By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Mark Dantonio, the University of Cincinnati's new football coach, took a few minutes out from a busy first day on the job Monday to stop by basketball practice and say hello to basketball coach Bob Huggins.

Huggins congratulated Dantonio, the former Ohio State defensive coordinator, on the Buckeyes' win in the Fiesta Bowl last week. Dantonio then looked at a few of the chiseled UC basketball players, who were stretching in preparation for practice. "It looks like some of them would make good tight ends," he said.

Dantonio, 47, was introduced Dec. 23 as UC's new head football coach, then returned to Ohio State to prepare for the Fiesta Bowl. But before he left for Tempe, Ariz., he had a chance to view tape of the 2003 Bearcats, who went 5-7 in Rick Minter's 10th and final year as head coach.

His preliminary appraisal is that he'll have some quality players during his rookie year as a head coach.

"I was impressed by how hard they play," Dantonio said. "I was pleased with the talent. There were some guys I thought did some good things."

Dantonio, who met with the UC players for the first time Monday afternoon, singled out quarterback Gino Guidugli, running back Richard Hall, linebacker Jamar Enzor and defensive ends Andre Frazier and Trent Cole as players who looked promising on tape.

UC returns nine starters on offense, eight on defense, plus its punter and placekicker. But Dantonio said he's not ready to formulate an opinion on what kind of team the Bearcats might field Sept. 4, when they open their season at Ohio State.

"I'll say the same thing I said every year at Ohio State," Dantonio said. "We'll evaluate that as the season progresses. It's way too early for me to tell. The biggest thing we want to do is build a foundation, start from the bottom and build up. We'll see where we're at and get better."

Dantonio, who leaves today for the coaches' convention in San Antonio, has not hired any assistant coaches. He said he'll meet with some coaches at the convention and with some of the members of Minter's staff before making any decisions.

"You can't rush into things when you're making these decisions," Dantonio said. "This is as crucial as anything."

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E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com