ESPN College Football

Adam Rittenberg did this over at the Big Ten blog, and I thought it was an idea worth stealing.

We know the Big East isn't going to dominate the first couple of rounds of the NFL draft, but there are several good players from the league who can help teams. I'm no Mel Kiper Jr. -- one look at my hairdo tells you that -- and I realize the NFL is in many ways a different game than the college level.

Still, I've watched Big East players up close for the past few years and can tell when somebody can play. Here's one guy from each Big East team that I think could be a bargain in the NFL draft as a mid-round selection or even a free-agent pickup:

Cincinnati

Jason Kelce, C, 6-2, 280

Why him: Kelce arrived at Cincinnati as a walk-on linebacker, then started for two years at left guard before taking over the center duties as a senior. That tells you he's a hard worker willing to do whatever it takes to help a team and get on the field, and he was a part of two Big East championship teams. If nothing else, he could add depth to an offensive line with his versatility.

Connecticut

Scott Lutrus, LB, 6-2, 241

Why him: Lutrus is a student of the game and a better athlete than he gets credit for, as evidenced by his strong NFL combine numbers. He's got pretty good size, too, and is a solid tackler. There is some health risk here because he had shoulder/stinger problems his last two seasons at UConn. But as a late pick or free-agent signee, he is worth a gamble.

Louisville

Cameron Graham, TE, 6-3, 244

Why him: Graham might not stand out in any one area. He's not a speed merchant nor a physically imposing player. But he gets the most out of his ability and developed into a really reliable pass-catcher for Louisville as a senior. He could make a solid No. 2 or No. 3 tight end for some team in the right system.

Pittsburgh

Jason Pinkston, OT, 6-3, 317

Why him: Pinkston was a three-year starter for the Panthers and as steady a player as there was in the Big East. He earned all-league honors his last two seasons and performed well against some of the best pass-rushers the conference had to offer. He might not be big or athletic enough to play left tackle at the next level as he did in college, but he'll find a home somewhere on an NFL line.

Rutgers

Joe Lefeged, S, 5-11, 210

Why him: This isn't the strongest Scarlet Knights draft class of recent years, and Lefeged is likely the only Rutgers player who will get drafted. He tailed off after a hot start last season, but seemed to be affected by the Eric LeGrand injury as much as any of his teammates. What I like about Lefeged is that he's also a really good and very willing special-teams performer, so an NFL team will get that extra value from him.

South Florida

Mistral Raymond, DB, 6-1, 191

Why him: Is Raymond talented enough to play in the NFL? I don't know. I do know that he's a hard worker who rose from walk-on to team leader for the Bulls, and he's lanky and versatile enough to play either corner or safety. He'll probably be an undrafted free agent, but he's a guy I would want on my practice squad at the very least.

Syracuse

Rob Long, P, 6-2, 190

Why him: Anyone strong-willed enough to battle through a brain tumor with the positive attitude Long maintained is someone I'd want on my side. And don't forget he was one of the league's best punters throughout his career and also handled kickoffs and holding duties. Not many punters get drafted, but I'd offer him a contract if I were a GM looking to upgrade my special teams.

West Virginia

Chris Neild, DT, 6-1, 319

Why him: Mountaineers fans don't need to be reminded why Neild is such a valuable player. Let's hope that an NFL team sees it. In the right system, Neild would be an excellent contributor.

• An injury forced Tyler Rader to change positions, and that ended up being a blessing for him and the Mountaineers. Where will former West Virginia nose tackle Chris Neild end up in the NFL?

• Doug Hogue and some other former Syracuse stars are waiting to find out where they're going in the draft.

• Jason Kelce and Armon Binns are the most likely Cincinnati Bearcats to hear their names called this weekend.

• Louisville has some new uniforms for 2011.

• Eric LeGrand will be part of the broadcast team for Rutgers' spring game.

Scouts Inc. has come up with comprehensive draft boards for every position as we draw ever closer to the 2011 NFL draft (and, hopefully, a 2011 NFL season).

