ESPN College Football

The Big East doesn't usually grab a lot of the nation's elite players. There are currently four members of the ESPNU 150 who are committed to Big East schools, with three of those heading to Louisville.

So it's nice when those rare blue-chippers actually work out. ESPN's recruiting experts put together a list of how the 2007 ESPNU 150 players panned out, and here's a look at the four Big East players on that list:

Noel Devine, West Virginia (No. 6 overall): I'd say this was a fortuitous relationship. Devine might have had a disappointing, injury-plagued senior season, but he still ended his career as one of the top running backs in Big East history.

Anthony Davis, Rutgers (No. 113): Davis was a major recruiting coup for the Scarlet Knights. A three-year starter who anchored the left tackle spot his final two seasons, Davis was dominant at times and inconsistent at others. But he was the No. 11 overall pick in last year's NFL Draft after just three years in school.

Pat Bostick, Pittsburgh (No. 134): Always a little overrated as a prospect, Bostick was forced into a starting role his true freshman year as Pitt went 5-7. From there he settled into a backup's role, but he was under center for two of the Panthers' most memorable victories: at West Virginia at the end of '07, and at Notre Dame in 2008.

Manny Abreu, Rutgers (No. 144): Abreu has never quite lived up to his hype, but has been a solid contributor at linebacker for most of his career thus far and has a year left.

Why stop at 2007? Here's a look at how some other ESPNU 150 performers have panned out at Big East schools in recent years:

Brandon Heath, Louisville (No. 58 overall in 2006): Heath was hurt a lot earlier in his career but became a star linebacker as a senior this past season, finishing with 70 tackles and three sacks.

Nate Byham, Pittsburgh (No. 68 in 2006): Byham was the top blocking tight end in the league for most of his career at Pitt and went on to the NFL.

Dorin Dickerson, Pittsburgh (No. 74 in 2006): Dickerson underachieved for his first three years as the Panthers could never quite figure out what to do with him. Moved to tight end, he had a huge senior year and finally justified the hype.

Andrey Baskin, Syracuse (No. 86 in 2006): Never made it to the Orange.

Deantwan "Peanut" Whitehead, Louisville (No. 130 in 2006): Had a promising freshman year at defensive end, but a back injury prematurely ended his football career.

Jonathan Baldwin, Pittsburgh (No. 25 in 2008): Baldwin had an excellent three-year career and is entering the NFL Draft.

Shayne Hale, Pittsburgh (No. 101 in 2008): Moved from linebacker to defensive end after his redshirt freshman year, but hasn't been able to crack the rotation.

Chris Burns, Pittsburgh (No. 110 in 2008): The running back was buried on the depth chart for two years and transferred to UMass after the season.

Lucas Nix, Pittsburgh (No. 124 in 2008): Started this season at right tackle before moving inside to guard and playing at an all-league level.

Darrell Givens, Rutgers (No. 61 in 2009): The cornerback has yet to make an impact for the Scarlet Knights.

Geno Smith, West Virginia (No. 97 in 2009): Starting quarterback for the Mountaineers was my choice this year for first team All-Big East at his position.

Tom Savage, Rutgers (No. 125 in 2009): Took over starting job early in true freshman year, but was replaced this year by freshman Chas Dodd. Has announced he will transfer this spring.

Antwan Lowery, Rutgers (No. 134 in 2009): Was moved to offensive line last season and contributed; expected to start in 2011.

Demar Dorsey, Louisville (No. 12 in 2010): Opting for Louisville after Michigan would not admit him, Dorsey has not been able to get eligible and has never enrolled with the Cardinals.

Ivan McCartney, West Virginia (No. 109 in 2010): Had one catch as a true freshman; could see his role expand in Dana Holgorsen's new offense.

Terrence Mitchell, South Florida (No. 144 in 2010): Signed as a defensive back, he had his biggest impact as an electric punt returner. Was switched to offense midway through the season and could stay on as a receiver.

