“Recruiting,” UC football coach Rick Minter said, “is never an exact science.”

        This much is exact: There has never been a better time to be a Bearcat football player. Three bowls in five years. Nippert Stadium, cozy and retro, with the best turf in the area, even if it is plastic. Gino Guidugli, making it cool to play at home.

        Signing day is less than a month away. Minter says the Bearcats are capitalizing on their recent success. Local high school coaches beg to differ.

        Minter calls his relationship with area coaches “good and solid.”

        “Our doors are always open,” he says. Local coaches wonder why they can't get their phone calls returned.

        Donnie Johnson ran for 2,900 yards at North College Hill last fall. He scored 35 touchdowns. He hasn't heard from a UC coach since last spring.

        “My sophomore year, I told them I wanted to go there,” Johnson said Thursday. “I went to their football camp (after) my junior year. They didn't show any interest, so I decided, what's the point?” Johnson is expected to sign with Penn State.

        Why is Donnie Johnson going to Penn State? Why won't Josh Williams, the 6-foot-3 wide receiver at St. Xavier, be running 40 yards in 4.4 seconds for Guidugli's passes?

        Why did the Bearcats coaches say to DeShawn Wynn, the star running back at Reading, “If things don't work out elsewhere, you could always come back.” Wynn will visit the University of Florida this weekend.

        Out-of-town coaches routinely stop at high schools here, even when they're not courting local players. They call it “relationship-building.” UC's coaching staff changes like the tide. One high school coach recalls seeing nine different UC assistants in the last decade. So much for building relationships.

        Last fall, North College Hill coach Bruce Baarendse sent tapes to UC of two of his senior linebackers, Jerrmel Turnage and Martez Ivery. Take a look at these guys. They could help you.

        He never heard from a UC coach. Turnage is visiting Penn State this weekend; Ivery is expected to sign with Eastern Michigan.

        If only UC would recruit football players as hard as Moeller does.

        Baarendse isn't angry; he went to UC from North College Hill. He started two years on the defensive line before graduating in 1982. He remembers his class having seven or eight local players. He roomed with a kid from Moeller.

        Baarendse laments UC's missed chances. “They have some things they can sell. They've been to bowls; they're in a good conference. I understand they want to compete with the Big Ten schools. (But) I really wish they would pursue harder some of the kids that aren't stand-out blue-chippers.”

        Maybe the best players every year are lost to Michigan, Ohio State and the like. But the next group should not be getting away. Not if UC wants football to be anything greater than basketball's stepchild.

        Minter defends himself. He makes good points. We can't get the blue-chip players, he says. If a kid wants to visit Florida, Alabama, Michigan and Ohio State, UC won't be on his list. The Bearcats wish the player well and tell him their door is always open.

        That's what they did with Guidugli, when he chose Kentucky. You can't argue with the results.

        Minter says, “What some people deem "blue chip' may not be "blue chip' in our eyes.” Besides, he says, “most of those guys want to leave home.”

        So maybe UC's problem is it aims too low. Why not bull-rush a player like Donnie Johnson? UC backed off him when he committed verbally to Illinois last summer. Penn State didn't. Right now, is UC that much of a comedown from Penn State?

        At UC, Johnson would play in front of family and friends. He'd probably start right away; he'd probably be a star. If Johnson didn't make it in the pros, he'd still have invaluable business contacts here.

        Instead, Johnson says: “If UC had showed interest, I'd have looked at them harder. Now, I'm going to Penn State.” That leaves Baarendse to wonder if Johnson is the only opportunity his alma mater missed.

        Contact Paul Daugherty at 768-8454; fax: 768-8550; e-mail: pdaugherty@enquirer.com.

DAUGHERTY: Have local prep stars slipped by? Maxiell says best yet to come

XU plan: No foul, no harm
Coach Crable denies allegations
Anderson follows correct path
Aviators' flight has been surprise
Basketball team bonds off court
New programs hope to hit growth spurt
Chaminade-Julienne hands Springboro first loss
McAuley's Rust honored
Oak Hills triumphs in summit meeting
Kentucky girls basketball
Ohio girls basketball
Wrestling: Many schools battling to become area's best in Division I
Pokey's return not ruled out
Reds notebook
Yankees sign David Wells
Baseball notebook
Florida's Zook tries to get QB to stay
Duke rebounds with 25-point win
Sanders leads NKU men to 10th victory, 70-55
Shaky Wildcat team looks to right ship
Women: NKU 82, Wisconsin-Parkside 67
Ducks sink Admirals behind Zinger's goals
Turfway Park cancels races
Bruins shut out Kings
Malone, Jazz beat Rockets
Coming up this week