Let's start on the offensive side of the ball and take a look at where some Big East hopefuls are ranked. First, the skill positions:

• Jonathan Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh: second round

• Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut: third round

• Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: fourth round

• Delone Carter, RB, Syracuse: fourth round

• Bilal Powell, RB, Louisville: fifth round

• Anthony Sherman, FB, Connecticut: fifth round

• Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: sixth round

• Henry Hynoski, FB, Pittsburgh: seventh round

• Armon Binns, WR, Cincinnati: seventh round

Now, the offensive linemen/tight ends:

• Jason Pinkston, OT, Pittsbugh: fifth round

• Cameron Graham, TE, Louisville: sixth round

• Zach Hurd, OG, Connecticut: sixth round

• Ryan Bartholomew, C, Syracuse: seventh round

• Jason Kelce, C, Cincinnati: seventh round

Now let's move to the defensive side and see where Scouts Inc. rates some Big East defenders:

• Terrell McClain, DT, South Florida: second round

• Jabaal Sheard, DE/LB, Pittsburgh: second round

• Johnny Patrick, CB, Louisville: third round

• Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh: fourth round

• Brandon Hogan, CB, West Virginia: fourth round

• Robert Sands, S, West Virginia: fourth round

• Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut: fifth round

• Scott Lutrus, LB, Connecticut: fifth round

• Joe Lefeged, S, Rutgers: sixth round

• Chris Neild, DT, West Virginia: sixth round

• Derrell Smith, LB, Syracuse: sixth round

• J.T. Thomas, LB, West Virginia: sixth round

• Doug Hogue, LB, Syracuse: sixth round

• Greg Lloyd, LB, Connecticut: seventh round

These projections aren't gospel by any means, but they should give you a pretty good idea of how Big East hopefuls are being viewed right now.

The NFL combine kicked into full swing over the weekend in Indianapolis, and several Big East players already turned in their audition.

There's a lot more testing to be done, with defensive linemen and linebackers getting center stage on Monday. But many results are already in, and here's a look at how Big East players have fared so far. All results are based upon performance by position unless otherwise noted:

Running back


Connecticut's Jordan Todman was third among running backs (and sixth overall so far) in the 40-yard dash with a time of 4.40 seconds. He was third with a 38-inch vertical, third in the 60-yard shuttle, eighth in the 20-yard shuttle and sixth in bench press with 25 repetitions.

Huskies fullback Anthony Sherman topped running backs at 32 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press.

Syracuse's Delone Carter was third in the 20-yard shuttle (and ninth overall so far), 14th in the 40-yard dash at 4.5 seconds, 10th in the three-cone drill, sixth in broad jump, seventh in vertical leap at 37 inches and fourth on the bench press.

Pittsburgh's Dion Lewis was 13th with a 4.57 time in the 40, fourth in the 60-yard shuttle, eighth in the 20-yard shuttle and three-cone drills, and 14th in vertical leap at 34.5 inches. Lewis, by the way, measured in at 5-foot-7 and 193 pounds.

West Virginia's Noel Devine was seventh in the bench press.

Wide receivers


Pitt's Jon Baldwin topped all receivers (and is second overall so far) with a 42-inch vertical leap. He was fifth in broad jump, 12th in the 40-yard dash at 4.5 seconds and fourth in bench press with 20 reps.

West Virginia's Jock Sanders tied for sixth in bench press and was 10th in the 20-yard shuttle.

Offensive linemen

Syracuse's Ryan Bartholomew topped offensive linemen with 34 reps in the bench press. He was second in the 40-yard dash at 4.97 seconds and ninth in the 20-yard shuttle.

Cincinnati's Jason Kelce was first among offensive linemen with a 4.93 40-yard time and also came in first in the three-cone and 20-yard shuttle drills. He tied for eighth in vertical leap and was third in broad jump.

Defensive linemen

West Virginia's Chris Neild tied for 10th with 30 reps on the bench press.

South Florida's Terrell McClain tied for 14th on the bench with 29 reps.

Tight end

Louisville's Cameron Graham was 11th in bench, 12th in vertical leap, 12th in the 3-cone and 12th in the 20-yard shuttle.

