Evan Tengesdahl
Cincinnati allowed the second-fewest sacks in the country, and Evan Tengesdahl was the anchor -- a third-team All-American guard who's back, with his whole interior alongside him.
Tengesdahl's 2025 earned third-team AP All-America honors and an 85.4 PFF grade that ranked among the nation's top guards, the steadying force on a Cincinnati line that allowed just seven sacks all season -- second-fewest in the country. At 6-3, 320, he's already an ESPN Way-Too-Early first-team All-American for 2026, and crucially, the interior returns intact around him. The forward stakes are a Big 12 contender's foundation: lines this good don't usually come back whole, and an offense that protects this well gives Cincinnati a real ceiling. He's the kind of interior anchor a coordinator builds protection schemes around.
Play style
Tengesdahl is a high-grade interior pass protector with the size to handle power -- 6-3, 320, with an 85.4 PFF mark that placed him among the best guards in the country. The team-level proof is the seven sacks allowed (second nationally), a number you don't post without an interior that holds the pocket's middle. He's shown versatility across the line in spring, the mark of a lineman with the technique to play multiple spots. He's a steady, powerful, low-mistake guard -- the unglamorous interior anchor that elite pass protection is built on.
Career Arc
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Big 12
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Awards
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Big 12
How he plays
2026 Outlook
Cincinnati
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Offensive line · Cincinnati
Returning around him
- 79% of 2024 offensive production back (Strong continuity)
- 4 Cincinnati players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -1 net (22 in / 23 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Cincinnati · Last season: 7-6 (AP #22) · Talent rank #73 · 2026 recruiting class #58
Perception vs tape
Cincinnati allowed the second-fewest sacks in the country, and Evan Tengesdahl was the anchor — a third-team All-American guard who's back, with his whole interior alongside him.
Tengesdahl's 2025 earned third-team AP All-America honors and an 85.4 PFF grade that ranked among the nation's top guards, the steadying force on a Cincinnati line that allowed just seven sacks all season — second-fewest in the country. At 6-3, 320, he's already an ESPN Way-Too-Early first-team All-American for 2026, and crucially, the interior returns intact around him. The forward stakes are a Big 12 contender's foundation: lines this good don't usually come back whole, and an offense that protects this well gives Cincinnati a real ceiling. He's the kind of interior anchor a coordinator builds protection schemes around.
How he plays
Tengesdahl is a high-grade interior pass protector with the size to handle power — 6-3, 320, with an 85.4 PFF mark that placed him among the best guards in the country. The team-level proof is the seven sacks allowed (second nationally), a number you don't post without an interior that holds the pocket's middle. He's shown versatility across the line in spring, the mark of a lineman with the technique to play multiple spots. He's a steady, powerful, low-mistake guard — the unglamorous interior anchor that elite pass protection is built on.
Heisman trajectory
Heisman Trajectory · 2025
Peak #5986
Peaked at #5986 this season.