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Our look at where each Big East team is strongest and weakest concludes with Cincinnati, which coincidentally opens spring practice today.

Strongest position: Wide receiver

Key returnees: Armon Binns (61 catches, 888 yards, 11 touchdowns), D.J. Woods (51 catches, 640 yards, four touchdowns), Marcus Barnett (10 catches, 95 yards, touchdown).

Key departures: Mardy Gilyard

The skinny: Even without the incredibly productive Gilyard, the Bearcats are still loaded at wideout. Not only are Binns and Woods top-flight starting receivers, but the team now blends in USC transfer Vidal Hazelton, a 6-foot-2, 210-pounder who could become the new No. 1 target. First-year coach Butch Jones may also find a way to get more out of Barnett, who was a star his freshman year before falling into the shadows the last two years, and/or Jamar Howard, who disappointed after transferring in from junior college last year. Zach Collaros should have plenty of options in the passing game this spring.

Weakest position: Defensive line

Key returnees: DT Derek Wolfe (20 tackles, five sacks), DT Brandon Mills (25 tackles, 3.5 sacks), DE John Hughes (23 tackles, two sacks), OLB/DE Walter Stewart (59 tackles, 4.5 sacks, interception), DE Dan Giordano (42 tackles, two sacks).

Key departures: DE Ricardo Mathews, DE Alex Daniels, DE/OLB Curtis Young.

The skinny: As the end of last season showed, Cincinnati's defensive line could be overpowered by strong offenses. Now the Bearcats must make do without three of their top pass-rushers in Mathews, Daniels and Young. And the defense will need more linemen as it transitions back to a 4-3 scheme. Wolfe is solid at nose tackle, and Stewart could be a good speed rusher if he's moved to the end (though he was listed at just 226 pounds last season). Cincinnati will need guys like Hughes and Giordano to raise their game, and more depth must be found this spring to make this a championship-caliber D-line.

Continuing our look at where each Big East team is strongest and weakest this spring with UConn, which conveniently opens spring practice today.

Strongest position: Linebacker

Key returnees: Lawrence Wilson (140 tackles, five sacks), Scott Lutrus (69 tackles and 3.5 sacks in eight games), Jory Johnson (28 tackles).

Key departures: Greg Lloyd is injured and has been moved to defensive line.

The skinny: Another Big East team would be hard pressed to match the experience and production that UConn has from its top two linebackers. Lutrus was a standout for two seasons before missing time with various injuries in '09. Wilson stepped forward in his place and led the Big East in tackles. Lutrus moves to the middle this year, with Wilson free to make plays on the outside. Johnson and Kijuan Dabney, who was limited to two games last season, will battle it out for the other spot. But based on the two senior stars alone, UConn is in great hands at linebacker.

Weakest position: Defensive back

Key returnees: CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson (40 tackles, six pass break-ups, one interception), S Jerome Junior (48 tackles, one interception), CB Dwayne Gratz (20 tackles).

Key departures: S Robert Vaughn and CB Robert McClain graduated.

The skinny: The Huskies ranked last in the Big East in pass defense and lost arguably their top two performers in seniors Vaughn and McClain. Wreh-Wilson and Gratz made strides late in the year as freshmen, but Wreh-Wilson will be sidelined much of the spring after offseason surgery. Junior showed promise at safety toward the end of the season, but there will be heavy competition for the other safety job.

Coach Randy Edsall says he has as much talent and athleticism at defensive back as he's ever had, but all the candidates for playing time are frightfully young and inexperienced. They'll have to grow up in a hurry this spring.

It's time to get back to our series looking at where teams are strong and where they're weak heading into spring practice. Today it's Louisville's turn under the microscope.

Strongest position: Running back

Key returnees: Victor Anderson (473 yards, five touchdowns), Darius Ashley (462 yards, four touchdowns), Bilal Powell (392 yards, four touchdowns).

Key departures: FB Joe Tronzo

The skinny: When everybody's healthy, Louisville has one of the better stables of backs in the Big East. Anderson rushed for over 1,000 yards as a freshman before injuries wrecked his 2009 campaign. He'll be limited this spring after offseason surgery. Ashley showed his potential as a freshman a year ago, and Powell bounced back from a disappointing sophomore year to have some nice moments. When Charlie Strong looks for offensive playmakers this spring, he'll find that his best options are located in the backfield.