Linebackers

Connecticut's Lawrence Wilson tied for seventh on the bench press with 24 reps.

West Virginia's J.T. Thomas did 23 reps, which tied for ninth.

UConn's Greg Lloyd tied for 13th with 22 reps.

The NFL combine officially began on Wednesday, as players arrived in Indianapolis and started interviews with team officials.

There are more interviews Thursday, along with measurements and medical examinations. Workouts start on Friday, and here is the schedule for position groups:

Friday: Specialists
Saturday: Offensive linemen, tight ends
Sunday: Quarterbacks, wide receivers, running backs
Monday: Defensive linemen, linebackers
Tuesday: Defensive backs

It will be fun to follow the Big East players as they strut their stuff for scouts. Who will be the top player drafted from the league? My money is still on Pittsburgh receiver Jon Baldwin, whom I expect to put up dazzling numbers in his combine workouts.

Here again is the full list of Big East players scheduled to participate in Indianapolis:

Cincinnati (3)

Armon Binns, WR

Jason Kelce, OL

Jake Rogers, K

Connecticut (6)


Zach Hurd, OL

Anthony Sherman, FB

Jordan Todman, RB

Lawrence Wilson, LB

Greg Lloyd, LB

Scott Lutrus, LB

Louisville (3)


Cameron Graham, TE

Johnny Patrick, CB

Bilal Powell, RB

Pittsburgh (6)

Jon Baldwin, WR

Henry Hynoski, FB

Dion Lewis, RB

Jason Pinkston, OL

Greg Romeus, DE

Jabaal Sheard, DE

Rutgers (1)


Joe Lefeged, S

South Florida (1)

Terrell McClain, DT

Syracuse (4)

Ryan Bartholomew, OL

Doug Hogue, LB

Delone Carter, RB

Derrell Smith, LB

West Virginia (6)

Noel Devine, RB

Brandon Hogan, CB

Chris Neild, DT

Jock Sanders, WR

Robert Sands, S

J.T. Thomas, LB

The official invitation list to the NFL combine is out, and 30 Big East players will be showing off their skills at the premiere pre-draft event.

The following league players are scheduled to participate in the set of drills before scouts from Feb. 23 to March 1 in Indianapolis:

Jon Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh

Ryan Bartholomew, OL, Syracuse

Armon Binns, WR, Cincinnati

Delone Carter, RB, Syracuse

Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia

Cameron Graham, TE, Louisville

Brandon Hogan, CB, West Virginia

Doug Hogue, LB, Syracuse

Zach Hurd, OL, Connecticut

Henry Hynoski, FB, Pittsburgh

Jason Kelce, OL, Cincinnati

Joe Lefeged, S, Rutgers

Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh

Greg Lloyd, LB, Connecticut

Scott Lutrus, LB, Connecticut

Terrell McClain, DT, South Florida

Chris Neild, DT, West Virginia

Johnny Patrick, CB, Louisville

Jason Pinkston, OL, Pittsburgh

Bilal Powell, RB, Louisville

Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh

Jake Rogers, K, Cincinnati

Jock Sanders, WR, West Virginia

Robert Sands, S, West Virginia

Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh

Anthony Sherman, FB, Connecticut

Derrell Smith, LB, Syracuse

J.T. Thomas, LB, West Virginia

Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut

Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut

After two straight Big East titles and BCS game appearances, Cincinnati came crashing down to earth with a 4-8 record in 2010.

Several factors conspired against the Bearcats in this disappointing season. There was the coaching transition, of course, as Butch Jones took over for Brian Kelly. There was a difficult early schedule that included games at Fresno State and NC State and versus Oklahoma, all of which Cincinnati lost. Injuries played a part, as starting receiver Vidal Hazelton went down in the opener with a torn ACL, and the team's most experienced cornerback (Dominique Battle) missed most of the year with a knee injury.

The Bearcats led the league in points scored and total offense but finished last in points allowed thanks to an undersized, inexperienced defense that gave up nearly 34 points per conference game. Unlike last season, when they could win shootouts late in the year because of their prolific offense, they continually ended their own drives with mistakes. Their abysmal minus-15 turnover margin was second-worst in the FBS.

