The Big East's best: No. 7, Jason Pierre-Paul
February, 16, 2010
2/16/10
4:46
PM ET
By
Brian Bennett | ESPN.com
A postseason ranking of the Big East's top 30 players ...
No. 7
Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida, Jr.
Pierre-PaulPreseason rank: NR
Why him here: George Selvie topped my preseason list, but it turns out he wasn't even the most prodigious defensive end on his own team.
That honor, surprisingly, goes to Pierre-Paul, a junior-college import who didn't arrive on campus until fall practice had already begun. By the end of September, Pierre-Paul had developed into a terror against opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks, using his freakishly athletic 6-foot-6, 260-pound frame to register 16.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, an interception and three forced fumbles.
Pierre-Paul made such an impact so quickly that he decided to skip to the NFL after just one season of major-college football, and he was recently projected as the No. 3 overall pick by ESPN's Todd McShay. Perhaps that's overvaluing a guy who himself admitted during the season that he was still very raw and needed to learn a lot more about the game. But natural talents like him don't come around very often, and even in just one season of work, Pierre-Paul established himself as one of the Big East's very best.
Previous:
No. 8: Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers
No. 9: Mick Williams, DT, Pittsburgh
No. 10: Anthony Davis, OT, Rutgers
No. 11: Dorin Dickerson, TE, Pittsburgh
No. 12: Robert Sands, S, West Virginia
No. 13: B.J. Daniels, QB, South Florida
No. 14: Jason Pinkston, OT, Pittsburgh
No. 15: Tim Brown, WR, Rutgers
No. 16: Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut
No. 17: Arthur Jones, DT, Syracuse
No. 18: Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut
No. 19: Tom Savage, QB, Rutgers
No. 20: Andre Dixon, RB, Connecticut
No. 21: Bill Stull, QB, Pittsburgh
No. 22: Nate Allen, S, South Florida
No. 23: Marcus Easley, WR, Connecticut
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. 7
Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida, Jr.
Why him here: George Selvie topped my preseason list, but it turns out he wasn't even the most prodigious defensive end on his own team.
That honor, surprisingly, goes to Pierre-Paul, a junior-college import who didn't arrive on campus until fall practice had already begun. By the end of September, Pierre-Paul had developed into a terror against opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks, using his freakishly athletic 6-foot-6, 260-pound frame to register 16.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, an interception and three forced fumbles.
Pierre-Paul made such an impact so quickly that he decided to skip to the NFL after just one season of major-college football, and he was recently projected as the No. 3 overall pick by ESPN's Todd McShay. Perhaps that's overvaluing a guy who himself admitted during the season that he was still very raw and needed to learn a lot more about the game. But natural talents like him don't come around very often, and even in just one season of work, Pierre-Paul established himself as one of the Big East's very best.
Previous:
No. 8: Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers
No. 9: Mick Williams, DT, Pittsburgh
No. 10: Anthony Davis, OT, Rutgers
No. 11: Dorin Dickerson, TE, Pittsburgh
No. 12: Robert Sands, S, West Virginia
No. 13: B.J. Daniels, QB, South Florida
No. 14: Jason Pinkston, OT, Pittsburgh
No. 15: Tim Brown, WR, Rutgers
No. 16: Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut
No. 17: Arthur Jones, DT, Syracuse
No. 18: Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut
No. 19: Tom Savage, QB, Rutgers
No. 20: Andre Dixon, RB, Connecticut
No. 21: Bill Stull, QB, Pittsburgh
No. 22: Nate Allen, S, South Florida
No. 23: Marcus Easley, WR, Connecticut
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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