Weakest position: Defensive line


Key returnees: DE Greg Scruggs (two sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss), DE Rodney Gnat (10 tackles), DE Malcom Tatum (29 tackles), DE William Savoy (five sacks).

Key departures: DT L.D. Scott, DT, L.T. Walker, DT Tyler Jessen

The skinny: The Cardinals have lacked a consistent pass rush for the past couple of years, and their defensive line lost arguably its two best players in Scott and Walker. There's a lot of experience back at defensive end, but the players at that position haven't put up great numbers or performances in the past. Guys like Scruggs and Savoy need to get to the next level. Midyear enrollee Randy Salmon should get a long look at tackle this spring. More bodies and playmakers are needed to allow Louisville to compete with the top teams in the Big East.

The spring superlatives series rolls on today with Rutgers, which gets us back in order after the little reverse-alphabetic switch. Let's look at which positions are strongest and which are weakest for the Scarlet Knights heading into the spring:

Strongest position: Defensive line

Key returnees: DT Scott Vallone (nine tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, four fumble recoveries), DE Alex Silvestro (12 tackles for loss, two sacks), DE Jonathan Freeny (9.5 sacks), DT Eric LeGrand (two sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss), DT Charlie Noonan (two sacks).

Key departures: DE George Johnson and DT Blair Bines.

The skinny: Despite the loss of two strong senior contributors, the Scarlet Knights still have loads of depth on the defensive front. Greg Schiano told me this week that the combination of Vallone, LeGrand and Noonan could be the best set of defensive tackles he's had at Rutgers. Freeny and Silvestro have shown the ability to get to the passer. And young players who were redshirted a year ago, like Andre Civil and Isaac Holmes, should be ready to play.

Weakest position: Offensive line

Key returnees: OG Desmond Wynn, OG Howard Barbieri, OG Art Forst, OG Caleb Ruch

Key departures: LT Anthony Davis, C Ryan Blaszczyk, RT Kevin Haslam

The skinny: Rutgers' O-line was a major disappointment last year, and now the unit loses arguably its top three performers, including a likely first-round NFL pick in Davis. This will be a revamped group, which might not be a bad thing considering the way the 2009 line performed. Still, Schiano has to find replacements at both tackle spots, potentially looking to a guy like Desmond Stapleton to step forward. Former super sub Barbieri will have to take on a larger role, while the talented Forst could emerge as a star. There's a lot to work with here, but also a lot to work on.

Since we're going in reverse alphabetical order for this spring superlatives series, Rutgers should be up now. But there has been a lot of Scarlet Knights' content on here of late, so I'm going to flip flop and have Pittsburgh go today. Let's look at where the Panthers are strongest and weakest among position groups heading into spring practices:

Strongest position: Defensive end

Key returnees: Greg Romeus (eight sacks, 11.5 tackles for loss) and Jabaal Sheard (five sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss).

Key departures: None.

The skinny: Pitt has several strong groups, not least of which is running back with the return of Big East offensive player of the year Dion Lewis, plus Ray Graham and Henry Hynoski. But I'll give the slight nod to defensive end, where Big East co-defensive player of the year Romeus is back for his senior year, along with classmate and fellow standout Sheard. They give Pitt the best pair of ends in the league, and they're backed up by promising youngsters Shayne Hale and Brandon Lindsey.

Weakest position: Cornerback

Key returnees: Ricky Gary (16 tackles, one interception), Antwuan Reed (13 tackles, one interception)

Key departures: Aaron Berry, Jovani Chappell.

The skinny: Both starting corners from a year ago have moved on, and it wasn't exactly a position of great strength beforehand. Gary and Reed have playing experience, with Gary starting the final five games of '08 and once last season. But Pitt is counting on junior college transfer and midyear enrollee Saheed Imoru to claim one of the starting spots. If Imoru lives up to his billing, this could turn out just fine. If not, the Panthers may have to scramble to find answers in their pass defense.

Let's continue our look at which position groups are the strongest and which are the weakest for each Big East team this spring. Today: South Florida.

Strongest position: Offensive line

Key returnees: LT Jamar Bass (six starts); C Sampson Genus (12 starts); OG Zach Hermann (eight starts); RG Chaz Hine (12 starts); C Kevin McCaskill (one start); RT Mark Popek (five starts); RT Jake Sims (nine starts); LG Jeremiah Warren (13 starts).