Intangibles were at play as well. Jones had to fight a sense of entitlement that stemmed from those two straight championships. Senior center Jason Kelce told the Cincinnati Enquirer earlier this month that the team lacked the hunger it had in previous years.

So what can Cincinnati do to get back to the postseason in 2011?

Jones has a strong nucleus returning. The team loses only six starting seniors, none of them on defense. Quarterback Zach Collaros, running back Isaiah Pead and receiver D.J. Woods are all among the best at their position in the Big East, so the offense should thrive again, especially with a year of Jones' system under their belts. The Bearcats will miss start wideout Armon Binns, but freshman Anthony McClung showed promise late in the year, and former star recruit Dyjuan Woods and junior college transfer Kenbrell Thompkins will become eligible.

The defense remains an issue, and this offseason will be crucial in the weight room for the Bearcats to add some bulk. Jones has to fill in some gaps through recruiting and may look to a junior college player or two to provide immediate help.

Next year's schedule will be slightly easier, with difficult games against Tennessee and NC State but highly winnable contests against Austin Peay, Akron and Miami of Ohio. For the first time in a few years, the Bearcats won't be picked among the favorites for the Big East. But they should improve enough to get back to a bowl in 2011.

The post-spring Big East position rankings continue now with a look at the league's offensive lines. Remember, we're looking for both star power and depth.

1. Connecticut: Randy Edsall and offensive line coach Mike Foley somehow keep unearthing gems and developing outstanding linemen. Guard Zach Hurd was a first-team All-Big East performer a year ago, while center Moe Petrus should be among the best at his position this season. Adam Masters and Kevin Friend were pleasant surprises this spring. The Huskies are big, deep and talented up front.

2. Cincinnati: The Bearcats have to replace all-league left tackle Jeff Linkenbach, but they return all-conference performers Alex Hoffman and Jason Kelce on the interior. Tackle C.J. Cobb needs to overcome spring knee surgery, but this unit should be strong enough to keep Cincinnati one of the nation's top-scoring offenses.

3. West Virginia: The Mountaineers' offensive line was spotty last year, but there's reason to hope for improvement. Four starters are back, and the unit played better toward the end of the season. Don Barclay is becoming a leader at left tackle, while Josh Jenkins has the talent to be an all-conference performer. Depth should be much better than it was a year ago, when the starters played virtually every snap.

4. Pittsburgh: There are serious questions at center and right guard, and depth is a major issue. Yet Jason Pinkston is arguable the top left tackle in the league, and Chris Jacobson and Lucas Nix look ready to break out this year. Line coach Tony Wise usually finds a way to get it done.

5. South Florida: The Bulls may lack a lot of household names, but they have as much experience up front as any Big East team. Even with the loss of Zach Hermann to a career-ending neck injury, they still have plenty of veterans like Jake Sims, Mark Popek, Chaz Hine and Sampson Genus, who was a second-team All-Big East center a year ago.

6. Louisville: The Cardinals aren't going to wow you with talent on the offensive line, but four starters are back on a unit that held its own last year. Center Mario Benavides has proved to be a worthy heir to Eric Wood and could push for postseason honors. Greg Tomczyk and Mark Wetterer have played a lot of football in their careers.

7. Syracuse: Ryan Bartholomew, a second-team All-Big East guard last year, has moved to center. Depth is better than a year ago, and former offensive lineman Doug Marrone will whip this group into shape. A lot will depend on how tackles Justin Pugh and Michael Hay develop.

8. Rutgers: Greg Schiano says he's confident this year's O-line will outperform last year's unit for the Scarlet Knights. When center Howard Barbieri and tackle Desmond Wynn return from injuries this summer, the line should look a lot better. But exiting the spring, no team has more question marks and concerns on the offensive front than Rutgers.

CINCINNATI -- Some thoughts and observations from today's Cincinnati Bearcats practice:

• The one word I would use to describe a Butch Jones practice is: Fast. Now, I've seen some up-tempo practices in my time. Bobby Petrino used to run his guys hard at Louisville. Heck, Brian Kelly's practices were up-tempo, so much so that Notre Dame is having to adjust to the new pace.
  