Opposing quarterbacks should be wary of West Virginia’s loaded secondary, which returns four of five starters.

Garrett Cullen of West Virginia MetroNews looks at some of the top nonconference matchups for this fall.

Syracuse picked up its 10^th commitment for the class of 2011, a defensive back from Florida.

Might Cincinnati’s staff get a little recruiting help?

Former Pitt tight end Dorin Dickerson has landed with the Houston Texans.

The NFL's fortnight of drafting -- what, it was only three days? Really? -- came to an end this weekend. I already touched on the first-round results on Friday. Here's a look at where Big East players went the rest of the draft, with some quick comments on each pick:

Second round

No. 37: Nate Allen, S, South Florida, to Philadelphia: No surprise here, as Allen was mentioned as a possible first-rounder at various points.

Third round

No. 65: Jerome Murphy, CB, South Florida to St. Louis: Here is proof that college production isn't always the most important thing to NFL scouts. Murphy struggled against some of the Big East's better receivers, but he has great physical tools and hopefully will find his niche in the pros.

Fourth round

No. 99: Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati, to St. Louis: If you watched any Bearcats games the past two years, you know that the Rams got an absolute steal. Think Sam Bradford will like having Gilyard around?

No. 101: Mike Williams, WR, Syracuse, to Tampa Bay: He was a first-round talent who was lucky to get picked this high given his off-the-field issues.

No. 107: Marcus Easley, WR, UConn, to Buffalo: Easley had great workouts, and though some thought he would go higher than this, it's still a great story for a guy who was a walk-on this time a year ago.

Fifth round

No. 157: Arthur Jones, DT, Syracuse, to Baltimore: Jones was talked about as a possible first-rounder earlier in his career. This is a great value pick for a player who will always give maximum effort.

Sixth round

No. 177: Carlton Mitchell, WR, South Florida, to Cleveland: Mitchell looked impressive in his workouts, but falling to the sixth round makes you question if he made the right choice in skipping his senior year.

No. 182: Nate Byham, TE, Pittsburgh, to San Francisco: The best blocking tight end in the Big East during his career.

No. 204: Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati, to Carolina: Pike has to be disappointed that he fell this low and that he was drafted by the same team that took Jimmy Clausen a couple rounds earlier.

Seventh round

No. 226: George Selvie, DE, South Florida, to St. Louis: How much would you have bet against the notion that Selvie would be a seventh-round pick at this time last year? Selvie's production dropped after his breakout sophomore year, and now he'll have to prove himself again.

No. 227: Dorin Dickerson, TE, Pittsburgh, to Houston: Surprised to see Dickerson go this low after his great Combine performance. He's a tweener who needs the right team to showcase his skills.

No. 231: Selvish Capers, OT, West Virginia, to Washington: Capers has a lot of talent and potential.

No. 237: Ryan D'Imperio, LB/FB, Rutgers, to Minnesota: The Scarlet Knights' linebacker was drafted as a fullback although he never played it in college.

No. 238: Ricardo Mathews, DT, Cincinnati, to Indianapolis: Mathews didn't get as much attention on the Bearcats' defense as some other players but had a nice senior season.

No. 249: Robert McClain, CB, UConn, to Carolina: McClain had four interceptions last year and also served as the team's punt returner.

Here's a handy-dandy list of NFL Draft picks per Big East school:

South Florida: 5

Rutgers: 3

Cincinnati: 3

Connecticut: 2

Pitt: 2

Syracuse: 2

West Virginia: 1

Louisville: 0

And, finally, some notable players who weren't drafted (I'll have more later on those who signed free-agent contracts): Andre Dixon and Lindsey Witten from UConn; Aaron Webster and Alex Daniels from Cincinnati; Scott Long from Louisville; and Jarrett Brown from West Virginia.

