By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer

If fans can't wait for the Super Bowl to satisfy their football hunger, they can tune in to ESPN2 at 2 p.m. today when four University of Cincinnati seniors will play in the fifth annual Rotary Gridiron Classic at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando.

Running back DeMarco McCleskey, cornerback Blue Adams, kicker Jonathan Ruffin and offensive lineman Kirt Doolin will further display their talent to NFL scouts, who have been watching workouts all week.

The four will play for Team USA against Team Florida, composed mainly of college seniors who played their college or high school ball in the Sunshine State.

"It's a great opportunity for us," Doolin said. "I'm playing against guys I watched on Saturdays when our games were over. This puts us in the spotlight - there are 210 NFL scouts down here - and they want to see how you handle pressure and adapt to a new place and to the NFL Europe coaching staff. And they want to see how fast you pick up the game."

Ruffin would love an immediate shot at the NFL but expects to wind up in NFL Europe as he strives to convince scouts he can kick in the pros.

In his UC career, Ruffin was 62-of-79 on field goals and 19-of-22 (.784) this past season, including a school-record 13 straight to end the year.

Last year, McCleskey rushed for 1,361 yards on 315 carries and totaled 17 touchdowns, all UC single-season records.

Adams intercepted six passes, which was 27th in the nation and tied a UC single-season record.

Doolin was first-team All-Conference USA and made the Verizon Academic All-District team.

"It's not as much about fun as you'd like down here," Doolin said, "because you're trying to earn a paycheck by playing at the next level. But that's great, too. We're taking it very seriously."

E-mail jerardi@enquirer.com