  Still, I'm not sure I've seen a practice move as quickly, especially in the spring, as the one I saw today. The team took only one short break for water during the nearly 2 1/2 hour workout which covered 24 periods. When the offense was doing pass skeleton drills, the players had to absolutely sprint to the line of scrimmage after each throw. It's also a loud practice, as several coaches are yelling throughout. Usually, there's one or two extremely vocal, super-intense assistants on the field. At Nippert Stadium today, you would see several coaches sprinting and screaming all over the field.
  
  At one point when a receiver failed to keep running down the field after a catch, Mike Bajakian chased him back to the huddle and then made him sprint with him for yards.
  
  "Get the mentality!" Bajakian yelled.
  
  So that was interesting.

• Some other differences included music over the loudspeakers at the start of practice, though it was turned off after assistant Kerry Coombs voiced his displeasure with Metallica's "One." Team managers wore referee shirts so players would know where to throw the ball after a drill. The team just bought six-foot screens on wheels that stood in for the pass rush on pass drills, as managers would push the screens toward the quarterbacks. And the players line up and shake hands like a postgame hockey scene once practice ends.

• Today was the first day in pads for the Bearcats, but they mostly avoided contact. So it was hard to draw large conclusions about the team as a whole. I would definitely say the receivers are impressive; the starting trio of Armon Binns, Vidal Hazelton and D.J. Woods all look great and it has to be the best group in the Big East. Jamar Howard looks bigger, and Kenbrell Thompkins looked like he could contribute down the line. Marcus Barnett, who has changed his number to 89, made some nice catches as well today.

• I thought Zach Collaros and Chazz Anderson looked sharp. Collaros is going to be the starter, of course, but this team can win with Anderson as well.

• Here was the starting unit on defense when the team went to 11-on-11 drills: Dan Giordano, Derek Wolfe, Brandon Mills and John Hughes up front, JK Schaffer, Dorian Davis and Walter Stewart at linebacker and Camerron Cheatham, Drew Frey, Wesley Richardson and Dominique Battle at defensive back. Cheatham made some nice plays, including an interception. Depth on the defensive line is a concern.

• The starting offensive line was C.J. Cobb, Sam Griffin, Alex Hoffman, Evan Davis and Jason Kelce.

• Jones has devised an interesting way to deal with Cincinnati's lack of practice space (Nippert Stadium is the team's only field). While at most other places punters do their thing on another field somewhere, they stood on the sidelines near the end zone Tuesday and punted the ball into the bleachers as a manager retrieved the balls.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Cincinnati's offense is full of sound and fury. Heisman Trophy candidate Tony Pike, star receiver Mardy Gilyard and the rest of the skill players garner most of the attention.

	Rich Kane/Icon SMI
	Cincinnati prefers nimble, athletic offensive linemen, and even 313-pound Jeff Linkenbach is light on his feet.

Hardly anybody ever talks about the Bearcats' offensive line, though. And that might just be the biggest key to Bearcats' 5-0 start and 42 points-per-game average.

"We don't get a lot of notoriety, but that's kind of how we are," senior center Chris Jurek said. "We like not getting our names called. We create for everybody else."

Consider this stat: The offensive line has allowed just three sacks this year despite 188 pass attempts. That's one sack for every 63 passes. The Bearcats rank fourth in the FBS in fewest sacks allowed but have thrown the ball more times than the three teams in front of them.

Some of that stems from the fact that Pike is often in the shotgun, and head coach Brian Kelly's offense is designed to get rid of the ball quickly to receivers in the open field. Still, you shouldn't underestimate how much the offensive line has contributed to the most prolific attack in Kelly's three-year tenure at Cincinnati.

"The biggest change in our offensive structure has been the offensive line," Kelly said. "[Previous coach] Mark Dantonio did a great job of building his offense here, but the offensive linemen, quite frankly, didn't fit the same profile" as Kelly's offense.

"So Year 1 and Year 2 were really about getting our offensive linemen to fit our style. In Year 3, we're so much further along in their ability to play in space, to be more of a zone team than a gap team, a team that can put their linemen out and get out in screens and things of that nature."