• Dwayne Difton had a tough freshman year, made tougher by the loss of friend Jasper Howard. But the UConn receiver says he's ready to contribute now, Desmond Conner writes in the Hartford Courant.
• Bill Stull tried to show scouts that he's a legitimate NFL prospect at Pitt's pro day on Wednesday, Paul Zeise writes in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• One guy who doesn't have to do much convincing is Dorin Dickerson, Ralph Paulk writes in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
• Here's a preview of Cincinnati's spring practice from the Cincinnati Enquirer's Bill Koch.
• Greg Schiano is eager for the challenge of leading a young team into the spring, Tom Luicci writes in The Star-Ledger.

• Dorin Dickerson had a terrific NFL combine. Now he just needs to find a team that knows how to use him, Gerry Dulac writes in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• Dickerson and South Florida's Carlton Mitchell were two of the combine's big winners, according to the Sporting News.
• The Hartford Courant's Desmond Conner has the rundown on spring injuries for UConn.
• Here's a statistical look at the decade that was in Big East football.
• Remember how Memphis hired former Big East commish Mike Tranghese as a consultant to figure out how to get in a major conference? Tranghese says Memphis needs to win more football games.
• West Virginia's embrace of UConn after the Jasper Howard death is one of the Big East's three nominations for top sportsmanship moments of the year.

Offensive players had their turn at the all-important NFL combine over the weekend. Defensive players get started today in Indianapolis. Here's a look at how some of the Big East's offensive invitees performed:

Offensive line: The guy with the most eyeballs on him was Rutgers tackle Anthony Davis, who has been projected as potential top 5 pick. There was good and bad in Davis' performance. His 5.38 time in the 40-yard dash was disappointing, and his 21 reps on the 225-pound bench press was pedestrian. But he showed off a 33-foot vertical leap, fourth best among all offensive linemen, proving his athleticism.

Tight ends: Pitt's Dorin Dickerson turned in an eye-popping 4.40 in the 40. Of course, Big East fans are well aware of Dickerson's top-end speed and athleticism. The question for him remains whether he'll be big enough to be a blocking tight end.

Teammate Nate Byham served that role for the Panthers, and while he posted just a 5.09 time in the 40, his best trait is his physicality in the run game.

Quarterbacks: Some of the bigger-name quarterback prospects didn't throw this weekend, but Cincinnati's Tony Pike and West Virginia's Jarrett Brown did. Here is what Scouts Inc. analyst Todd McShay had to say about them:

"Pike is the third quarterback in the class to adjust his delivery and Pike showed a release that got the ball out of his hand more quickly. He was a little inconsistent with his accuracy, but there is surely an adjustment period after tweaking his delivery and the long-term benefits should outweigh the short-term inconsistency."

"[Brown's] 4.54 in the 40 was best among quarterbacks and he posted a 34.4 vertical jump, showing that he also has the athleticism to move to another position if necessary."

Here is ESPN.com's John Clayton's take:

"The highlight of the day was watching the 6-6 Pike go against the 6-3 [Zac] Robinson. Each has a tight overhand delivery in which the ball zips from the right of his ear and moves with velocity. Even though Pike will probably go ahead of Robinson, I thought Robinson won the day. His passes on comeback routes were crisp and he surprised many by throwing a better 35-yard post corner route than Pike. For whatever reason, I thought Pike's balls wobbled a little too much when he threw outside the numbers."

Receivers: UConn's Marcus Easley ran a 4.46 in the 40, seventh best among wideouts and tops among Big East receivers.

"Easley showed good explosiveness with a 10-3 broad jump and there is a lot to like about the way he tracks deep passes," McShay writes. "Easley is a former walk-on with limited game experience, but he clearly has the raw tools to warrant midround consideration as a developmental project."

Louisville's Scott Long ran a 4.46 and South Florida's Carlton Mitchell posted a 4.49. Both measured in at 6-foot-2 and helped themselves by showing a combination of size and speed. Long also had the best vertical jump among receivers at 41.5 inches and topped all wideouts in the 3-cone drill and 60-yard shuttle.

