David W. Smith/Daily News Western Kentucky defensive lineman Dan Cline has made the most of his opportunity at WKU, becoming one of the Hilltoppers’ senior leaders.

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Dan Cline has come a long way at Western Kentucky, but without some kindness from the folks at a Centerville, Ohio, Ace Hardware store - not to mention the help of a technologically challenged father - Cline’s tale at WKU might have never happened.

As a 6-foot-6, 190-pound lineman at Centerville High School in 2002, Cline’s college recruitment started and stopped with Cline’s father’s cell phone and e-mail - meaning Cline wasn’t exactly on most schools’ radars.

But during the summer of ’03, right before Cline’s senior season at Centerville, his father made a random e-mail check - something Cline said happened maybe once a month - and discovered a message from WKU offensive line coach Walter Wells about a senior-to-be recruiting camp the very next day.

After quickly pulling some strings with his bosses at Ace Hardware, Cline got the day off. He and his father drove five hours through the night to attend the camp at WKU, a school neither of them knew much about.

And after showcasing his skills on virtually no sleep, Cline impressed the WKU staff enough to finally cause a blip on a radar screen.

“It was just a miracle that my dad checked his e-mail account that day, and that I was able to even get off work that day from Ace Hardware,” said Cline, who is slated to start at defensive end for the second straight year. “We ended up getting here on no sleep, and I ended up testing great and the coaches really stuck with me ever since then.”

After barely getting onto the field during his junior season in high school, Cline blossomed as a senior at Centerville, eventually drawing interest from Kentucky, Northwestern, Duke, Kent State, Akron, Eastern Michigan - and of course, WKU.

But in the end, Cline said it was a no-brainer to choose the school that first gave him a chance. After five years and about 60 pounds of muscle, the WKU staff is glad it took a chance on the tall, skinny kid from southern Ohio.

“There’s no question that he was overlooked, and we just saw something special in him,” WKU coach David Elson said. “And that was just heart, desire, work ethic and a great attitude. And with that big frame of his also, we felt like he’d develop into a player someday.

“And thanks to him, he’s proven us right.”

But Cline’s struggles didn’t end when he set foot on the WKU campus. Cline moved from the defensive line to linebacker due to his then-light weight of 210 pounds - a change he says he was never comfortable with. After redshirting his freshman season, Cline scratched onto the second string in 2005.

While he didn’t receive much playing time, he made his first career start at Indiana State that season. It’s a game that holds a special place in Cline’s heart for more than one reason: It was the one time he played in front of his ill grandmother that year - a memory he kept with him and shared when he gave her eulogy in early 2006.

The year didn’t become much better once spring practice started. Cline suffered a knee injury and plummeted down the depth chart. And just like high school, Cline found himself a bit player without much of a role.

“It was devastating, and (I) hit rock bottom that year when we were about to play at Missouri State and they told me I wasn’t even going to travel,” Cline said. “I didn’t know what to do. I’d faced this kind of adversity before, but with college and everything, it became magnified and I was really distraught.

“And it was right after that when I went back into coach Elson’s office and demanded to be switched back to the defensive line. After that I went home and kind of got back to my roots a bit, came back the next week and was on the bus, got into the game and really started to turn the corner.”

After getting significant playing time for the rest of the 2006 season in his natural position, Cline earned a starting job at defensive end before 2007, a spot he has yet to relinquish.

Now one of the most likable and important players on the team, Cline has seemingly come full circle.

“Dan’s grown so much physically, mentally and as a player in whole since he’s been here,” WKU defensive line coach Eric Mathies said. “And that’s really just a testament to him and his work ethic and really dedicating himself to the position.

“He’s done it in the weight room, eating right and everything else and I just really get excited every day to coach him - he’s still a kid and some days are better than others, but he’s become a joy to coach.”

After overcoming yet another injury this past spring (a broken foot), Cline is poised to build on a fine 2007 campaign, and has even shown off his NFL-caliber body (6-foot-6, 265 pounds) to pro scouts.

“I think he really does have a chance - a couple of scouts that came in during the spring were really impressed with his measurements and just said that they had to take a look at him,” Elson said. “Then when you can tell them that it doesn’t get any better when it comes to character and attitude - he’s going to get a look.

“But regardless of his future in football, Dan’s going to be successful. I don’t worry about him at all - he’s going to be fine.”

While there is no telling what the future holds for Cline, he openly wants to follow in his father’s footsteps as the mayor of Centerville. Still, he understands that no matter what is thrown in his path, he’ll find a way around it.

“I’m an extreme believer that God has a plan for everybody,” Cline said. “And I think he was smiling down on that day (in 2002) for everything to line up and for my dad to check his e-mail and with me getting off work and everything - I call that the ‘miracle weekend.’

“I take time to put things in perspective, I take time to look back at my roots and stay humble and hungry - because I know where I used to be and how now I have a tremendous opportunity and just how fortunate I am to have it.”

--Read WKU beat writer Nick Baumgardner’s Hilltopper football blog at http://bgsports.wordpress.com.