Dantonio -- who's now at Michigan State -- liked a Big Ten-style line, with big, hulking guys who could plow holes for the power run game. Kelly has a high-tempo offense that often requires the linemen to run down the field and spring receivers free. That requires svelte, athletic players.

"It's been a pretty significant progression in terms of our body types and conditioning," Jurek said. "Coach's style is to get smaller guys who are more athletic and put good weight on them. That's one of the things I've seen here, and we've been able to do it with a high level of success."

Other than left tackle Jeff Linkenbach, no Cincinnati offensive lineman weighs more than 293 pounds. And even Linkenbach's 311 pounds don't sit heavily on his 6-foot-6 frame. Jurek, Linkenbach and left guard Jason Kelce all started on last year's Orange Bowl team. Alex Hoffman and Sam Griffin are first-year starters who have made the right side just as formidable.

The line will face its biggest test of the season on Thursday night at South Florida. The Bulls' defensive front four, Kelly said, "is as good as you're going to see. They can match up with any SEC or Big Ten teams." Defensive ends George Selvie and Jason Pierre-Paul have been terrorizing tackles, and the interior linemen are nearly as fast and aggressive. The Bulls' No. 1 goal is to get to Pike and disrupt his timing.

"I don't feel as if these guys have been challenged up front like we are going to do on Thursday," South Florida linebacker Kion Wilson said. "They haven't been hit and been physically abused yet. That's what we plan on going out there and doing."

"Their offensive line plays very well together," Selvie said. "But I think we can do a very good job against them. We've just got to be aggressive, let them know we're ready to play and that it's going to be a long day for them."

Kelly will surely design his game plan around quick throws and screens, rolling the pocket and other things to slow down that South Florida pass rush. The rest of the job will fall on the offensive linemen. If that group remains anonymous Thursday night, then you know they got the job done.

"It will be a tough challenge for us Thursday night," Jurek said, "but I think we'll be up for it."

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Sorry for the lateness of these. Just finished up with Cincinnati practice and will have lots to say about the Bearcats coming up.

• Kordell Young, Rutgers' leading rusher from a year ago, tells The Star-Ledger's Tom Luicci that he won't be ready for the first scrimmage but is getting closer to returning from a knee injury.

• Protecting Tony Pike is the top priority for the Cincinnati offensive line, Bill Koch writes in the Cincinnati Enquirer. He also has this rather interesting quote from guard Jason Kelce about the Bearcats' tempo.

"It makes you tired," Kelce said. "But when it makes the offense tired it also makes the defense tired, and it actually makes our job easier because we're used to this up-paced tempo. We're playing Rutgers on Sept. 7 and they're not going to be ready for that. We'll be able to punish them."

• Offensive lineman Andrew Tiller, one of Syracuse's most coveted recruits in the offseason, showed up to camp at nearly 400 pounds, Dave Rahme writes in the Syracuse Post-Standard.

• The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Paul Zeise has a two-part look at Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. Here is the link to Part I and the link to Part II.

• Scooter Berry is a leader on the West Virginia defensive line, and as he tells the Charleston Gazette's Dave Hickman, "I mean, I've been here what, 15 years? I know what to expect."

• UConn coach Randy Edsall is happy with the progress of his sophomore wide receivers, Desmond Connor says in the Hartford Courant.

• Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe took his team to Fort Knox for simulated basic training on Sunday, Eric Crawford writes in The Courier-Journal.

"This gives them an appreciation of what other people go through," Kragthorpe said. "They heard stories about Army Rangers who go 72 days sleeping 45 minutes a night, and those seven or eight hours we get start to sound pretty good.

"More than anything, this lets them get away a little bit and do something as a team, but also to come down here and tell our soldiers how much we appreciate all they do for us. I think it gave our players an appreciation of what they get to do."

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

CINCINNATI -- Even with all the attention Cincinnati got last year on its way to the Orange Bowl, the man protecting the blind side stayed mostly invisible.