West Virginia's Alric Arnett finishing third in the receiving group with a 40-inch vertical. Cincinnati's Mardy Gilyard registered a 39-inch leap.

No lunchtime links today, because there aren't any. It's a slow time, though Rutgers is expected to name two new assistant coaches this afternoon. So instead, I thought I'd give you the full list of Big East players who have been invited to the NFL combine, which begins Feb. 24 in Indianapolis:

• Nate Allen, S, South Florida
• Alric Arnett, WR, West Virginia
• Jarrett Brown, QB, West Virginia
• Nate Byham, TE, Pittsburgh
• Selvish Capers, OT, West Virginia
• Anthony Davis, OT, Rutgers
• Dorin Dickerson, TE, Pittsburgh
• Andre Dixon, RB, Connecticut
• Marcus Easley, WR, Connecticut
• Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati
• Arthur Jones, DT, Syracuse
• Scott Long, WR, Louisville
• Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers
• Carlton Mitchell, WR, South Florida
• Jerome Murphy, CB, South Florida
• Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida
• Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati
• George Selvie, DE, South Florida
• Mike Williams, WR, Syracuse
• Kion Wilson, LB, South Florida
• Lindsey Witten, DE, Connecticut

A postseason ranking of the Big East's top 30 players ...

No. 11


Dorin Dickerson, TE, Pittsburgh, Sr.

Preseason rank: NR

Why him here: Everyone expected Dickerson to become a star when he signed with Pitt, eschewing major programs like Florida to do so. It just took until his senior year for Dickerson to finally find his niche.

After moving around the field looking for a home, Dickerson settled in as the Panthers' pass-catching tight end and was one of the top offensive options in the Big East. Ten of his 49 catches went for touchdowns; only two players, Cincinnati's Mardy Gilyard and Armon Binns, had more touchdown catches in 2009.

The knock on Dickerson would be that he virtually disappeared in the final three games against West Virginia, Cincinnati and North Carolina. Whether defenses were simply concentrating more on him or he was nursing an unknown injury were never full explained.

Regardless, Dickerson had a strong showing during Senior Bowl week, and some NFL team will love his combination of size, speed and hands.

Previous:

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

We're just a day away from national signing day. (Sometimes I inadvertently transpose the first g and n in the word signing while typing that; wouldn't it be cool if there were a national singing day?). Anyway, there will be lots to talk about the next couple of days in the recruiting world. For now, let's address some other issues in the ol' mailbag:

Adam B. from Pittsburgh writes: I have been hearing fairly persistent rumors over the past four to five days that it is a done deal that Pitt will be going to the Big Ten. Have you heard this as well? How likely is this move? I would just like to have some light shed on this.

Brian Bennett: Adam is just one of about, oh, 300 people to ask me this question since Sunday. I can answer this one really quickly: the rumors have no merit. None. Somehow this thing got started on message boards and on the series of tubes and took off, but no one could claim a source and the timing never made any sense at all.

I've talked to people at Pitt, and my colleague Adam Rittenberg has spoken to Big Ten officials, and everybody says there have been no contact whatsoever between the two parties. Look, it's possible that Pittsburgh could eventually be invited to join the Big Ten. But that day is several months away at the earliest and is no guarantee. For now, there's simply nothing there.

---

Andrew from California writes: In your questions with Big East head honcho John Marinatto you mentioned Villanova for possible expansion. My question is how come no one considers Georgetown for expansion? Philly already has Temple and the Eagles to compete for ticket sales, and Villanova only has about 9,000 students and very little money in the bank. Georgetown is bigger, has a lot more money and D.C. is a big tourist draw to help bring people in. They could easily bring their on-campus field to 35,000 seats with the available space and use RFK stadium for big games.

