The Big East's best: No. 26, George Selvie
February, 1, 2010
2/01/10
10:00
AM ET
By
Brian Bennett | ESPN.com
A postseason ranking of the Big East's Top 30 players ...
No. 26
SelvieGeorge Selvie, DE, South Florida, Sr.
Preseason rank: 1
Why him here: No one took a more precipitous drop from the preseason rankings than Selvie, my top-ranked overall player going into the 2009 campaign. Selvie had the prior accomplishments as a two-time All-American and former Big East defensive player of the year. But I simply can't justify placing him higher on this list than here based on his production.
Selvie had just 3.5 sacks on the season, tying him for third on his own team. His 9.5 tackles for loss ranked just 18th in the Big East. This downward trend occurred despite him being much healthier this season than his junior year and with him playing on probably the best defensive line of his career. Offenses couldn't just load up on Selvie anymore because of the emergence of Jason Pierre-Paul.
None of this is to suggest that Selvie is still not a terrific player, because he is. But the bigger and better offensive tackles in the league were able to contain him. Though Selvie put on a lot of weight during his career, he's still undersized for an NFL defensive end at 250 pounds. He may have to try his hand at outside linebacker to make a big impact. And it's quite possible that two of his Bulls teammates will be drafted higher than him.
No. 27: Kion Wilson, LB, South Florida
No. 28: Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh
No. 29: Lindsey Witten, DE, Connecticut
No. 30: Jeff Linkenbach, OT, Cincinnati
No. 26
Preseason rank: 1
Why him here: No one took a more precipitous drop from the preseason rankings than Selvie, my top-ranked overall player going into the 2009 campaign. Selvie had the prior accomplishments as a two-time All-American and former Big East defensive player of the year. But I simply can't justify placing him higher on this list than here based on his production.
Selvie had just 3.5 sacks on the season, tying him for third on his own team. His 9.5 tackles for loss ranked just 18th in the Big East. This downward trend occurred despite him being much healthier this season than his junior year and with him playing on probably the best defensive line of his career. Offenses couldn't just load up on Selvie anymore because of the emergence of Jason Pierre-Paul.
None of this is to suggest that Selvie is still not a terrific player, because he is. But the bigger and better offensive tackles in the league were able to contain him. Though Selvie put on a lot of weight during his career, he's still undersized for an NFL defensive end at 250 pounds. He may have to try his hand at outside linebacker to make a big impact. And it's quite possible that two of his Bulls teammates will be drafted higher than him.
No. 27: Kion Wilson, LB, South Florida
No. 28: Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh
No. 29: Lindsey Witten, DE, Connecticut
No. 30: Jeff Linkenbach, OT, Cincinnati
Brian Bennett | email
College Football- ESPN.com Big Ten blogger
- Joined ESPN.com in 2008
- Wrote for The Courier-Journal
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.
You must be signed in to post a comment