The Bearcats had a quotable head coach in Brian Kelly, an explosive offense, the story line of their many quarterback injuries and several stars on defense. Hardly anybody talked about left tackle Jeff Linkenbach. Maybe they should have.

Linkenbach didn't make the first or second All-Big East team last season, but he still had a standout, if under-the-radar, year. After all, how would Cincinnati have been able to keep scoring points through all that quarterback shuffling and without a star running back if it didn't have an anchor on the offensive line?

"Any time you talk about left tackles, whether it's the Cincinnati Bengals in the draft or the University of Cincinnati, he's got to be a franchise player for you," Kelly said. "And Jeff is our franchise player."

Kelly wouldn't have said the same thing about Linkenbach this time last year. Linkenbach was coming off a sophomore season in which he made only three starts at right tackle while fighting through a nagging leg injury. The Bearcats weren't sure who would play left tackle for them during last year's preseason camp and gave looks to Khalil El-Amin and Jason Kelce there as well as Linkenbach, who had played left tackle as a freshman.

"It was just a process where Jeff took it over," said offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Jeff Quinn. "As a coach, it's very special to see a young man step in and say, 'That's going to be my spot.'"

Like many Bearcats, Linkenbach wasn't heavily recruited. Cincinnati and several MAC schools showed the most interest in the Sandusky, Ohio, native. Northwestern, West Virginia and Louisville tried to get in on him late in his senior year of high school.

The 6-foot-6, 310-pounder admits he was overweight and not very strong when he first started playing at Cincinnati. He cut his weight down to 280 at one point, then built back up with muscle. Kelly said Linkenbach is much more physical now than he was when the current coaching staff arrived in 2006.

He had little choice but to toughen up last season, when he had to face defensive end Connor Barwin every day in practice. Barwin is expected to go in the first couple of rounds of Saturday's NFL draft.

This spring, Linkenbach and the rest of the offensive line have been challenged against the Bearcats' new-look 3-4 defense, which is throwing blitzes and coverages from all sorts of new angles at them. It doesn't hurt that Linkenbach, an academic All-Big East honoree last year, is one of the best students on the team.

Linkenbach said his goal this spring was to become a more vocal leader for his senior year. And he wants the offensive line to do a better job in short-yardage running situations.

"We're hoping to be able to pound the ball and get those important yards, the tough yards we haven't been able to get in previous years," he said. "It's more of a mindset now. We're more focused."

As for the lack of focus on him, Linkenbach says he doesn't mind if he's not being singled out as one of the best tackles in the Big East yet.

"I'd like to be considered in that class," he said. "But I don't want the hype first. I've got to prove myself to be in that class."

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Even if he weren't the two-time, reigning Big East coach of the year, Brian Kelly would still be a go-to guy for us reporter types. Kelly is never afraid to answer a question, and do it thoughtfully and in an interesting. Which is why he's the perfect subject for this week's installment of our spring Q&A series:

First of all, where do you keep your Big East coach of the year trophies?

Brian Kelly: Well, they're not prominently displayed for you today because you have no eligibility. But if you had eligibility, they would be prominently displayed. Certainly we use that from a recruiting standpoint. I think when you get in this recruiting process, it's important that kids see that you can be successful, and the leadership has to have that type of credibility. So we pull them out when the big recruits come in.

What has the reception from recruits been like since the Orange Bowl? I assume they know more about you now.

BK: Yeah, I think the recognition end of things now is not an issue. "Cincinnati ... didn't know you were in the Big East." We don't have to deal with that anymore. The first couple of months when I got here, we certainly did, but now it's an easier sell because you went to the Orange Bowl, you were on TV 11 out of 13 weeks on some kind of ESPN platform. So we have no problem with the recognition end of things now. And kids clearly want to be in a winning program. So it has obviously, in the last two years, made recruiting a whole lot easier.

Looking at this year's team, the obvious issue is the defense, where you lost 10 senior starters. How much does that concern you at this point?

