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Finding Guidugli's successor key

Big East team needs to fill void at QB

By Bill Koch

Enquirer staff writer

UC'S QUARTERBACK CANDIDATES

Name  Height  Weight  Year  Hometown  

Nick Davila 6-3 195 Jr. Alto Loma, Calif.

Dustin Grutza 6-3 200 Fr. Maysville

Tony Pike 6-4 190 Fr. Cincinnati

Todd Spitzer 6-5 228 So. Greer, S.C.

Craig Carey 6-4 215 Fr. Cincinnati

Dominick Goodman 6-1 198 Fr. Cincinnati

David Wess 6-1 195 So. Columbus

For the first time since 2002, the University of Cincinnati will convene for spring practice without Gino Guidugli entrenched as the starting quarterback.

In fact, when the Bearcats gather on the Nippert Stadium turf Tuesday for their first on-field workout as members of the Big East Conference, UC coach Mark Dantonio has no idea which quarterback will lead the Bearcats into their new league.

There's no shortage of candidates, though. UC will have four quarterbacks for spring drills and will add three more when summer camp begins in August.

"While we don't have an incumbent, we have more depth at the position," said Dantonio, who begins his second season as UC's head coach. "We have more quality players from top to bottom.

"With seven guys, somebody is going to step forward. We couldn't put ourselves in a position where we were depending on one person. We wanted to have a competitive situation there."

UC returns only three starters on offense and just four on defense from last season's 7-5 team that beat Marshall in the Fort Worth Bowl. The Bearcats have only 11 seniors.

But on the plus side, with all but one member of the coaching staff returning from last season, there is more familiarity between the players and coaches.

One experiment the UC coaches will be watching involves moving sophomore Jon Carpenter from fullback to linebacker, where the Bearcats lost all three of their starters from last year.

Carpenter, the brother of Ohio State linebacker Bobby Carpenter, played well last season on special teams, impressing the UC staff with his ability to get off blocks.

"He's going to work at it," Dantonio said of Carpenter. "Spring is a time we can invest our time in trying to see what's best for our football team. We'll try him for the first two weeks at linebacker and then make a decision, but there's definitely an opportunity there for him."

The real focus of this spring, though, is on the quarterback position, where redshirt freshman Dustin Grutza, sophomore Todd Spitzer, freshman Tony Pike (Reading High School) and junior-college transfer Nick Davila, a two-time All-American, will compete for the starting job.

Elder's Craig Carey, Colerain's Dominick Goodman and Columbus product David Wess - who originally signed with Minnesota - will join the mix in summer camp.

Grutza and Davila appear to have the edge as spring practice begins. Dantonio said Grutza would have stepped in at quarterback last year if Guidugli had been hurt for any length of time, and Davila has the advantage of junior-college experience.

"We wouldn't have brought a junior-college quarterback in if we didn't think it was a necessity," Dantonio said.

But the UC coach said every quarterback would get an equal opportunity to show what he can do. He plans to pick two from the spring group of four and then settle on three after the summer camp.

What made Guidugli so effective, Dantonio said, was not just his ability to throw the football, but his toughness, his penchant for turning a bad play into a productive one and his overall management of the offense.

Is there another Guidugli in this group? "There's no question that all these guys have good arm strength," Dantonio said. "It's what they do with it that matters."

The spring game is scheduled for 2 p.m. April 23.

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com

Finding Guidugli's successor key

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Davila boasts experience

Might have slight edge on the other candidates

By Bill Koch

Enquirer staff writer

During the second game of his senior season in high school, University of Cincinnati quarterback Nick Davila was scrambling to avoid a pass rush. When he tried to spin free, the tackler grabbed his leg and threw him into an opposing player's helmet, breaking Davila's collarbone.

The injury didn't end his season - Davila returned for the playoffs - but it did derail his journey to major-college football when the Pac-10 schools that were recruiting him turned their attention elsewhere.

That wasn't the worst thing that happened to him that year. The same week he broke his collarbone, he learned that his parents were getting a divorce.

"My dad was never around," Davila said. "I was going through this and then my dad leaving the house - it was real hard, but I battled through it."

Davila graduated from Damien High School in La Verne, Calif. - the same school that produced baseball's Mark McGwire - then headed off to resuscitate his football career at Chaffey (Calif.) College, where he was a two-time junior-college All-American.