Brian Bennett: Sounds good on paper, but in reality Georgetown's program is really struggling at the FCS level. The Hoyas went 0-11 this past season and are just 5-38 since 2006. And my understanding is the school has had issues with its on-campus stadium. Georgetown just isn't in a position to move up to the FBS and compete anytime soon. Right now it needs to focus on trying to win at the lower level. Villanova, meanwhile is the reigning FCS champion.

---

Brett from Austin, Texas, writes: I'm disappointed that you didn't ask Marinatto tougher questions regarding the possibility of the Big 10 possibly taking a Big East team. This is a serious crossroads for the Big East and you let him off the hook by alllowing him to deflect just about every question you question. The commissioner came off as out of touch with what is really going on in college football and I'm afraid that might be bad news for those us that are fans of Big East football.

Brian Bennett: Well, Brett, the bottom line is that right now this is a Big Ten issue more than a Big East one, so what's the commissioner supposed to say? At the end of the day, if the Big Ten offers a Big East school a chance to make a whole lot more money, there's not much the Big East can do to match the financial incentives, other than -- as Marinatto pointed out -- make the league as strong as possible right now. I assure you Marinatto is not out of touch; in fact, he's very plugged in, and many people credit him for being one of the strongest reasons the Big East survived after 2004. But it's clear that his style is not to talk much about these issues publicly, unlike some other leagues.

---

Ken from Philly writes: Hey, BB, how can you have George Selvie and Jabaal Sheard ahead of Lindsey Witten [in your postseason Top 30 list]? Yes alot of his sacks came against lesser competition, but USF and Pitt had there share of cupcakes (especially USF). And Selvie and Sheard played opposite two players who will be in your top 10 whereas Witten played opposite true freshman all year.

Brian Bennett: It's close -- I had Witten 29th, Sheard 28th and Selvie at No. 26. The reason I ranked Witten behind those guys is because I felt like he disappeared during the middle of the year. And it seemed like he even worked his way into Randy Edsall's doghouse after a hot start. I felt like Selvie and Sheard, on the other hand, brought it every game even if their stats maybe aren't as good. And I thought Witten was a little weaker against the run, particularly compared to Sheard. Again, though, we're almost splitting hairs here.

---

Dave from Charlotte, N.C., writes: The Big East has two big things going for it: 1) the perceived greatness of the basketball conference; and 2) the actual computer-ranking "goodness" of the football conference (at least for the past few years). Given that, in your opinion, is there any chance at all that the Big East could expand by raiding other BCS conferences? Maryland, Georgia Tech, and Penn State come to mind. I know it's a long shot, but it doesn't seem that crazy when you add it up. Of course, the major stumbling block in this is that the Big East management seems to act reactively instead of proactively.

Brian Bennett: For all the expansion talk about schools like Villanova and Central Florida, the best thing the Big East could do is grab an established program that's already in a BCS league. It's not going to be anyone from the Big Ten because that league makes too much money and going to the Big East would be a step down.

So the only real option on that front would be the ACC, which hasn't exactly tore it up in football since expanding to 12 teams. Maryland and Boston College would make the most sense, especially if they get fed up with what is perceived at times to be a bias toward the Carolina schools. I have no idea if either would be interested in bolting or what it would take, but those seem to make the likeliest targets if the Big East chose to go that way.

I think the Big East learned some painful but valuable lessons from the last raid and I believe the conference will be more prepared this time around. But the next year or so will present a major challenge that requires bold thinking and leadership.

---

Jim from Fort Mitchell, Ky., writes: Cincinnati wins two Big East titles and has Tony Pike and Mardy Gilyard being drafted and you focus on Pitt?

