After leading Cincinnati to its second straight 7-5 season and Motor City Bowl, Rick Minter was rewarded with a three-year contract extension through the 2005 season.

Clearly, the Cincinnati administration likes the direction the program is headed. The Bearcats have been to bowl games in three of the last five seasons and have posted five winning seasons in the last seven years. In 2000, they finished second in Conference USA, and last season they finished in a two-way tie for second.

It has been one of the best stretches for the program in the school’s 114-year history. The once-struggling program has finally figured out a way to win.

Team Info Location:   Cincinnati, OH   Conference:   Conference USA   Last Season:   7-5 (.583)   Conference Record:   5-2 (t-2nd)   Off. Starters Returning:   8  Def. Starters Returning:   8  Nickname:   Bearcats   Colors:   Red & Black   Home Field:   Nippert Stadium (35,000)   Head Coach:   Rick Minter (Henderson State '78)   Record at School:   41-49-1 (8 years)   Career Record:   41-49-1 (8 years)   Assistants:   Rusty Burns (Springfield '78) Offensive Coordinator      A.J. Christoff (Idaho '71) Defensive Coordinator/Safeties      Mark Criner (Boise State '90) Linebackers      Stacy Searels (Auburn '90) Offensive Line      Phil Dorn (Wittenburg '82) Tight Ends/Recruiting Coordinator      Dino Dawson (Wayne State '91) Cornerbacks      Jeff Filkovski (Alleghney '91) Quarterbacks      Amos Jones (Alabama '80) Running Backs      Tracy Rocker (Auburn '93) Defensive Line   Team Wins (last 5 yrs.):   8-2-3-7-7   Team Rank (last 5 yrs.):   58-94-77-66-68   2001 Finish:   Lost to Toledo in Motor City Bowl.

"I am happy that the university and Rick Minter have agreed to an extension that will keep him as football coach through the 2005 season," Cincinnati athletic director Bob Goin said. "Rick has done an excellent job of building a competitive program. The experience that he has gained as head coach the last eight years will serve the university well in the future."

Minter is far from satisfied. He wants to win bowl games and take the next step in C-USA. He’s a self-described workaholic, the last guy to leave the office every day.

After winning only five games in 1998 and ’99 combined, Minter’s hard work paid off the last two seasons.

"I am excited about Bearcat football and I look forward to the challenge and opportunities that lie ahead," Minter said after receiving the contract extension. "The future looks bright with the returning players, new facilities on the horizon and the continued exposure of the program through Conference USA."

Minter appears to have another team that can contend for the league title.

It was considered a recruiting coup when Minter was able to sign quarterback Gino Guidugli two years ago, and he lived up to his billing. Guidugli, the C-USA Freshman of the Year last season, took over as the starter in the second game of the season. Barring injury, Guidugli will be running the offense for the next three years, and that means the Bearcats will be in good shape. Along with Guidugli, the nucleus of the 2001 team returns.

Minter, however, wasn’t satisfied with his coaching staff after the 2001 season. Linebackers coach Andy Hendel and defensive line coach O’Neill Gilbert weren’t asked to stay. Both were at Cincinnati for one year.

"At the end of every season I meet with our staff and determine whether we have met the goals that we set for our program," Minter said. "We had a very good year on the field, going to the Motor City Bowl for the second year in a row, but I feel for us to continue to strive for championship level football, I felt these changes needed to be made."

Tracy Rocker was hired to coach the defensive line and Mark Criner was hired as linebackers coach.

Minter also had to replace two other assistants, including offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin, who left for the same position at Baylor. Dino Dawson was hired to coach the cornerbacks with the departure of Tyrone Dixon, who resigned as the Bearcats’ receivers coach and went to Kansas.

Taking Baldwin’s position was Rusty Burns, who was Cincinnati’s quarterbacks coach from 1989-91 and was offensive coordinator at Wyoming the last three seasons. While at Wyoming, Baldwin helped develop All-Mountain West quarterback Casey Bramlet, who threw for 3,069 yards and was 14th in the nation in total offense. Under Burns, Wyoming’s offense was one of the most improved in the Mountain West last season.

Guidugli has a sound grip on the starting quarterback’s job. Now, the Bearcats must settle on his backup.

As a freshman, Guidugli brought some impressive credentials to Cincinnati, and he soon backed them up on the field. In his debut against Army in the second game of the season, Guidugli completed 31-of-41 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns, rallying the Bearcats from behind three times in the fourth quarter.

