The Big East's best: No. 23, Marcus Easley
February, 2, 2010
2/02/10
4:04
PM ET
By
Brian Bennett | ESPN.com
A postseason ranking of the Big East's Top 30 players ...
No. 23
Marcus Easley, WR, Connecticut, Sr.
Preseason ranking: NR
Why him here: It's safe to say nobody saw this coming. A walk-on entering the spring, Easley had just five catches for his career going into his senior year.
But as the UConn passing game took off, so did Easley. After no receptions in the first three games, he caught 48 balls for 893 yards and eight scores the rest of the way, averaging 18.6 yards per catch. Unlike another receiver I initially targeted for this spot, West Virginia's Jock Sanders, Easley got stronger as the year went on. He had five 100-yard games in his final eight regular-season contests and gave the Huskies the deep threat they so badly needed.
It would have been ludicrous before the season to talk about Easley as an NFL prospect; now it's not so crazy. He has the size, at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, and proved this year that he can get behind a defense. Weirder things have happened -- like Easley coming from nowhere to No. 23 on this list.
No. 24: Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers
No. 25: Jarrett Brown, QB, West Virginia
No. 26: George Selvie, DE, South Florida
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. 23
Marcus Easley, WR, Connecticut, Sr.
Preseason ranking: NR
Why him here: It's safe to say nobody saw this coming. A walk-on entering the spring, Easley had just five catches for his career going into his senior year.
But as the UConn passing game took off, so did Easley. After no receptions in the first three games, he caught 48 balls for 893 yards and eight scores the rest of the way, averaging 18.6 yards per catch. Unlike another receiver I initially targeted for this spot, West Virginia's Jock Sanders, Easley got stronger as the year went on. He had five 100-yard games in his final eight regular-season contests and gave the Huskies the deep threat they so badly needed.
It would have been ludicrous before the season to talk about Easley as an NFL prospect; now it's not so crazy. He has the size, at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, and proved this year that he can get behind a defense. Weirder things have happened -- like Easley coming from nowhere to No. 23 on this list.
No. 24: Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers
No. 25: Jarrett Brown, QB, West Virginia
No. 26: George Selvie, DE, South Florida
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.
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