By Colleen Kane
The Cincinnati Enquirer

New UC football coach Mark Dantonio logged on to Cincinnati.Com to chat with readers Thursday afternoon and emphasized the need to build relationships with his players to prepare for the Bearcats' 2004 season.

And that includes relationships with recruits, said Dantonio, the former Ohio State defensive coordinator who took some heat in his first weeks as the Bearcats coach when he announced he would re-evaluate the high school recruits that had orally committed to UC to see how they would fit in with his program.

"Revoking a scholarship is an immature way of talking about it," Dantonio said during the chat. "We simply restarted the recruiting process, which was the best interest for everyone involved. These relationships need to be based on trust and honesty, and that needs to be developed over time ..."

Dantonio wasn't allowed to comment on specific recruits per NCAA regulations, but he said the response from recruits in the local community was "excellent" and said he will continue to focus the Bearcats' out-of-state recruiting efforts in the South and East.

In the little he has seen of the current UC players, Dantonio said he was excited about the inside linebackers, defensive ends, quarterback and offensive line.

He also said his coaching staff would be completed "shortly" and revealed how he hopes to attract more UC fans.

"First of all, people will be able to identify with the Big East Conference teams. That should be exciting for the people of Cincinnati," Dantonio said. "We will always play a solid non-conference schedule. I think we will always play exciting football, and I believe people will respond to that. People really don't know you until they know how much you care."

About 50 people logged on to chat with Dantonio, compared to nearly 200 people each who signed in for previous Marvin Lewis and Jon Kitna chats.

• Read the chat transcript