Brian Bennett: Since that's all you wrote, I don't really know what you're referring to, Jim. But given the timing of your e-mail, I'm going to assume you're talking about my post that looked back on the 2006 recruiting classes. And clearly, Pitt had a great haul that year with players like Nate Byham, Jason Pinkston, Dorin Dickerson and Greg Romeus. Neither Gilyard nor Pike were in the '06 class; they were both fifth-year seniors from the class of '05. While Cincinnati certainly had key contributors from its '06 class, notably Aaron Webster, Ben Guidugli and Ricardo Matthews, by my count more than half that class never did much. The players who formed the nucleus of the two-time Big East champs mostly hailed from other classes.

NFL scouts and casual fans watching the Senior Bowl over the weekend learned what Big East followers already knew: Mardy Gilyard just makes big plays.

The former Cincinnati receiver was one of the game's brightest stars, hauling in 103 yards receiving, including a 32-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, and another 76 yards on punt and kickoff returns. Gilyard probably helped himself in the draft as much as anyone from his performance in the game.

Gilyard's ex-Cincinnati teammate, quarterback Tony Pike, finished 5-of-12 for 45 yards. Scouts Inc. gave Pike a "B" grade for his work all week in Mobile, Ala.

Former West Virginia quarterback Jarrett Brown completed four of his seven passes for 57 yards, though he did throw an interception.

Pitt's Dorin Dickerson made one catch for 7 yards.

Rutgers' Devin McCourty started at cornerback and collected six tackles, while adding a 47-yard kickoff return.

South Florida's Jerome Murphy had four tackles, while former teammates Nate Allen had three and George Selvie made one.

Earlier today, the Scouts Inc. guys took a look back at their 2006 prospect ratings to determine where they were off and where they hit the mark. I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff, as you may recall, so I thought this was a perfect excuse to do the same for the 2006 Big East recruiting classes.

Biggest busts

Andrey Baskin, WR, Syracuse: Baskin was the fourth-highest rated recruit to sign with a Big East school. But he failed to qualify and never made it to campus.

DeAntwan "Peanut" Whitehead, DE, Louisville: A major coup when the Cardinals landed him out of Alabama, Whitehead hurt his neck as a sophomore and never played again.

John Maddox, WR, West Virginia: A 6-foot-3 athlete who looked like a future contributor if not star, Maddox quit the team after a season.

Aundre Henderson, DT, Louisville: Henderson was a hometown star with a ton of ability. Unfortunately, he never really liked football and quit the sport.

Jamie Nixon, CB, Connecticut: Maybe this is why Randy Edsall doesn't like highly-rated recruits too much. Nixon was ranked as the 18th best cornerback in '06 but never panned out.

Hasn't met expectations ... yet

Brandon Heath, S/LB, Louisville: Heath was the highest-ranked player to sign with a Big East team in '06, checking in at No. 58 in the ESPNU 150. He hasn't lived up to that billing, thanks in large part to injuries. He moved to linebacker this past season and was productive. He has another year of eligibility.

Met expectations

Nate Byham, TE, Pittsburgh: Byham was No. 68 in the ESPNU 150 rankings and justified it as an All-Big East performer.

Dorin Dickerson, TE, Pittsburgh: Dickerson would have been labeled a bust this time a year ago, but the Panthers finally figured out what to do with him as a senior. He's a legitimate pro prospect now.

Jason Pinkston, OL, Pittsburgh: The Panthers' batting average was surprisingly high in 2006, as several signees became major contributors.

Tim Brown, WR, Rutgers: Ranked as one of the Scarlet Knights' top recruits in '06, Brown had a terrific career in Piscataway.

Chris Neild, DL, West Virginia: Neild was ranked among the top tight ends out of high school but made the successful transition to All-Big East nose guard.

Exceeded expectations

Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers: Rated just a "40" prospect, which is as low as the grading scale goes, Britt was a first-round pick last year after a record-breaking three-year career.

Nate Allen, S, South Florida: The scouts had him listed as the No. 152 quarterback in the class. He should be one of the first safeties picked in the NFL Draft.