That detour led him to UC, where he's competing with three other players during spring practice and three more who will enter the competition this summer, for the chance to replace Gino Guidugli as the Bearcats' quarterback.

He begins on an even footing with the others but does have an edge in experience. None of UC's quarterbacks has thrown a pass in a Division I-A game, but Davila has the advantage of having thrown a bunch of them in junior college.

"We targeted junior-college quarterbacks," UC coach Mark Dantonio said. "He was the guy we really liked on film. He had the ability to get away from a rush, he had a real quick release, he was very productive and worked in a wide-open offense."

Davila, who's of Mexican-American descent, chose UC over Sacramento State, San Jose State, Utah State and Nebraska.

He's a long way from home in the Midwest and admits to a jolt of culture shock when he arrived here Jan. 3.

"It's more the weather than anything else," Davila said, "and the women are a little bit prettier in California, but you've got to make the best of everything. I'm not here for the women. I'm here to play football."

Davila describes himself as "a tough kid," and as proof he points to his upbringing and the way he recovered from the broken collarbone.

"The doctors told me I was done for the season, but I said, 'Heck, no,' " Davila said. "So I went through therapy. I'm a pretty fast healer. I've broken all of my fingers.

"Mentally, I'm really tough. I'm the oldest of my brothers and sisters - four sisters and a little brother. My mom, she's a real strong woman. She raised all of us basically by herself. My grandma raised all of her kids by herself, and she had three jobs. I come from a really tough background."

Toughness is a trait Dantonio always mentions when he talks about what kind of football program he wants to build at UC. It's also the word he used most frequently last year when praising Guidugli.

But toughness is only part of what the Bearcats are seeking in a quarterback to lead them into the Big East this fall.

"I bring knowledge of the game," said Davila, who's not shy about listing his qualifications. "I've been at the junior-college level. I bring athletic ability. I'm left-handed. I'm 6-4 (listed at 6-3), but I need to get a little thicker. I'm working on that."

Cincinnati sports fans know the most famous Mexican-American to leave Southern California to play football in the Queen City was Bengals Hall of Fame tackle Anthony Muñoz. If Davila can experience a fraction of the success Muñoz had, UC will be in good shape at quarterback.

"It's wide open," Davila said of UC's quarterback situation. "We're all good athletes, or else we wouldn't be here. It's going to be fun."

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com

Davila boasts experience

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New opportunities in store for Bearcats

UC football

By Bill Koch

Enquirer staff writer

The University of Cincinnati football players and coaches will run onto the Nippert Stadium FieldTurf for the start of spring practice today with a little extra enthusiasm.

This is the first time the Bearcats will take the field to prepare for a Big East season and the first time they'll conduct an on-field practice as a member of the Bowl Championship Series.

"It's real now," said UC coach Mark Dantonio.

The Bearcats, coming off a 7-5 season and a victory over Marshall in the PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl, are looking forward to competing on a higher level.

"We've got the opportunity to play for the national championship," said junior tight end Brent Celek, a La Salle High grad and second-team All-Conference USA selection last year. "Playing those teams every week, it's going to bring our level of play up. I'm definitely more excited."

BENTON OUT: Sophomore running back Butler Benton, the Bearcats' leading returning rusher with 453 yards last year, will not participate in spring drills. Benton underwent shoulder surgery at the end of last season.

"He probably could go toward the end of spring, but we'll probably hold him out," Dantonio said.

DOUBLE DUTY: Digger Bujnoch will have a busy spring.

The Elder High graduate, who played offensive tackle on the Panthers' 2002 state championship team, was moved to tight end last year. He'll be moved back to tackle this spring, but is also expected to keep his tight-end skills sharp.

"He has to be in a position where he can play either-or," Dantonio said. "We don't want him to lose that ability to be in that position because it gives us a 280-pound tight end that can stand in there and do some things. But at some point, he needs to be able to play tackle. It depends on how it goes. Right now, he'll line up as our starting tackle."

NATURAL POSITION: Adam Roberts also will return to his natural position. Used last season as a defensive tackle because of the presence of standout defensive ends Trent Cole and Andre Frazier, Roberts will move back to end for his senior season.

"He'll be a much more physical player in some regards even than Andre was because he weighs 260 pounds and has a 400-pound bench press," Dantonio said. "He's going to be able to make his presence felt."

Roberts, who had 5.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks last season, welcomes the switch.

"It makes you free to be more of an athlete," he said.