Key departures: None

The skinny: As you can see, the Bulls bring back every player who started a game on the offensive line last year, along with every major key backup. While South Florida didn't have a dominating O-line last season, it now has guys with tons of experience and plenty of talent for new coach Skip Holtz to work with as he installs his new offensive schemes. There should be great competition for playing time there this spring.

Weakest position: Quarterback

Key returnees: B.J. Daniels (53.7 percent passing, 1,983 yards, 14 passing touchdowns and nine interceptions; 772 yards rushing and nine rushing scores); Evan Landi (five passing attempts, one touchdowns).

Key departures: None

The skinny: Daniels is one of the most promising and talented player in the Big East. The problem is, he'll be limited this spring because of offseason shoulder surgery. That means Landi, who was supposed to be moved to wide receiver, may have to spend some time at quarterback, because the Bulls don't have any other scholarship signalcallers. Depth is a major issue both this spring and going forward.

No lunchtime links today because, well, there really aren't any. Just about everybody who writes about the Big East is focused on the conference men's basketball tournament, which is now underway.

Instead, we'll use this slot to continue the spring superlatives series. It's time to look at the Syracuse Orange:

Strongest position: Linebacker

• Key returnees: Senior Derrell Smith (81 tackles, 6.5 sacks, four forced fumbles in 10 games), senior Doug Hogue (16.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks), sophomore E.J. Carter (24 tackles, two sacks.
• Key departure: Mike Stenclik graduated.
• The skinny: The Orange also are in great shape at running back, with Delone Carter coming off a 1,000-yard season and Antwon Bailey returning as a change-of-pace/Wildcat guy. But I'm going with linebacker, where Smith and Hogue had tremendous seasons that were worthy of All-Big East recognition. Smith was a candidate for Big East defensive player of the year before his late-season injury. Carter got some valuable experience as a freshman as well. The group still needs more depth behind the starters, and Carter must continue to improve. But linebacker should be a source of strength for Syracuse this spring.

Weakest position: Receiver

• Key returnees: Sophomore Alec Lemon (29 catches, 295 yards, one touchdown), junior Marcus Sales (28 catches, 324 yards, three touchdowns), junior Van Chew (six catches).
• Key departures: Lavar Lobdell (10 catches for 67 yards) and Donte Davis (24 catches for 257 yards) graduated.
• The skinny: After Mike Williams left the team midseason, Syracuse's passing game suffered mightily. Lemon and Sales played better at the end of the season, but the Orange don't have anyone who made as many as 30 catches last year. The receiving group as a whole is going to have to make strides this spring in order for the offense to be productive in the fall.

With the first batch of Big East spring practices beginning next week, it's time to take a look at the strongest and the weakest position groups for each team. We're considering these position groups as they stand in the spring only.

This will go in reverse alphabetical order, so first up are the West Virginia Mountaineers:

Strongest position: Running back

• Key returnees: Senior Noel Devine (1,465 yards, 13 touchdowns), sophomore Ryan Clarke (250 yards, eight touchdowns), sophomore Shawne Alston.

• Key departure: Mark Rodgers transferred.

• The skinny: West Virginia brings back a load of starters overall and has plenty of experience on the offensive and defensive lines, at linebacker and in the secondary. But the running backs by far have the fewest question marks, thanks mostly to the somewhat unexpected return of Devine, a true superstar. Clarke made huge strides as a big, rumbling back last year and could be in line for more carries this season. And the Mountaineers can always put Jock Sanders or Tavon Austin in the backfield for the occasional hand-off and not miss a beat.

Weakest position: Quarterback

• Key returnees: Sophomore Geno Smith (32-of-49 for 309 yards, one touchdown and one interception in 2009), sophomore Coley White

• Key departure: Jarrett Brown (13 starts, 2,144 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions and 466 rushing yards with six rushing scores in '09)

• The skinny: At least for the spring, quarterback is a major concern for the Mountaineers. Smith is the presumed starter, but offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen expressed doubts last week about whether the youngster would be ready to participate in spring drills after his foot injury in January. White saw just a couple of snaps in one game last year and does not appear to be in the team's long-term plans at quarterback. Other than that, there's nothing, except for receiver Bradley Starks, who serves as the emergency signal-caller. The numbers will be boosted by the summer arrival of signees Barry Brunetti and Jeremy Johnson, but for the spring, this is a position of much doubt.