Scott Lutrus, Robert McClain, Lindsey Witten, Lawrence Wilson, Zach Hurd, Connecticut: All were unheralded. All turned into top-notch Big East players. Should we even be surprised at that anymore when it comes to the Huskies?

Greg Romeus, DE, Pitt: Another "40" rated player, he was Big East co-defensive player of the year this past season.

Aaron Webster, S, Cincinnati: After attracting little notice out of high school, Webster developed into a starter and key member of a two-time Big East championship defense.

The Senior Bowl practices are wrapping up, with the game coming up Saturday in Mobile, Ala. Let's take a look at some of the reviews about former Big East players:

On Tuesday, ESPN.com's Scouts Inc. team had this to say about West Virginia offensive lineman Selvish Capers:

"Capers was the best offensive lineman on the South team on Day 2, showing good mobility when getting to the second linebacker as a run blocker. He also played with balance and showed good lateral mobility with his feet. During 1-on-1 drills, Capers anchored well and held his ground, at one point just erasing East Carolina DE C.J. Wilson on consecutive plays. He is not overly explosive and will have trouble at times with bigger bull rushers, and Capers needs to get stronger in the lower body, but he will be a good fit for a zone blocking scheme in which the emphasis is on getting into space and taking sound angles to defenders because he plays under control and has good feet."

Cincinnati's Mardy Gilyard has been playing well, if not spectacularly, as this Day 3 report notes:

"Gilyard is having a strong overall day. He's running good routes and making a lot of plays during seven-on-seven drills after showing off his quick hands and feet early in practice."

Analyst Rob Rang had high praise for West Virginia quarterback Jarrett Brown in his CBSSports.com blog:

"Brown has a quick release and a strong arm and was fearless Wednesday, attacking all levels of the field despite having already secured his status as one of the risers from this week's action. His strong performance and legitimate upside may have boosted his status into the late 2nd or early 3rd round."

Pitt's Dorin Dickerson has been working out exclusively at receiver, but will move back to tight end for the NFL Combine workouts. He has been impressive lately.

"In a nutshell, wow!" DraftInsider.net wrote. "He is fast and was able to beat cornerbacks down the field. He is also a terrific pass catcher with strong, reliable hands."

Here is DraftInsider.net's analysis of other players of note:

• George Selvie: "[Wednesday] Best effort to date for the collegiate sackmaster. Selvie showed more strength against double teams. He was quick off the snap. He even threw a fantastic bullrush to plant an opposing blocker in pass rush rush drills."

• Jerome Murphy: "Continued to struggle. Loses out in battles when he should not and just did not show a good feel for coverage."

• Devin McCourty: [Tuesday] was inconsistent. He showed himself to be a strong corner and physically beat down Mardy Gilyard on a number of instances. Yet when he was not able to press receivers it usually ended up in completions for the opposition.
  
  Looked better [Wednesday]. For some reason showed a better burst to the ball out of his plant and did not struggle as much making plays with his back to the pass. Overall a good performance by McCourty on the most important day of the week."

It's Senior Bowl week in Mobile, Ala., and it's time for a lot of the top NFL prospects from the Big East to make their cases.

Here again are the Big East players on the rosters for Saturday's game:

North

Dorin Dickerson, TE, Pittsburgh

Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati

Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers

Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati

Mike Windt, LS, Cincinnati

South

Nate Allen, S, South Florida

Jarrett Brown, QB, West Virginia

Selvish Capers, OL, West Virginia

Jerome Murphy, CB, South Florida

George Selvie, DE, South Florida

It could be like old times with Selvie trying to sack Pike or Gilyard trying to beat Murphy on a route during the game.

The two quarterbacks could have the most to prove during this week's practices and the game. Pike is an intriguing prospect because of his size (6-foot-6) and arm strength, but there are questions about his durability and his ability to play under center. Brown has unlimited potential because of his physical gifts and could wow scouts with his arm and mobility. But he started only one year and still has a lot to learn about the position.

