University of Cincinnati quarterback Gino Guidugli last season became the first freshman to earn the team's MVP award, was the unanimous choice as Conference USA Freshman of the Year and was a Freshman All-American. But he knows he can be better. To get better, his coaches said, he needed to get bigger.

        Even with the huge numbers Guidugli amassed in the final 11 games, coach Rick Minter wanted to see an increase in one category: Guidugli's weight.

        “Adding weight was something Coach and I talked about in preparation for next season,” said Guidugli, who finished with 2,573 passing yards and 16 ouchdowns, both freshman records at UC. “I knew, so I worked hard in the weight room with (quarterbacks coach) Jeff Filkovski and (strength and conditioning coach) Tim Swanger. I added 15 or 16 pounds of muscle and am at the ideal weight that we wanted.”

        The new, improved Guidugli will be on display today when UC plays its annual spring scrimmage at 2 p.m. at Nippert Stadium.

        Entering UC from Highlands High School, Guidugli weighed 205 pounds and felt a difference between the hits in high school and those in college.

        Guidugli never felt it more last season than in his eighth start, against East Carolina, when he was driven into the ground on his left (non-throwing) shoulder after keeping the ball on an option play. He finished the first half, but the effects of the hit knocked him out of the second half.

        “The defenses are bigger and faster in college and hit a lot harder in college,” Guidugli said. “In high school, you could get away from a lot of guys. Here you get hit and you feel it. Hopefully the (added) muscle will lessen it.”

        Along with Guidugli's added muscle, Minter said he hopes to see an added intelligence for the game. Last season, Guidugli would scram ble in the backfield after a broken play and often receive unnecessary hits. Better decision-making, such as throwing the ball away when no one is open, should cut down on the 28 sacks UC quarterbacks endured.

        But Guidugli, who led UC to three fourth-quarter, come-from-behind victories, doesn't always want his jersey to remain clean. He knows he will have to put his head down and pick up a first down with his feet on occasion.

        In a 21-14 loss to Miami, Guidugli's first college start, the Bearcats, down seven, faced a fourth-and-1 with just more than two minutes left in the game. Minter called for a quarterback sneak only to see his quarterback's surge stopped short of the first down.

        “I have to be able to move the pile at least a yard by myself, even if the line doesn't get a push,” Guidugli said. “My legs are something that we really focused on to give me better balance. This season I should be a lot stronger to push the pile forward.”

        Minter said Guidugli will continue to fill out his 6-foot-3 frame.

        “He came to us a gangly guy that can really move and throw the football,” Minter said. “I think as he matures, he can keep adding weight, become thicker and still be able to move. By the time he is done, I think he could get up to the 235-245 range.”

As Guidugli grows, so do expectations

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