ESPN College Football

It's hard to escape the basketball hubbub in the Big East, as the league has put a record five teams in the Sweet 16. Colleague Bruce Feldman had an interesting column on Monday when he listed 10 players from the NCAA tournament who would make intriguing football prospects.

I loved the idea, but I can't believe Bruce didn't include any Big East players on his final cut. The league is known as the most physical circuit in the nation, after all. Here are some players on Sweet 16 teams from the Big East who I'd love to see switch over to their school's football team some day:

1. DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh: The 6-foot-7, 255-pound Blair is a relentless rebounder and a beast inside, but he's also surprisingly nimble. Give him a year of beefing up in the weight room, and he'd make a great left tackle.

2. Levance Fields, Pittsburgh: He's the consummate floor general, and even though he's a tad short at 5-foot-11, I'd like to see him running the option for Dave Wannstedt.

3. Terrence Williams, Louisville: Maybe the best pure athlete in the league, with a chiseled frame, explosive leaping ability and a flair for showmanship, he could be Terrell Owens without the attitude at wide receiver.

4. Preston Knowles and Andre McGee, Louisville: These guards are such ball-hawking defenders that they earned the nicknames Pit Bull Killer 1 and Killer 2. I'd love to see them trying to cause turnovers at cornerback.

5. Jeff Adrien, Connecticut: Another rebounding monster at (a generous) 6-foot-7 and 245 pounds with a nonstop motor, he'd make a fierce defensive end for the Huskies.

6. Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut: I don't know where you'd put a 7-foot-3 guy on most downs, but I know this: He'd be awfully tough on the field goal block unit.

7. Johnny Flynn, Syracuse: This guy never tires, even when he's playing six overtimes. Put him at running back and just keep feeding him the ball.

8. Eric Devendorf, Syracuse: There are a lot of people around the Big East who don't like his on-court antics. Well, in football, he'd have to get hit.