Others who could really help themselves include Gilyard, who was one of the most productive receivers/return men in Big East history, and Selvie, whose numbers fell off after his huge sophomore campaign. If McCourty plays like he did this year at Rutgers, I think he could have a big week. And Allen has some freakish physical tools.

The official and final list of NFL scouting combine invitees isn't quite complete, but the Sporting News has put together an early list of who's going. This list does not include juniors who have declared or will declare for the draft, and some seniors will be added later.

The combine runs from Feb. 24 to March 2 in Indianapolis. Here are the Big East players who've been invited so far:

Cincinnati: WR Mardy Gilyard, QB Tony Pike

Connecticut: RB Andre Dixon, WR Marcus Easley, DE Lindsey Witten

Louisville: WR Scott Long

Pittsburgh: TE Nate Byham, TE Dorin Dickerson

Rutgers: CB Devin McCourty

South Florida: S Nate Allen, CB Jerome Murphy, DE George Selvie, LB Kion Wilson

Syracuse: DT Arthur Jones

West Virginia: WR Alric Arnett, QB Jarrett Brown, OT Selvish Capers

The Big East is 2-for-2, and Pitt's 19-17 win over North Carolina was pretty impressive, considering it came in basically a road game in Charlotte at the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

The big news was that the Panthers notched their first 10-win season since 1981, though that Dan Marino-led team went 11-1 instead of 10-3. Still, it represents progress for Dave Wannstedt's program and gives Pitt something to build upon.

"Ten wins separates you, and I don't think these guys know what they have accomplished here tonight and probably won't for a few weeks or a month or however long," Wannstedt said. "I think that people know that we are back as a program, and you have to go out and prove it. You have to show up and you have to play and you have to win games like this."

On Wednesday, I presented three keys for Pitt in this game: Make North Carolina's offense work to score instead of giving up a special teams or defensive big play; protect quarterback Bill Stull against the heavy Tar Heels pass rush and get tight end Dorin Dickerson involved.

While North Carolina put together a couple of nice drives, its offense finished with just 264 total yards. Stull didn't throw any interceptions and Pitt didn't give up any damaging special teams plays. The Pitt offensive line yielded two sacks, but Stull had plenty of time most of the day and the Panthers won the battle up front. Dickerson had four catches for 21 yards but dropped a touchdown pass early. He just hasn't looked the same the last three games, and you have to wonder if he's fully healthy.

But Mike Shanahan stepped up with five big catches, including some tough ones over the middle, and it looks like he can be the key possession receiver to Jonathan Baldwin's deep threat next season. Combine that with another year from the amazing Dion Lewis, and that's an awfully good start for 2010, even if Pitt has to replace three offensive line starters and break in a new quarterback.

It was good way for the Panthers to end things after they lost their last two regular-season games in the final minute. Of course, they also beat UConn in the final seconds, so the odds probably worked out. This game will long be remembered by Pitt fans for the 17-play, 8:47 drive that led to the winning field goal. To do that against the No. 6 rated defense in the FBS was particularly special.

"The series or two before we came unglued a little bit," Wannstedt said. "We were not lined up, we were hurrying a bit, we had a bad snap, we had a penalty. So our guys went out there and there was no room for error. For our guys to go out there and complete that many plays in a row for the most part successfully says a lot about the focus and discipline of our kids."

Pittsburgh should wind up in the Top 15 and should be ranked to start next season despite some major personnel losses, including Stull, Dickerson, those O-linemen, defensive tackle Mick Williams, linebacker Adam Gunn and cornerback Aaron Berry. Junior defensive end Greg Romeus could opt for the NFL as well. But in addition to the offensive core I mentioned earlier, the Panthers still have rising young talent like linebacker Dan Mason, who grabbed a crucial interception at the goal line.

You have to make Pitt one of the early favorites in the Big East in 2010. Totally different feeling than after last year's Sun Bowl, huh?