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com

New opportunities in store for Bearcats

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'Young Cats' Launch Football Drills

Bearcats seek replacements for 16 departed starters.

Contact: Tom Hathaway

3/29/2005

Several key battles for position begin on Tuesday when the University of Cincinnati opens spring football practice.

While second-year head coach Mark Dantonio will welcome the return of 36 lettermen, he and his staff will work diligently over the next four weeks to find replacements for the 16 starters who departed following last year’s 7-5 campaign.

“We’ll be a very young football team,†Dantonio acknowledged. “We have some experience at some positions with the return of these 36 lettermen to the team.

“Our goals will be to get the best 22 on the field on offense and defense, and then fill in the special teams in the same type of order,†explained Dantonio of the Bearcats’ immediate task. “We did the same thing last year, in a lot of respects, because last year we came in not knowing too much about exactly who was who.

“The offense and defense systems are in place. The special teams systems are in place. We know our players better, they know us better, and they know the expectations. So those are all positives, things we have to build on, the strengths that we have to rely on,†the coach added.

One of the key vacancies to fill is at quarterback, where UC lost four-year starter Gino Guidugli, who rewrote the school’s passing records. Todd Spitzer, a redshirt sophomore, Dustin Grutza, a redshirt freshman, junior college transfer Nick Davila and true frosh Tony Pike will battle for the starting job during spring drills. That battle will likely last through most of preseason practice, according to Dantonio, to give incoming freshmen Craig Carey and Dominick Goodman and first-year sophomore David Wess a shot.

Cincinnati will also have to find replacements for all three of its linebackers, three of the four starters on the defensive line and four of the five offensive line slots. Junior college transfer Leo Morgan and sophomore Jon Carpenter, who is being moved from fullback, are expected to play key roles in the rebuilding of the linebacker corps. Senior Adam Roberts, who excelled at tackle last season, will return to defensive end to help offset the loss of All-C-USA picks Trent Cole and Andre Frazier. Steve Eastlake, a senior who has started the last 24 games at left tackle, will anchor the offensive line.

“I like our attitude. I like our toughness,†stated Dantonio. “We are going to be a young football team. We’re going to take small steps. We look at this as an opportunity to get better as a young football team. We expect to be successful.â€Â

Notes

• UC will practice Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons this week, 2:30-5 p.m., and on Saturday.

• The coaching staff will not exactly be starting from ground zero in terms of finding replacements for the 25 seniors on the 2004 UC squad. During the practices in December leading up to the Bearcats’ appearance in the Fort Worth Bowl, those seniors were dismissed from part of the practice sessions to allow the staff to work with the younger players, sometimes trying them in new positions.

• Sophomore running back Butler Benton will be held out of spring drills. Benton, the Bearcats’ second-leading rusher in 2004, underwent shoulder surgery during the offseason and is still recovering.

• Youth emphasized: Dantonio noted that approximately 53 members of the 2005 squad will be freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores.

'Young Cats' Launch Football Drills

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CINCINNATI

INSIDE SLANT

Cincinnati got a taste of the Big East last year and it wasn't exactly sweet.

In their last year in Conference USA the Bearcats played a non-conference game at Syracuse and lost 19-7. Then they played future Big East rival South Florida in a C-USA game and won 45-23 but followed that one game later with an inexplicable 70-7 loss to Louisville, another former C-USA team headed for the Big East.

The Bearcats went on to finish 7-5 and lose a core of experienced seniors who played in three bowls in four seasons at Cincinnati. Matching that success with a young, inexperienced team in a new conference isn't going to be easy for second-year coach Mark Dantonio.

"That will be exciting for us," Dantonio said. "I think the whole Big East conference will be a great experience."

Perhaps he hasn't taken a close look at a schedule that includes road games at Penn State, Pittsburgh and Syracuse, as well as home game against Connecticut, Louisville and West Virginia.

"I think if you're going to talk about being in the BCS, you need to be able to prepare to play the best," Dantonio said. "Penn State is there and it's a great experience for our players."

NOTES, QUOTES

BUILDING BLOCKS: For a team with so few returning starters, defensive backs Antoine Horton and JaJuan Hall gives the Bearcats some much-needed experience in the secondary.

