WEST HARRISON, Ind. - The pass rush was coming and nobody was open. Rather than consider another option, Dustin Grutza decided to try to squeeze a pass into coverage down the middle of the field.
Coach Brian Kelly winced.
On that play during Cincinnati's preseason camp, Kelly got a reminder of the biggest question facing the Bearcats as they try to build upon their breakthrough season. It revolves around his up-and-down quarterback.
Grutza takes over the no-huddle, spread offense that Ben Mauk operated so smoothly last season, one of the main reasons the Bearcats matched their school record for victories with a 10-3 record and finished the season with a No. 17 ranking. Mauk threw for 3,131 yards and 31 touchdowns, leading an offense that set school records for scoring, first downs and passing.
When the NCAA rejected Mauk's three appeals for another year of eligibility, the job went to Grutza.
''Any time you bring back a quarterback who has been here for five years and has been in the Big East, that's comforting because you know what kind of football he can play,'' Kelly said. ''And, if given the opportunity, who knows he can't duplicate what Ben Mauk did?''
The fifth-year senior will be the most important player on an offense that has more speed and depth.
Last season, the Bearcats put up big numbers even though they were a team in transition. Kelly inherited a run-oriented offense that went through growing pains. The offensive line is more polished at pass blocking now, and there is more speed at running back. Junior Jacob Ramsey moved ahead of three seniors last season and started the last three games because he was more of a breakaway threat.
Grutza started the first 10 games in 2006, then lost the job because of his inconsistency. He was the backup last season because Mauk made better decisions in the no-huddle offense and was more adept at completing passes on the run.
''This year, I'm learning the offense just the way he wants it, preparing and being able to read the defense and make the right decisions,'' Grutza said. ''In his offense, you've got to be able to see the defense and get us in the right play.''
Kelly has seen improvement in Grutza, along with occasional throws that make him wince.
''He has a tendency to want to make a play when there's no play there,'' Kelly said. ''He's so eager and anxious to make a play that he can turn a potential six or three points for us into a touchdown for the defense, and we've got to clean that up.''
Grutza stated two games last season when Mauk's shoulder was sore. He was the Big East's offensive player of the week after he threw for 290 yards against Miami of Ohio, but struggled against Marshall and was replaced by the sore-shouldered Mauk.
''Now it's Dustin's turn to have the kind of year that Ben Mauk had,'' Kelly said. ''We'll give him the opportunity and see where he goes from there.''
Cornerback Mike Mickens and defensive tackle Terrill Byrd anchor a defense that shared the national lead with 42 takeaways last season and returns its core.
''That's helpful,'' senior linebacker Corey Smith said. ''The experience is there, the chemistry is there. Everybody pretty much knows what we're doing already. Only a week into camp, we had 90 percent of the playbook in for our defense. We can keep moving ahead. We don't have to stop back at square one.''
The Bearcats open the season at home on Aug. 28 against Eastern Kentucky, then play at Oklahoma as part of an upgraded nonconference schedule. They end the season at Hawaii.
Cincinnati has sold 11,000 season tickets - a pittance for other major-conference schools, but a record for a Bearcats team accustomed to playing in a half-empty stadium. If they want to keep that level of support increasing, they're going to have to show that last year wasn't an aberration.
''We've got to do it again,'' Grutza said. ''In order to be considered a (solid) program and not just a fluke season, you've got to repeat success.''
That's been Kelly's message all along.
''To continue to get the things you need to build your program, you have to show consistency,'' Kelly said. ''It can't be a one-shot deal. It can't be a team that now falls off the face of the earth. So everybody in the program knows how important year two is.''