His 12-yard touchdown pass with seven seconds left lifted the Bearcats to a 24-21 victory.

For the rest of the season, Guidugli displayed leadership skills and pinpoint passing not often seen in a freshman. Five times during the season, he helped really the Bearcats to victories from double-digit deficits or last second scores.

In the regular-season finale against Memphis, Guidugli led the Bearcats on a 75-yard, 11-play drive in the last two minutes for a 36-34 victory. He completed a 36-yard pass to Jon Olinger on a fourth-and-27 and won the game with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Olinger with four seconds to go.

Guidugli was the unanimous choice for C-USA Freshman of the Year after setting school and conference records for passes attempted and completed, passing yards, touchdowns and total offense (2,498).

He completed 185-of-317 passes (58.4 percent) for 2,573 yards and 16 touchdowns. He threw only nine interceptions.

In the off-season, Guidugli hit the weight room and added 15 pounds. He’s now listed at 6-3 and 215 pounds.

"Gino is getting better," Minter said. "The best part of his game is from the chest up. He has a great arm and physique, but the attributes that make him a great quarterback are his heart and his head. He’s very cerebral."

Sophomore George Murray (6-2, 191) entered spring practice as the No. 2 quarterback but will be pressed for the job by senior John Leonard (6-2, 199).

Leonard came out of spring practice in 2001 as the starter, but was knocked out of the job when he suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right (throwing) elbow. He had surgery in the fall and wasn’t throwing again until early in the summer of 2002.

If he can recover, Leonard certainly has the arm to claim the backup’s job. A transfer from Arizona State, Leonard played in 10 games for the Sun Devils in 1999. In junior college, Leonard threw for 2,765 yards and 31 touchdowns.

In two of his first three seasons, senior DeMarco McCleskey (5-11, 215) has been the Bearcats’ leading rusher, and that shouldn’t change this season.

McCleskey led the Bearcats last season, rushing for 765 yards and seven touchdowns and averaging 4.3 yards per carry. However, McCleskey shared the rushing load with two departed backs -- Ray Jackson (592 yards and seven touchdowns ) and Nathan Wize (106 yards and two touchdowns).

Junior Tedric Harwell (5-11, 185) and sophomore Richard Hall (5-11, 198) were second and third, respectively, on the spring depth chart. Harwell is the leading candidate for more playing time in 2002 because of his experience last season.

Harwell is the quickest of the backs, having run a 4.49 40, and his style complements McClesky. He had nine carries for 33 yards last season.

Harris’ career has been hampered by knee injuries, but he’s almost two years along from the most recent problem and could push Harwell for the backup’s job.

Sophomore Richard Hall (5-11, 198) sat out the 2001 season after transferring from Ohio State. Hall could be the featured back next season. As a senior at Cincinnati’s Wyoming High, Hall rushed for 2,855 yards and 42 touchdowns. He practiced with the team last year and earned the award as the top offensive player on the scout team, but he hasn’t played a game since his high school days.

Sophomore E.J. Lilly (5-8, 199) made the team a year ago and played well on special teams. He rushed for 6,178 yards and 85 touchdowns in his career at Alliance (Ohio) High School.

Red-shirt freshman Jonny Zwitt (5-11, 203) may also be a candidate for special teams this year. Zwitt rushed for 2,526 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior at Cedar Grove High School in Greenwood, Ind.

Junior Booker Vann (5-11, 220) is also a candidate for playing time. Vann sat out last season after transferring from Kent State.

Junior David Harris (5-10, 214), who underwent ACL surgeries on both knees two years ago, rushed for 83 yards on 17 carries in the spring game.

One of the strengths of the offense is the receiving corps, because of its versatility.

Senior LaDaris Vann (5-9, 202), senior Tye Keith (5-1, 181) and senior Olinger (6-3, 218) have combined for 1,949 yards and 14 touchdowns on 142 career catches. They rank as the top wideout trio in more than 30 years at Cincinnati.

Vann is the career record-holder with 133 catches for 1,739 yards. Last season, Vann led C-USA and ranked 16th nationally with 73 catches for 902 yards. He was chosen to the All-C-USA first team.

The rest of the receivers lack experience.

Only two of the returning receivers -- sophomores Daven Holly (5-11,180) and Murray, the converted quarterback -- have caught passes in college. Holly caught four passes for 28 yards last season, while Murray had one catch for 23 yards.

Freshmen Carl Jones (5-9, 181) and Derick Ross (5-10, 179) will look to gain experience this season.

