Coincidence? Probably not. University of Cincinnati football coach Rick Minter said Wednesday that his eighth recruiting class is probably one of his best two.

        This one followed a 7-5 season and Motor City Bowl appearance. The other came after the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl appearance and 8-4 campaign.

        “If I'm a kid out there, I certainly want to come to a team that's winning, a team that's going places and in the postseason and playing on television,” Minter said.

        Seventeen players — 15 from high schools and two from junior college — signed national letters of intent Wednesday to attend UC. A few more are expected to sign.

        Among the players who will join the Bearcats next fall are three local products: Defensive back Doug Monaghan (Colerain), lineman Matt Webster (Scott) and quarterback Kenwood Lattimore (Winton Woods), who could end up at linebacker.

        “It's a class that answers a lot of needs,” Minter said.

        Matt Tupuola, a defensive lineman from El Camino College in Torrance, Calif., may have the most immediate impact.

        “He is the one guy that we looked at who is capable of stepping into our lineup right away and fill the hole left by Mario Monds,” Minter said.

        With rare exception, Minter stayed away from special teams players and running backs, two areas in which the Bearcats return several players.

        In addition to Lattimore, UC signed two other quarterbacks: George Murray (Tallahassee, Fla.) and Billy Faulkner (Cynthiana, Ky.).

        “You hope no freshman has a chance to make (an impact) early,” Minter said, then added, “There are freshmen in the area capable of making an impact for us should they decide to come our way.”

        The Bearcats would still like to sign Gino Guidugli, the Highlands High School senior who committed to Kentucky but is waiting before signing in the wake of coach Hal Mumme's resignation Tuesday.

CINCINNATI
Player	Pos.	Ht	Wt	HS/Hometown
Ryan Brown	OL	6-2	290	Strongsville
Sean Cahill	OL	6-3	280	Upper Arlington
Trent Cole	DE	6-4	228	Xenia
Bill Faulkner	QB	6-3	200	Harrison Co.
Dennis Hart	TE	6-3	217	Compton (Calif.) CC
John Gromin	OL	6-6	295	Rosemont (Pa.)
Dennis Hart	TE	6-2	225	Compton (Calif.) CC
Kevin Hazel	WR	6-1	190	Cols. DeSales
Carl Jones	WR	5-10	180	Tampa (Fla.) Armwood
Justin LaForgia	WR	6-5	210	Rutherford (N.J.)
Kenwood Lattimore	QB	6-4	208	Winton Woods
Doug Monaghan	DB	6-3	200	Colerain
George Murray	QB	6-2	190	Tallahassee (Fla.)
Derick Ross	WR	5-11	180	Marion Harding
Matt Tupuola	DL	6-2	340	El Camino (Calif.) College
Matt Webster	OL	6-3	265	Scott
Jamie Wimmer	DE	6-2	265	Avon
Joel Yakovacol	OL	6-2	295	Mt. Lebanon (Pa.)
Jon Zwitt	RB	6-1	200	Greenwood (Ind.)

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