It was an unofficial visit Monaghan made because the Spartans had been sending him letters and because he was interested in going to school there.

But it turned out Michigan State wasn't really interested in him after all.

The Spartans' associate head coach and secondary coach at the time was current University of Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio, who showed Monaghan and his father around the campus.

After they returned to Cincinnati, Dantonio sent word to Colerain coach Kerry Coombs that Monaghan wasn't fast enough to play for the Spartans.

"I was like, 'All right, I'll go somewhere else,' " Monaghan said.

That somewhere else turned out to be UC, where he was welcomed by coach Rick Minter.

Four years later, Minter is gone and Monaghan is playing safety for Dantonio, who has nothing but nice things to say about him.

"Doug Monaghan is the kind of guy that makes coaching fun," Dantonio said.

Monaghan started his first game as a freshman, and he has anchored the strong safety position for the past three years. He's off to a great start in his senior year. He had two interceptions last week against Syracuse, giving him three this season and eight for his career, which places him ninth on UC's career list. He's also the Bearcats' co-leader in tackles this season with 25.

But statistics aside, what Dantonio has grown to like about Monaghan is his toughness and his approach to the game.

"You appreciate everything about him," Dantonio said. "When we go to practice today, he'll play in practice like he does on Saturday. That's the thing we have to be able to do as a football team."

Monaghan, who has played in all but two of UC's 40 games in his three-plus years at the school, says he got his toughness, intensity and work ethic from Colerain's Coombs.

"If I ever slacked off, he'd be on me," Monaghan said. "If you didn't run to the ball at Colerain, he'd be telling you: 'Run to the ball. That's not good enough. You need to give a better effort.' "

As he tells the story of his first encounter with Dantonio, he concedes now that he probably wasn't fast enough to play at Michigan State.

"I was a tall, skinny guy," Monaghan said. "But once I get moving, I can run pretty fast."

Even Dantonio has come to acknowledge that much.

When the UC coaches tested players last spring in what they call the "flying 40," with a running start, Monaghan's time was 4.14, the fourth fastest on the team.

"Once he gets going, he's long-striding, and he's moving," Dantonio said. "You really don't see people run away from him when he's moving."

Reminded of Monaghan's visit to Michigan State in 2000, Dantonio said it happened the way Monaghan described it.

"I watched him on his high school film," Dantonio said.

"He's a tough guy who ran around and made plays. Kerry told me, 'He can play for you.' But at the time, we made a decision to go in a different direction."

Little did he know he would come across Monaghan again and that this time he'd be glad to have him.

"It's crazy how things come around," Dantonio said.

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E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com