BK: Well, it's an interesting question because early in the year last year, our defense didn't play quite as well as people had expected with the number of seniors we had. And I had to remind them, that of the 10 seniors we had on defense, only three had significant playing time. Lamonte Nelms hadn't started many games, Tory Cornett hadn't started many games, Brandon Underwood hadn't started any games -- and the list goes on. So it's less of a concern because we did it last year, and we think that we've got similar players that have been waiting for that opportunity to go out and perform. I think the biggest concern for us this is spring is, who are our leaders on defense? Last year we found Connor Barwin as a leader. I think we've got enough players to compete in the Big East for a championship. We've got to find out who those leaders are on defense.

Do you have starters in mind at a lot of places or is there really a lot of wide-open competition?

BK: In reality you're always going to point toward the guys that have some experience. I would say not one of the positions is so far along that they couldn't lose that position if they didn't come to practice and perform every day, to be quite honest with you. There's no Mike Mickens. There's no Corey Smith, who was a three-year starter. We don't have those guys on defense. Which is kind of good. Becuase the energy and excitement you have among the ranks, those guys are pretty excited to go to work every day. We don't have to worry about the kids being motivated.

When you changed defensive coordinators from Joe Tresey to Bob Diaco, you said you wanted to go to a 3-4 scheme. Is that still your thinking, and what was the motivation for that?

BK: We want to be in a position that we can, if we want to, line up in a three-down defense and play our base. But, for example, we play Dec. 5 at Pittsburgh. If we feel like we need to move the front and be in a four-down because of weather conditions and (Pitt) running the ball, we can certainly do that.

I think today's defense has got to be able to move in and out of the three-down defense. And really what we're doing is, we're saying, "I don't want to be a sub personnel three-down defense. I want to be able to evolve where that becomes a base, and from that base I can get into whatever I want. I can be in four-down, I can be in three-down." It's pretty similar to what the New England Patriots do. One week you might see them in the 3-4, the next week they're four down. And Bob's background is with that Patriot background with Al Groh. Al was with Belichik and Parcells. So that's what I was looking for, was the ability to be in a three-down or four-down, depending on what the circumstances are in the game.

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Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Pittsburgh: The Panthers made some personnel changes in their secondary after Rutgers ripped through it. Sophomore Elijah Fields saw a lot more playing time at Notre Dame, lining up occasionally at safety, nickel back and linebacker. Ricky Gary and Jovani Chappel split time at cornerback. Gary fell down on one touchdown pass, but overall Dave Wannstedt said he was pleased with their play. Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers are looking for a few good men to help shore up their kickoff coverage. They rank last among 119 FBS teams by allowing 29.58 yards per return and are about to face the league's best kick returner in Cincinnati's Mardy Gilyard. Two members of the kick cover team -- safety Courtney Stuart and linebacker Archie Sims -- were injured in the UConn game. Head coach Bill Stewart handles special teams and said he would make some personnel changes this week.

Cincinnati: True freshman receiver D.J. Woods is starting to make a bigger impact. He had four catches for 67 yards against Rutgers, returned a punt 40 yards at UConn and made three key receptions in the South Florida win. Fellow slot receiver Marcus Barnett, the team's second-leading catcher a year ago, has only 21 receptions this year. Also for the Bearcats, center Chris Jurek was in a walking boot this week after suffering an ankle injury against South Florida. The team is hopeful he can play at West Virginia. If not, guard Jason Kelce could slide over and handle snapping duties.

Louisville: Senior George Bussey, an All Big-East left tackle, could be switching positions. The Cardinals moved Bussey to left guard on Saturday versus Syracuse to replace injured Mark Wetterer. Sophomore Greg Tomczyk played left tackle because he had fewer things to learn at that position. Wetterer's status is unclear for Saturday's game at Pitt. Other than Bussey and center Eric Wood, Louisville's offensive line has been spotty in recent games.

Syracuse: Wide receiver Dan Sheeran is expected back this week from the broken fibula he suffered in preseason camp. His return allows freshman Grant Mayes to switch from receiver to cornerback, a position he played until Sheeran's injury forced him to offense. The Orange secondary could be in trouble this week against Rutgers, as defensive backs Kevyn Scott and A.J. Brown were injured in the Louisville game. Coach Greg Robinson has declined to address their status so far this week.