker the option, and Parker made an incredible play, got the ball to me, and I was able to score and help our team. This guy always finds a way, whether it’s him making the play, or get the ball somebody else to make a play.

On the play of the defensive front:
Blake Leake: The same way I always do. It’s that front four, whichever one of those D linemen are in there, those four guys, they come to play every time, and I would hate to be on the other line for another team, facing our front four. Our guys played well in the back end, coming down, filling lanes. We do our job, and we do it well, and when we do it well, we get good results. I mean, it’s always front four is that’s been my answer all year, and I couldn’t have been blessed by behind a better four.

On being able to make impressive hurdles:
Anthony Tyus: It’s just a confidence thing, like when you get into the flow of the game, you get into a rhythm. Being a bigger running back, I know when you watch film, they go low on me. I’ve been blessed to actually run hurdles for 10-plus years of my life before I started playing football. So being able to go up, go over and make a play and get those few extra yards.

On getting an interception with his hand in a cast:
Blake Leake: Not a chance, not a chance. I’ve dropped several balls in practice that should have been caught, so it didn’t have the highest hopes catching the interception once I had that club from the EMU game. But, it just, worked out perfectly.

On the bowl week experience at the StaffDNA Cure Bowl:
Anthony Tyus: I would say it’s an honor. I think the Cure Bowl did a great job. The little charity event we did a day ago was amazing. Both teams had a lot of fun. I know I had a lot of fun. It’s a great cause. Our team, we had a lot of fun, starting at Top Golf to the charity event, to today, celebrating this big win. Like I said, it’s a special group of guys. I’m honored to be with them, and we made most of it.

Parker Navarro: Yeah, and I agree with everything he said, it’s a good cause. There’s a lot of stuff to do here in Orlando. We had a great time. Universal is a ton of fun. The bowl staff put on a great, great week for us players. I want to say thank you to all you guys who made it happen. It was, it was awesome, spectacular, and something I’ll never forget.

Blake Leake: Yeah, just to echo Parker. Thank you to everyone that was involved with everything from food to coordinating where we’ll be what we’re wearing. It was a great experience. My only bowl game, my first and last, and it was all I could hope for and more. Like these two said, just being able to play for something that means something. And we wear the pink, but it’s not just breast cancer, it’s about all kind of cancers that affects every single one of us in this room. Being able to play for that, it has a little bit of something when you are out there playing. So just, thank you everybody.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks scores against Ohio Bobcats during the 2024 Cure Bowl in Orlando | Photo by J Willie David, III / Florida National News

Jacksonville State Quarterback Tyler Huff and Wide Receiver Michael Pettway

On coming back from behind:
Tyler Huff: We got a run in the second half, but we just kind of killed ourselves in the first half. We got behind, got slow. We weren’t getting first downs. Whenever we got some confidence second half, we could see it was right there for us, but we just didn’t finish.
Brock Rechsteiner: Yeah, I agree. Just got to down too much, but we just kept fighting. Got a lot of respect for my teammates. Just kept fighting, but just weren’t able.

On the difference in the second half:
Brock Rechsteiner: It wasn’t anything that we saw. I just think we just had to keep playing hard. Just get it going. We weren’t doing that in first half as much.
Tyler Huff: We were not really running the ball. They were stunning and twisting a lot. They kind of messed up our zone scheme. We got going on second half. We were taking our take what they gave us. They were playing pretty far off, whenever they got up in the second half. We just took a little dink and dunks till they got up, and then we put it over their heads.

On players stepping up:
Tyler Huff: A lot of guys stepped up, like, I mean, Michael Pettway went down kind in the second half. So Bouie had to step up. He did phenomenal. He had like, four or five big plays today. Almost scored on a little jet sweep, and took a bunch of other ones pretty far. They’re good group, obviously, Cam’s gonna go up and keep compete for a ball. Brocks always open every single play. He’ll tell you that. We got a good group. And obviously they showed up today.

On continuing to battle back:
Tyler Huff: It would have been easy to fold right there down by three scores at halftime. It would have been really easy. I think we had three and out on the first drive on offense coming out. Then, defense back them all the way up. They had a bad punt, and then we had short field position that kind of swung the middle back to us. We scored that up pretty easily, so we got back into it after that.

On the defense making stops in the second half:
Brock Rechsteiner: That was huge. They were able to keep us in the game. The just gave us opportunities. We weren’t able to capitalize at the end. They just kept they kept fighting. We kept fighting, but Just came up a little short.
______________________________________________________________________________________

J Willie David, III
Florida National News and FNN News Network
news@FloridaNationalNews.com