Revised 2011 Top 25 countdown: No. 17
February, 17, 2012
Feb 17
9:00
AM ET
By
Andrea Adelson | ESPN.com
We are counting down the top 25 players in the Big East, one player at a time.
Up today: Aaron Donald, DE, Pitt
Making the case: This begins a run on defensive linemen here on the Big East postseason rankings list. I am going to give a little bit away, too, and say Donald is the only Pitt lineman ranked on this list. I believe defensive line was the best and deepest position in the entire league, so arriving at this list was not easy. Pitt had a strong lineup of players with Donald, Chas Alecxih and Brandon Lindsey at the hybrid spot. But it is hard to overlook Donald's productivity and emergence at the position this season. He finished second in the league with 11 sacks and second in tackles for loss with 16. I thought he was consistently disruptive, and that is why he has earned this spot.
Preseason ranking: NR.
The countdown:
No. 25 Ryne Giddins, DE, USF
No. 24 Keith Tandy, CB, West Virginia
No. 23 Duron Harmon, S, Rutgers
No. 22 Antwon Bailey, RB, Syracuse
No. 21 Lyle McCombs, RB, UConn
No. 20 Dexter Heyman, LB, Louisville
No. 19 Hakeem Smith, S, Louisville
No. 18 Logan Ryan, CB, Rutgers
Up today: Aaron Donald, DE, Pitt
Making the case: This begins a run on defensive linemen here on the Big East postseason rankings list. I am going to give a little bit away, too, and say Donald is the only Pitt lineman ranked on this list. I believe defensive line was the best and deepest position in the entire league, so arriving at this list was not easy. Pitt had a strong lineup of players with Donald, Chas Alecxih and Brandon Lindsey at the hybrid spot. But it is hard to overlook Donald's productivity and emergence at the position this season. He finished second in the league with 11 sacks and second in tackles for loss with 16. I thought he was consistently disruptive, and that is why he has earned this spot.
Preseason ranking: NR.
The countdown:
No. 25 Ryne Giddins, DE, USF
No. 24 Keith Tandy, CB, West Virginia
No. 23 Duron Harmon, S, Rutgers
No. 22 Antwon Bailey, RB, Syracuse
No. 21 Lyle McCombs, RB, UConn
No. 20 Dexter Heyman, LB, Louisville
No. 19 Hakeem Smith, S, Louisville
No. 18 Logan Ryan, CB, Rutgers
Andrea Adelson | email
College Football- ESPN.com Big East/Nation blogger
- Joined ESPN.com in 2010
- Wrote for The Orlando Sentinel
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Andrea Adelson
Adelson joined ESPN.com in 2010 after spending time as a college football columnist at The Orlando Sentinel. She has covered college football since her days as a University of Florida student, and lives in Orlando, Fla.
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