"We have to improve our depth at this position so that we don’t have to use our starters on every play and keep them fresh," Minter said.

The Bearcats don’t often utilize the tight end in their spread offense, but that doesn’t mean Minter wants to be caught without one. Sophomore A.J. Lucius (6-3, 242) is the probable starter and freshman Justin LaForgia (6-5, 215) the likely backup.

Three starters and four players from the regular offensive line rotation return this season. Leading the way will be seniors Kirk Doolin (6-4, 306) and Josh Gardner (6-4, 285) and junior Josh Shneyderov (6-2, 272).

Doolin, the starter at left guard, will start for the third year, while Shneyderov will be the starting center for the second straight season.

Gardner, who will start at right tackle, has started 35 games in his career.

At left tackle, sophomore Kyle Takavitz (6-4, 303) is coming off an outstanding first season when he was chosen to the C-USA All-Freshman team. He’s the leading candidate at left tackle after spending his first season as the top backup for left guard and left tackle.

Red-shirt freshman Joe Yakovac (6-2, 299) could have been a top backup last season, but fortunately was red-shirted. Thus, Yakovac is the leading candidate to start at right guard.

Sophomore Clint Stickdorn (6-6, 297) was Takavitz’ backup at left tackle at the start of spring practice, with sophomore Adam Shorter (6-6, 283) as the backup at left guard.

Sophomore Matt Mercer (6-3, 294) was the backup for Schneyderov at center, junior Travis McGee (6-3, 294) the backup for Yakovac at right guard and Jeremy Schlicher (6-6, 280) behind Gardner at right tackle.

Tackles in the hunt for playing time include sophomore Torrence Bounds (6-5, 320), sophomore Steve Eastlake (6-6, 292) and freshman Richard Deutch (6-5, 320). Sophomore Jon Perron (6-4, 315), junior Charles Taylor (6-3, 343) and freshman Sean Cahill (6-2, 282) are likely reserves at guard, and freshman Matt Webster (6-3, 257) could see time at center.

Record-setting kicker Jonathan Ruffin (5-10, 183) is back, and that means the place-kicking duties are in good hands.

Ruffin was a consensus All-American in 2000 when he received the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best kicker. He made 26-of-29 field-goal attempts in 2000 and takes a streak of 58 consecutive made PAT kicks into the 2002 season.

Last year, Ruffin made 12-of-16 field-goal attempts and all 36 point-after kicks. His long field goal last year was 45 yards. He has scored in a school-record 33 straight games and needs five more consecutive PAT kicks to tie the school record of 63 straight set by Eric Richards from 1994-97.

Backing up Ruffin will be red-shirt freshman Joe Wolke (6-0, 177), who entered spring practice as the starting punter. Wolke was a walk-on in 2001 and earned a spot on the roster.

It’s a veteran group at defensive line, with four seniors as probable starters.

Leading the way is Antwan Peek (6-2, 244), who was chosen to the All-C-USA first-team defense after the 2001 season. Peek has great speed for an end -- he has run a 4.54 40 -- and holds school records for sacks in a game (four against Louisiana-Monroe), in a season (12.5) and career (21).

On the other end, Derrick Adams (6-0, 254) is a three-year starter with a reputation for making big plays. Last year, Adams had 53 tackles with 4.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss.

Red-shirt freshman Adam Roberts (6-3, 232 was Adams’ backup heading into spring practices, while sophomore Andre Frazier (6-5, 210) was Peek’s backup.

Frazier, a former walk-on, was chosen to the C-USA All-Freshman team last season when he finished with 41 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.

The two starting tackles will likely be senior DeMarcus Billings (6-0, 263) and senior Ka’Son Love (6-2, 267). Both joined the team last year after playing junior college ball for two years. Billings had 34 tackles last season with seven tackles for loss and one sack; Love had 22 tackles with two tackles for loss.

Others vying for time on the line include seniors Darryll Ransom (6-1, 267), Matt Tupuola (6-2, 335), and Ben Piening (6-5, 276). Ransom is an end, while Tupuola and Piening are tackles. Red-shirt freshman A.J. Xhudo (6-3, 286) was the backup to Love at one tackle spot and Tupuola was the other tackle behind Billings in the spring.

No job is safe within the linebacker corps, as several young players will vie for starting jobs this season.

Seniors Willis Edwards (5-11, 229) and Jason Hunt (6-4, 235) are returning starters at middle linebacker and outside linebacker, respectively. However, Minter is looking to improve a rush defense that allowed 176.8 rushing yards per game last season and may make some changes.

