MiddletownJournal.com

CINCINNATI — More than 20 years after Urban Meyer played for the University of Cincinnati football team, the University of Florida coach can think back to the state of the Bearcats program then and laugh.

On Wednesday, he called it comical. The coach of the 2006 national champion Gators said he wasn't a very good player when he was a UC safety in 1984 and that UC wasn't a very good place to play college football.

But the state of the program, as Meyer readily admitted after watching Wednesday's practice at Nippert Stadium, certainly has changed.

"It wasn't major college football," Meyer said. "It was a masquerade. It's not what it is today. I'm leaving here going, 'Wow, it's legit.'"

This, however, wasn't a complete surprise to Meyer, who was in town to visit his ailing father and was asked by Bearcats coach Brian Kelly to stop by practice and address the team afterward. Meyer's sister, Gigi Escoe, the UC vice-provost for assessment and learning, has told him about Kelly's positive impact on the student population and his ability to draw attention to what has become a Big East conference contender.

On Wednesday, Meyer saw it for himself.

"It's been steady," Meyer said. "I've watched them. (Former UC coach) Mark Dantonio did a nice job. (Escoe) made the comment on how (Kelly) has gone out and gotten people into the stadium. This is a lot like Utah. It's a place that could become a big-time player in the whole thing. But they need a coach who's willing to go out and get the people in that dorm right there and bring them in here. There's only one way to do it — don't complain about it; go get them."

Meyer's speech also was a success for Kelly. During his post practice talk, which lasted about 5 minutes, Meyer reemphasized some of the points Kelly has been making all spring. Hearing it from a former UC alumnus who coaches one of the country's top programs only reinforces Kelly's statements.

"We listen to coach Kelly, but it's human nature," defensive end Connor Barwin said. "You listen to it every day, and you get used to hearing it. When you hear it from somebody else — and from Urban Meyer, being who he is – it makes it an even stronger message. It reinforces it and makes you think about it again, like, 'That's right. That's what coach Kelly is saying.'"

Vote for this story!