COACHING CAROUSEL: Former coach Rick Minter seemed to lose three or four assistant coaches a year, but second-year coach Mark Dantonio lost one assistant coach off his first staff when offensive line coach Jeff Uhlenhake left for a similar position with the Cleveland Browns. Dantonio replaced him with Dan Roushar, the former offensive coordinator at Illinois. Left tackle Steve Eastlake is Cincinnati's only returning starter from last season on the offensive line.

SCHEDULE SITUATION: The Bearcats have a chance to gain some early momentum with non-conference games against Eastern Michigan and Western Carolina, but then again, road games at Penn State and Miami of Ohio could negate that momentum. They open their Big East schedule at Pittsburgh on Oct 8 and also play conference games at Syracuse, USF and Rutgers, with home games against 2004 bowl teams Connecticut, Louisville and West Virginia.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "It's nice to have something to point to and have some direction. We can begin to talk about it and get our guys excited and point toward those dates. It's a tremendous challenge." - Second-year coach Mark Dantonio on Cincinnati's first Big East schedule.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

STARS OF 2004: RB Butler Benton - He gained 453 yards in a backup role last season and will be called on for more playing time and productivity in 2005.

WR Earnest Jackson - He made the transition from QB to WR as a true freshman and came on strong late in the season to catch 24 passes.

TOP NEWCOMERS: QBs Craig Carey, Dominick Goodman and Nick Davila - All three quarterbacks will get the chance to compete for the chance to replace four-year starter Gino Guidugli. Carey and Goodman are freshmen, while Davila is a two-time junior college All-American honors at Chaffey Junior College.

DL Terrill Byrd - A 6-foot, 285-pound run plugger who has the potential to hold down the middle of the line for the Bearcats as a true freshman. "Without exception, he's one of the finest football players I've ever seen, from when I was at Michigan State, from when I was at Ohio State," Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio said. "What he lacks in height, he makes up for in his strength, durability, exceptional quickness and tenacity."

ROSTER REPORT: The Bearcats are looking forward to the debut of running back Delbert Ferguson, a highly regarded signee who redshirted in 2004 while he recovered from a broken leg.

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Cincinnati Bearcats

2005 Schedule

9/1 Eastern Michigan

9/10 at Penn State

9/17 Western Carolina

9/28 at Miami (Ohio)

10/8 at Pittsburgh

10/15 Connecticut

10/22 Louisville

10/29 at Syracuse

11/9 West Virginia

11/19 at South Florida

11/26 at Rutgers

2004 overall record:

7-5

Conference record: 5-3 (C-USA)

Returning starters

Offense: 3, Defense: 2, Kicker/punter: 2

2004 statistical leaders (* returners)

Rushing: Richard Hall (1,012 yds)

Passing: Gino Guidugli (2,633 yds)

Receiving: Hannibal Thomas (1,028 yds)

Tackles: Tyjuan Hagler (82)

Sacks: Trent Cole (8.5)

Interceptions: Doug Monaghan (4)

Spring Answers: Believe it or not, there are a few. For starters, the situation at running back should be fine. There are no 1,000-yarders in the bunch, but Butler Benton and Bradley Glatthaar are serviceable and Delbert Ferguson, a stud recruit who was redshirted last season after a nasty high school injury, will be in the mix. And don't forget about senior Carl Jones, who's played about every position on the field the last few years and was UC's second-leading rusher in '03. ... With the depth at running back, John Carpenter was moved to outside linebacker and made an instant impact this spring. He'll play right away. ... On a team searching for standouts in so many areas, there are at least two places the Bearcats don't need to look. TE Brent Celek and kicker Kevin Lovell will be certainties in what might be an uncertain autumn.

Fall Questions: Well, where shall we begin? The team graduated 26 seniors and 17 starters and features 53 freshmen and sophomores – a really nice way to start its new life in the Big East. At quarterback, longtime starter Gino Guidugli needs a replacement. Redshirt freshman Dustin Grutza, who showed early signs of poise and leadership this spring, presently has the edge over JC All-American Nick Davila. It's not over yet, though. Todd Spitzer is still in the picture and three freshmen arrive in August to join the fray. ... At receiver, coach Mark Dantonio better hope someone emerges as the go-to guy once the season starts, much like Thomas did last season. ... Both lines are a mess. The O-line lost four starters and is undersized. The D-line features a legit pass rusher in Adam Roberts, but not much else as of yet. ... And yes, the Bearcats lost all their starting linebackers and nearly all their backups, along with three of four starters in the secondary. Position battles at nearly all those spots will resume this summer.

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