Sophomore Jamar Enzor (6-1, 226) will push Edwards for the starting job at middle linebacker and sophomore Jamey Murphy (6-2, 233) will challenge for Hunt’s job at outside linebacker.

Junior Jason Russell (6-2, 206) didn’t play a down last year, but he entered the spring as the starter at the other linebacker spot. Russell is a tall and lanky defender who appeared to have enough natural abilities for the position that the staff slotted him No. 1 in the spring.

Sophomore Jermaine Wilson (6-0, 209) was slotted as the backup to Russell at the other outside linebacker.

Juniors Tommy Simpson (6-4, 207) and Tyjuan Hagler (6-2, 225) and sophomore Akanni Turner (6-1, 196) should also be factors -- especially as the Bearcats try to shore up their rush defense.

Free safety Ivan Fields (5-11, 184), a senior, leads an experienced starting lineup in the secondary, but the Bearcats will be counting on younger players for depth.

Fields, who will start for the third season, was third on the team in tackles last season with 86 and played all but 86 snaps for the Bearcats’ defense.

Two other starters return in the secondary -- sophomore strong safety Doug Monoghan (6-3, 207) and junior cornerback Zach Norton (6-0, 180).

Monoghan, chosen to The Sporting News Freshman All-America second team, led the team in tackles with 101 and became only the second freshman in school history to finish with 100 or more tackles.

The other starter will likely be senior Blue Adams (5-10, 187), a regular in the secondary rotation for the last couple of years. Adams was hampered by knee problems early in his career but bounced back last season, making 26 tackles and intercepting two passes.

Junior Marvin Allen (5-11, 195) was slotted as Adams’ backup in the spring, while sophomore Monyell Williams (5-8, 158) was Norton’s backup.

Senior Frank Lang (5-10, 193) was the backup strong safety and junior John Hinson (6-0, 198) the second-string free safety in the spring.

With the departure of three-time All-C-USA punter Adam Wulfeck, the punting job should be a hotly contested one this fall.

Wulfeck averaged 43.8 yards per punt last season, which ranked third in the conference, and was on the all-conference second team.

Wolke, the red-shirt freshman kicker, was listed as the starting punter in the spring ahead of sophomore Kyle McDaniel (6-2, 204). However, freshman signee Chet Ervin (6-3, 175) will be given the same chance to win the job for the 2002 season.

Ervin, from Henry County (Ky.) High, led Northern Kentucky in punting average with 42.6 yards per punt.

Ruffin gives the Bearcats a solid kicker with good experience, but the punting job is wide open and that can be scary. It needs to be settled in the fall.

Vann is back as the punt returner after averaging 8.3 yards on 35 returns last season. Peek and Keith both returned one punt last season, and Peek made his count. He went 45 yards for a touchdown on his only return.

The kickoff return job is open with the departures of the top three returners. McCleskey returned one last season and Vann returned two.

Of the 23 signees in the 20002 class, eight are junior college players. Minter says he had a couple of reasons for going the JUCO route this time.

Tupuola, the defensive tackle from El Camino Community College; offensive lineman Anthony Colton (6-4, 280) of Middle Georgia College; defensive tackle John Feaster (6-2, 280) of Pearl River (Miss.) Junior College; defensive lineman DeShawn Gibbs (6-1, 270) of Long Beach (Calif.) Community College; and tight end Russ Owens (6-5, 265) of Dodge City (Kansas)Community College.

The running back is Derick Edington (5-8, 190) of A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C. Edington rushed for 2,239 yards and 34 touchdowns as a senior, leading the team to a 12-1 record. He was chosen the state’s player of the year by NCpreps.com.

Rodrick Stevens (6-3, 200) is the lone quarterback in the class. Stevens threw for more than 1,500 yards and rushed for 200 yards as a senior at Shanks High School in Quincy, Fla.

BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

Cincinnati has an emerging star at quarterback in Guidugli, and senior running back McCleskey is poised for a breakout year. The receivers are very good, too, so the offense is set with skill players.

It will be up to the offensive line to protect Guidugli and open some holes for McCleskey and the other backs. If the line can do that, the Bearcats’ offense should be hard to stop.

Defensively, the Bearcats need to improve against the run. They were eighth in C-USA against the run last year, allowing 176.8 yards per game. Several moves could be made in the linebacking corps.

The Bearcats will be bidding for another bowl this season, and should be in the title hunt in Conference USA.