When Dontay Corleone announced that he would be returning to the Cincinnati football program for his senior season back in late November 2o23, it was a huge win for the Bearcats on a number of different fronts. First and foremost, Corleone is arguably one of the top interior defensive linemen in the country. The 300-pounder is a space-eating force who has been named an All-Conference performer in both the AAC, and in the Big 12.

But maybe more importantly, Dontay Corleone was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, and takes pride in his quest to return the Bearcats to the top tier of the sport… a place that the program had been at various points in time this century. But the excitement about Corleone's return was dampened in June when it was announced that the junior would be out indefinitely with blood clots in his lungs.

Fortunately, Dontay Corleone's absence would only extend to one game, a season-opening win over Towson. Now, Corleone has been cleared to return to the field, and he'll be making his 2024 debut when Cincinnati takes on their former Big East rival Pittsburgh.

“Source: Cincinnati All-American defensive tackle Dontay ‘The Godfather' Corleone will return against Pittsburgh today and start for the Bearcats,” says ESPN's college football insider Pete Thamel on X. “Corleone was cleared for full contact this week after being treated for blood clots in his lungs in June.”

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Although Pete Thamel was the one who apparently broke the news that Dontay Corleone would be returning against Pitt, Corleone himself seemingly gave Bearcats fans a hint that he'd be on the field with a social media post of his own on Friday, encouraging fans to pile in to Nippert Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Affectionately nicknamed “The Godfather” due to his last name, Dontay Corleone finished last season with 39 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks.