ESPN College Football

We are approaching our first weekend without any Big East football since August. Yes, these are difficult times. But I am here to help guide you through the pain with a Friday mailbag.

Robert from Burrillville, R.I., writes: Everyone seems to agree that West Virginia would have given the Big East its best chance to win the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Let's say Wet Virginia did go out and win that game, what would have happened? People would have said, well West Virginia is the only good team in the Big East and the rest of the conference is a joke. So nothing really would have come from a West Virgina win, but on the other hand if a team like UConn wins, it will show that there were some other tough teams in the Big East. Any thoughts?

Brian Bennett: That's a fair point, if UConn wins. However, that's a big if. If the Huskies get blown out, everyone will say that the Big East had no right being in the game to start with. I don't know that Connecticut will get blown out, but it has far more potential for that result than West Virginia would have.

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Chris from Huff Creek, W. Va., writes: So Barry Brunetti is transferring? Always seems like WVU gets some big-time recruit but it never seems to pan out (Gwaltney, Heastie, Brunetti). Granted we've done okay with lesser knowns becoming stars (Slaton was in that same class as Gwaltney). Why does it seem every big-time recruit WVU gets ends up being out-done by a lesser-known? I'll take Slaton over Gwaltney everytime, Austin is a converted running back who has made everyone forget about losing Heastie, and no way Brunetti was going to unseat Geno (who by his own right was a pretty big-time recruit, but you get my point).

Brian Bennett: I've always said I'm not a big believer in the star system or recruiting rankings. I've just seen way too many highly rated guys turn into busts and under-the-radar guys blossom, especially in this league. Losing Brunetti is not that big of a deal for the Mountaineers because they have Geno Smith for the next two years. The only problem is that West Virginia gave scholarships to Brunetti and Jeremy Johnson in the last recruiting class that could have gone to guys who would have actually contributed.

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Jeff P. from Syracuse writes: Hey, Brian. Just looked at your All-Freshman team. I'm not 100 percent positive about this because Coach Marrone is really weird with the way they classify players, but I think Justin Pugh is a Redshirt Freshman.

Brian Bennett: Pugh is listed as a sophomore, but he did not play last year. If he is technically a freshman, then he would be the top freshman offensive linemen in the Big East. He had a nice season for the Orange.

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John from Asheville, N.C., writes: I do agree that Geno Smith and Brandon Hogan got snubbed, but I definitely see why the coaches went with other choices. Even though Smith had a higher completion percentage and better TD-INT ratio than Zach Collaros, an extreme portion of his passes were under 10 yards and they never really aired it out in BE play until late in the year. Also, Cincinnati relied so heavily on Collaros that he was bound to make mistakes by having to force the issue. And in Hogan's case, he simply couldn't accumulate stats because the opportunities weren't there. It seems to me that his presence cut the field in half at times, which allowed Tandy to get so many chances to make plays. So even though Tandy had the stats, it was mainly because of Hogan's presence on the field. But we ARE a stat-crazy world, aren't we?

Brian Bennett: A lot of these awards are based on people just looking at stats and not really studying the players. But the All-Big East team was voted on by the league's eight head coaches, who should know who's good and who's not from studying hours of film. I just see no justification for Collaros over Smith. There's more to being a quarterback than chucking it downfield, and Smith was brilliant in virtually every aspect. And every coach I talked to agreed that Hogan was far and away the best corner in the Big East. If teams won't throw your way, that must mean you're pretty good.

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Aaron from Cincinnati writes: Sorry to sound like a homer, but I do think Isaiah Pead, J.K. Schaffer, and Derek Wolfe, all deserved consideration for all-Big East. Also for me, D.J. Woods was a bigger playmaker than Armon Binns, his ball control issues were endemic of why we didn't win any games though...

Brian Bennett: I definitely considered all of those guys, but in the end they didn't make the cut over the guys I selected. Woods' fumble problems cost him a shot at my first team.

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Rob from Trenton, N.J., writes: I'm a regular reader of Rittenberg's blog on the Big Ten as a Penn State alum, but being that I live and work in Big East country, I need to stay abreast of what's going on in college football in my area so I enjoy your blogs as well. My question is, does UConn deserve its Top 25 ranking to end the season, given its loses earlier in the season to Michigan and Temple as well as its loss to Rutgers? What is the logic behind their ranking? Do the coaches/media feel that if you win your conference and are playing in a BCS game, you deserve to be ranked regardless? OR at this point in the season, they deserve to be in the Top 25? I personally think my unranked Nittany Lions are better at 7-5, but they certainly do NOT deserve to be ranked either.

Brian Bennett: Welcome, Rob. The Big East blog is like the chocolate sundae to the liver and brussel sprouts of Rittenberg. As for UConn's ranking, it depends on your philosophy for ranking teams. If it's simply a question of body of work, then no, the Huskies shouldn't be in the Top 25. But if you believe the Top 25 is a snapshot of who's playing the best at the moment of the rankings, then I think UConn deserves to be in there. The team has won five straight and is playing with a lot of confidence.

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Vick S. from Fair Lawn, N.J., writes: Thanks for all your effort on the blog. As a die-hard Rutgers fan, this has been a dreadful and very dissappointing season on many fronts. But what surprises me the most is the fact that RU produces strong NFL talent (ie, Ray Rice, Brian Leonard, Kenny Britt, Eric Foster, Anthony Davis, McCourty brothers, Tiquan Underwood, among others). Understood that not all these guys played in the same graduating class but are you not surprised that RU is not a more efficient, better, stronger team especially when competing against other Big East teams (very weak record past 5 years against Big East)? Hope you will respond, as I will pay for your thoughts/solutions so I may advise Coach Schiano.

Brian Bennett: Vick, my thoughts and a quarter wouldn't pay for much time in a parking meter. I'd say Rutgers did capitalize to a degree on the Rice/Leonard/Foster years with the 2006 season. But you're right in that the program has produced a lot of NFL talent without a whole lot to show for it. And I think there's a lot of promising young talent on the roster right now. This is a critical offseason for Schiano, whom I think needs to make some hard evaluations about the way he's doing things and probably some major staff changes. At some point soon, he needs to get this program to the next level.

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Steve from Clarksburg, W.Va., writes: I'm curious about your thoughts on bowl travel counts for each school's traveling fans. I think there are so many different ways to buy bowl tickets now (ebay, stubhub, from the bowl itself, ect) that just counting the number of tickets each school sells, then saying that school brought X amount of fans is very outdated. I usually buy tickets thru WVU, but for some bowls, like the Gator, I know from past experience that I can get a better seat from ticketmaster than I can thru WVU.

Brian Bennett: Well, first of all you have to realize that bowls are basically tourism events that in some ways hold the schools hostage. A participating team is on the hook for selling a certain amount of tickets and hotel rooms -- UConn must buy 17,500 tickets for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, for example. The school must pay for any tickets that go unsold, and then the bowl officials notice that. So even though you might be able to find better, cheaper tickets elsewhere, your school not only doesn't get credit for that, it actually loses money because of it. Unfortunately, the only real way to improve your school's traveling reputation (thus improving chances at better bowls in the future) is to buy tickets and packages through the team's official allotment. It's kind of a scam, in many ways.

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T.J. from Lexington, Va., writes: Urban Meyer stepped down at Florida because he heard Pitt was hiring, right?(Just kidding).

Brian Bennett: Yep. Meyer was tired of coaching in front of such large crowds.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

• Syracuse won't have safety Max Suter for the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, and running back Averin Collier is gone from the program.

• To hardly anyone's surprise, Barry Brunetti is transferring from West Virginia. That means both quarterbacks the Mountaineers signed in February, Brunetti and Jeremy Johnson, have left the team. But West Virginia still has Geno Smith for two more years.

• UConn won't be getting any financial windfall from its first BCS appearance.
• The quarterback of Pitt's bowl opponent found some trouble with the law.

• A look at what joining the Big East means for TCU.

• Cincinnati handed out some team awards.

ESPN Recruiting's Jamie Newberg takes a look today at how the addition of TCU to the Big East could affect recruiting for the league.

Obviously, having a pathway to an automatic BCS bid now helps the Horned Frogs immensely as they make pitches to prospects. It could also mean that Big East schools benefit from the exposure in Texas and start signing players from that talent-rich area.

"I can't speak for the other schools in our league but I think we are going to try and take advantage of it," Syracuse coach Doug Marrone told Newberg.

My take: I think that this could open doors for a few prospects here and there, but it's certainly not going to open any floodgates. The best players in Texas will still go to Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma, and the idea of playing in the East Coast probably will not be that appealing to many of them.

But any extra pipeline can help. West Virginia got quarterback Jeremy Johnson out of Texas last year, though he quickly got homesick and ended up transferring. A more successful example is Louisville starting center Mario Benavides, who's from Los Fresno, Texas.

Big East coaches now have some additional recruiting tapes to comb through.

Jeremy Johnson has left West Virginia again, and this time it appears to be for good.

The true freshman quarterback caused a little drama in the preseason when he didn't show up for practice and was wildly rumored to be transferring. Head coach Bill Stewart said at the time that Johnson was just battling homesickness, and he returned to practice a few days later.

But Johnson did the same thing at the end of last week, and now he's not coming back. Stewart issued a short statement Wednesday saying Johnson has left the team "for personal reasons."

Johnson, who is from Texas, was one of two high-profile quarterback signees in the Mountaineers' 2010 class. The other, Barry Brunetti, won the No. 2 quarterback job in the preseason. With Geno Smith playing extremely well as just a true sophomore, Johnson could clearly see the writing on the wall: either he was going to have to change positions, or he wasn't going to play much.

Johnson is a terrific athlete who could have helped West Virginia had he decided a position switch was in his best interest. But if he really wants to play quarterback, you can't blame him for leaving. It shouldn't hurt the Mountaineers at that position one bit.

• Syracuse wouldn't let the bully take its milk money anymore.

• Cincinnati is optimistic heading into Big East play.

• Pittsburgh is having trouble in the red zone. Is Dave Wannstedt Pitt's weak link?

• West Virginia is about to face its nemesis. Jeremy Johnson is "homesick" again and might leave the Mountaineers.

• Skip Holtz is pleading for patience with struggling quarterback B.J. Daniels.

• Louisville gained some confidence with an easy win against Memphis.

• Rutgers will have to handle a much-improved Army team.

• UConn should have a busy bye week fixing problems.

Here is the final chapter of my look at the best and worst case scenarios for each Big East team. Closing out the cases is West Virginia.

Best Case

Country roads lead to Arizona.

This is the Mountaineers' best chance at a national title since 2007. Starters are back everywhere, with big-time playmakers like Noel Devine and Jock Sanders on offense and Robert Sands on defense. Newcomers like Ivan McCartney, Stedman Bailey and Bruce Irvin make immediate impacts. New starting quarterback Geno Smith shows poise beyond his years and evokes memories of Pat White.

The schedule is set up perfectly for a run, too. Coastal Carolina and Marshall present no problems in the first two weeks. Devine runs for 200 yards and three scores in a blowout of Maryland, setting up a Top 15 matchup in Baton Rouge the following week.

The LSU game resembles the 2006 Sugar Bowl, as Devine, Sanders and Tavon Austin shock the Tigers out of the gate with their speed. West Virginia builds a 35-7 halftime lead and hangs on for a 38-35 victory, moving the Mountaineers into the Top 10.

They won't budge from that neighborhood the rest of the year. A hangover-induced ugly win over UNLV follows, and then revenge is earned against South Florida. West Virginia then takes out two teams it never loses to in Syracuse and Connecticut before welcoming Cincinnati back to Morgantown Nov. 13. Turning the tables from the last two years, officials botch a call that awards Devine a touchdown instead of a goal-line fumble, and the Mountaineers prevail in overtime.

After beating Louisville with ease, the Backyard Brawl arrives with the Big East title on the line. It's a bruising, back-and-forth game, but Smith finds Brad Starks in the end zone in the final minute for a six-point win. A season-ending romp over Rutgers finishes a 12-0 season and a BCS title berth against another surprise undefeated team, Virginia Tech. Devine, who compiles 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns, wins the Heisman Trophy.

Returning to the scene of his greatest triumph, Bill Stewart delivers a stirring pre-game speech at University of Phoenix Stadium. Sufficiently jacked, West Virginia runs the Hokies ragged and dedicates the crystal trophy to the fallen coal miners back home.

After the season, the school is cleared of all NCAA wrongdoing as the infractions committee pins all blame on Rodriguez, barring him from ever coaching college football again.

Worst Case


Country roads lead to an oncoming 18-wheeler.

The Mountaineers are a veteran bunch, but there still remain questions about the offensive line, the receivers' experience and depth at quarterback.

After starting off with two less-than-impressive wins, West Virginia is upset by a hungry Maryland squad, causing much grumbling among the fan base. A week of distractions and finger-pointing prove disastrous in Death Valley, as LSU pummels the Mountaineers by three touchdowns and breaks Smith's foot in the process.

The team squeaks by UNLV with true freshman Barry Brunetti at the helm, but South Florida continues to play thorn in the side with a win in Morgantown. That begins a quarterback carousel between Brunetti, Jeremy Johnson and Coley White, none of whom are particularly effective.

West Virginia beats Syracuse but finally trips up against a fired-up Connecticut in East Hartford on a Friday night. Cincinnati runs its winning streak over the Mountaineers to three.

After Louisville throws a scare into Stewart's team, Pitt rolls to a 21-point victory in the Backyard Brawl. The Panthers win the Big East title and play for the BCS championship.

Smith returns from injury at the end of the season to salvage a win over Rutgers in the finale. But a 6-6 record causes near panic throughout the state's borders, and fans stay away from the team's consolation trip to the Beef O'Brady's Bowl.

After the season, the NCAA decided to set a precedent against teams violating practice time rules. West Virginia loses scholarships and practice sessions for the next two years. (Rodriguez and Michigan get slapped, too, but after an 11-2 season, the Wolverines forgive and forget.) Athletic director Oliver Luck gives a tepid vote of confidence to Stewart, but there's no doubt where the hottest coaching seat in America resides for 2011.

Wednesday was an interesting day to be a backup quarterback.

West Virginia true freshman Jeremy Johnson, who caused near statewide consternation when he missed practice on Monday and Tuesday, returned to the team for Wednesday's drills. Head coach Bill Stewart said Johnson, a Texas native, was just dealing with homesickness, but there had been speculation that Johnson was looking to transfer.

"He was just a freshman who was homesick," Stewart said. "[This] tells us we have a great family here and we don't let outsiders break the family."

It remains to be seen whether Johnson will contribute to this year's team, but his return adds depth to the quarterback position, which right now includes just him, fellow freshman Barry Brunetti and sophomore starter Geno Smith, with slot receiver Coley White able to move under center if necessary.

Hopefully this week's events will just be a blip on the radar in a long and fruitful West Virginia career for Johnson.

At UConn, No. 2 quarterback Cody Endres, along with backup guard Erik Kuraczea, were suspended indefinitely for a "violation of university and athletic department policies," according to the school. No further details were given.

The Hartford Courant's Desmond Conner reports that similarly worded suspensions in the past have lasted about a month.

Endres started six games last year but is the clear backup to Zach Frazer going into 2010. Without him, the Huskies will turn to Michael Box as the second-string quarterback. They also have Johnny McEntee and intriguing freshman Leon Kinnard available.

Kuraczea started five games last year but was running behind Mathieu Olivier at left guard. His absence will hurt the depth there, but Connecticut always seems to find guys on the offensive line. Redshirt freshman Steve Greene is listed as the third-string left guard.

• Defensive line depth is a major concern at Cincinnati.
• Bruce Irvin has been turning a lot of heads at West Virginia. Jeremy Johnson missed a second straight day of practice, but there is word he may be back today.
• South Florida linebacker Sam Barrington was jailed again on a driver's license issue.
• Rutgers receiver Mark Harrison needs to get tougher. Steve Shimko's injury is lingering, meaning it looks more and more like true freshman Chas Dodd will be Tom Savage's backup.
• Pitt is looking for a hybrid safety/linebacker in the mode of the dismissed Elijah Fields.
• A trio of players are trying to replace Arthur Jones at Syracuse.

West Virginia has two highly-touted true freshman quarterbacks. Soon, the Mountaineers could be down to just one.

Jeremy Johnson, who is battling classmate Barry Brunetti for the No. 2 job behind Geno Smith, did not practice with the team on Monday and is considering a possible transfer. Head coach Bill Stewart told reporters that the Texas native is simply homesick.

If Johnson were to leave, that would clear up the depth chart. Brunetti would slide into the No. 2 hole, and Coley White or Brad Starks could be the emergency No. 3. It seemed unlikely that both Brunetti and Johnson would stay at quarterback all four years since they entered at the same time.

The tough part is, Johnson is seen as the more athletic of the two and a fast runner who can be used elsewhere on the field if he's not at quarterback. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, because he hasn't officially left yet.

The first weekend when every Big East team was in fall camp just concluded, which meant plenty of scrimmages.

Several teams had their first full-bore intrasquad scrimmages of the preseason, which can help determine depth charts and give an early indication of how things are going. Here are some notes from those workouts:

PITT: The Panthers went through an 88-play scrimmage, but they did so without injured key players such as Dom DeCicco, Myles Caragein, Andrew Taglianetti and Greg Romeus, who continues to be unavailable with back spasms. In addition, Jabaal Sheard, Dion Lewis and Jon Baldwin played limited snaps.

Ray Graham was taken out of the scrimmage after going down with a knee injury, but it did not appear to be serious. Quarterback Tino Sunseri was just 5-for-11 for 61 yards, while backup Pat Bostick impressed by going 9-of-15 for 163 yards and three scores.

RUTGERS: Defense dominated in the Scarlet Knights' 2 1/2 hour scrimmage, which is not surprising given how strong the Rutgers 'D' looks. The offense, which played without Howard Barbieri and Joe Martinek, scored just one touchdown while the defense scored off a turnover and had two safeties.

Quarterback Tom Savage went just 8-of-15 for 52 yards as the offense managed just 74 yards on its first 29 plays. De'Antwan Williams hoped to make a push for the No. 2 running back job but finished with just 13 yards on four carries while losing a fumble. Mason Robinson scored the lone TD.

WEST VIRGINIA: Head coach Bill Stewart mostly didn't like what he saw out of the Mountaineers' first scrimmage.

"Sloppy tackling, not breaking on the ball, not doing back-side cutoff blocks, not hustling, drops, exchange snaps,'' he said. "I'm not real pleased. [We] didn't play up to our standards."

Noel Devine did, though, ripping off a 79-yard touchdown run and then taking most of the rest of the day off. And so did Bruce Irvin. The junior-college import recorded two sacks as West Virginia lined up with four defensive linemen. Coaches and teammates are singing the praises of Irvin for his quickness and burst so far in practice.

Quarterbacks Geno Smith and freshmen Barry Brunetti and Jeremy Johnson combined to complete 16 of 18 passes for 113 yards on mostly short routes.

SOUTH FLORIDA: Defense was also ahead of the offense at South Florida, as the Bulls mustered one touchdown in a nearly 150-snap scrimmage.

Quarterback B.J. Daniels missed 11 of his first 12 passes and finished 7-for-22 for 70 yards. True freshman backup Jamius Gunsby did look good, though, going 12-for-17 for 169 yards, including a 58-yard completion. But the defense had three interceptions.

"Right now we're a long way from being productive as an offensive football team," coach Skip Holtz said. "With the penalties and dropped passes and missing open receivers and inconsistencies in the passing game, it's very difficult to get anything into rhythm. We've got a lot of work to do right now, but I think the attitude is good and they're willing."

SYRACUSE: Coach Doug Marrone was disgusted by his team's lack of physicality on Friday, especially the offense, so he emphasized that in Saturday's first full-contact, two-hour scrimmage.

So the focus was on running the ball and running it hard, which Delone Carter did. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Nassib remained turnover-free. Freshman linebacker Marquis Spruill got some looks with the first-team defense at outside linebacker, where he's battling with Ryan Gillum.

LOUISVILLE: Head coach Charlie Strong held his scrimmage behind closed doors, with no fans or media allowed to attend. So details of the 90-play scrimmage were unknown. The school's official account said the Cardinals worked on situations like 1st-and-10 from their own 30, 1st-and-10 from the 12 inside the red zone and 1st-and-10 from their own 1.

"Early in the scrimmage, the offense didn't move the ball very well, but the longer we went, the better it got," Strong said. "We still have a long way to go and we still have to get better. We have to improve our tackling and we need some guys to really step up and become leaders of this team."

West Virginia

Schedule: Practice starts Saturday at 2:30 p.m. First day in full pads is Aug. 11.

What’s new: Not terribly much for the team that returns more starters than anybody in the conference. Quarterback Geno Smith takes over the starting duties as a true sophomore and could be key to the entire season. New assistant coach Dave McMichael has been tasked with fixing the special teams, among other things.

Key battle: Right tackle. Redshirt senior Matt Timmerman holds the job for now, but could face fall challenges. Virtually every other position is set, except punter.

New on the scene: Wide receiver Ivan McCartney could play right away for a team that needs wide receivers. Jeremy Johnson and Barry Brunetti will compete for the backup quarterback spot. Junior-college import Bruce Irvin adds depth to the defensive line.

Breaking out: Coaches and teammates rave about Tavon Austin, whose raw speed is as good as it gets. He made an impact last year, mostly on special teams. This could be the year the sophomore becomes the next great Mountaineers speedster.

Don’t forget about: Cornerback Brandon Hogan didn't always play up to his ability last season, and had some offseason issues. But if he lives up to his status as a potential lockdown cornerback, it will make an already good defense become great.

All eyes on: Smith. No doubt about it, how he develops -- especially after being limited in the spring with a foot injury -- is the major concern of fall camp and beyond.

Quoting: "There's no reason why we can't be one of the best defenses in the conference and the whole country." -- Senior linebacker J.T. Thomas.

Coley White is determined to make an impact on the field for West Virginia this season. He's just not sure at which position that will occur.

White volunteered to move to receiver before spring practice began in hopes of getting some playing time. But with Geno Smith limited by a broken foot, White took most of the live reps at quarterback and never had a chance to work out at wideout.

The upshot was, the redshirt sophomore had an excellent spring by all accounts, proving that he was a credible quarterback that the Mountaineers can use.

"It was a good spring for me," White said Tuesday. "It was good for me to get out there and learn the offense, learn the defense and just be active. I think I showed them a little bit of what I was about."

West Virginia was set to resume 7-on-7 passing drills Tuesday evening, and White said he'd probably start off playing quarterback. Later on this summer, he said, he'd spend more time at receiver. He's studied the position some already in film work.

The Mountaineers' plan is for Smith to start at quarterback, with true freshmen Jeremy Johnson and Barry Brunetti hopefully learning the ropes enough before the season begins so that one of them can serve as the backup. But White may still figure into the mix.

"I guess we'll have to see what the future holds," White said. "I don't know what's going to happen. There's always competition, but it's up to the coaches."

There was speculation last offseason that Pat White's younger brother might transfer since he didn't have a clear path to play. White has silenced that talk. "I'm here," he says.

And soon it will be time for him to contribute on the field. Somewhere.

"I'm really excited about that," he said. "I just want to go out there, have fun and go play."

Spring is over. Players have shown what they're capable of doing and what they still need to work on. So it's time to start breaking down each position in the Big East to see who is the strongest.

This is a ranking of the entire position group, so while having frontline talent helps, depth matters too. Let's start with the position that everybody always looks to first: quarterback.

1. Cincinnati: Zach Collaros will enter the season with probably the highest expectations of any Big East signal-caller, given his spectacular four-game starting stint in 2009 and the offense he'll play in for Butch Jones. Chazz Anderson also had a strong spring and could easily win games if something happens to Collaros.

2. Connecticut: Surprised? Don't be. Zach Frazer looked sharp this spring after ending the 2009 season strong, and his backup, Cody Endres, has already proved he can win games in the Big East. Michael Box is a promising prospect, Johnny McEntee does some things well and Leon Kinnard is a lightning bug who could help out in certain packages. This may be the deepest team in the league at QB.

3. Pittsburgh: No, Tino Sunseri has never started a game. But Pat Bostick has, and he's won some big ones. Sunseri is skilled and has a lot to work with, while Pitt can feel comfortable with one of the more experienced backups in the league. Remember, depth matters.

4. Rutgers: Though only a true sophomore, Tom Savage has more career starts than any returning starting quarterback in the league, amazingly enough. But the situation is perilous behind him, with only Steve Shimko there now. Can incoming freshman Chas Dodd help out this summer?

5. South Florida: Talk about your dangerous backup situations. B.J. Daniels is an electric player, but right now he only has walk-ons behind him. Incoming true frosh Jamius Gunsby will serve as his backup, but the Bulls don't want to have to go down that road this year.

6. West Virginia: This is one of those rankings that will look silly in time. I think Geno Smith will develop into one of the league's better quarterbacks. But since he was limited in the spring by a foot injury, the jury has to remain out on the sophomore until he's healthy. Coley White stood out this spring when given a bunch of snaps, but he'll likely move to receiver this fall as the Mountaineers see what they have in true freshmen Barry Brunetti and Jeremy Johnson.

7. Louisville: Depth is not a problem for the Cardinals, who are still deciding between Adam Froman and Justin Burke, with former starter Will Stein in the wings. Freshman Dominique Brown will be given a look this summer as well. The problem, instead, is the lack of an elite player at the position.

8. Syracuse: The Orange enter the season as one of only two Big East teams to not return a quarterback with starting experience. Ryan Nassib did play a lot this year, and redshirt freshman Charley Loeb pushed him this spring. Highly-touted recruit Jonny Miller arrives this summer.

It's quiet around here with no football. Maybe I can organize the neighborhood kids into a 7-on-7 passing drill. Or I could just answer your e-mails. That sounds like less effort.

Ben from Austin, Texas, writes: A few months back, I asked what WVU would do with Jeremy Johnson and Barry Brunetti with quarterback depth being so thin. Now that Coley White has given a little more confidence to the depth of that position, how do you see the depth charts of both quarterback and wide receiver shaking out? Do you think White (or maybe Johnson) will eventually switch to WR to help with the depth there? I know it's early to tell, but fun to ask.

Brian Bennett: Hey, Ben, and hope things are well in one of my favorite cities in America. Coley White played pretty well this spring and gave West Virginia's coaches some confidence he can help them win if need be. But this is Geno Smith's team, make no mistake about it. White has asked to move to receiver, and the team will honor that request this fall while having him keep his hand in the quarterback picture (think receiver Bradley Starks, who's been the emergency QB for a couple of years now).

As for the youngsters, it remains to be seen how they perform when they show up. The thinking has been that Johnson has the more natural skill set to switch to receiver or another position if Brunetti plays well. But Johnson will be given a shot at quarterback first.

Jim from Indianapolis writes: A few years ago, Va. Tech, Miami, and Boston College left the Big East to join the ACC. Their main reason for doing it was money. As in more of it. In response to that, Rutgers, West Virginia, Pitt, and UConn sued the ACC. Now, if they were invited, Rutgers, Pitt, and UConn would (supposedly) all leave the Big East for the Big Ten for the same reason: money. Am I the only one who sees any hypocrisy in all this?

Brian Bennett: Hypocrisy in college sports? Why, this is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing!

Seriously, though, Jim raises a good point. And imagine if some of these schools are left hanging after a Big Ten raid and need the ACC to come in and rescue them. Will those old hard feelings stand in the way? It's amazing how well you can bury the hatchet when faced with possible extinction.

Eric H. from Manassas Park, Va., writes: Long time reader, first time writer. I had a thought today with all of the talk of conference realignment, and its impact on the Big East. One thing everyone seems to be forgetting is the service academies. I think the Big East could gain a few things by adding Army and Navy. Navy certainly is doing well in football, and Army is starting to show some signs of life. I'm not sure either will up the playing level of the Big East, but surely, with the following they have, it should be able to help out on the revenue end. Your thoughts?

Brian Bennett: The Big East looked into this a few years ago, but the idea was abandoned for several reasons. Navy likes its independence and its ability to play a national schedule, while also lining up some winnable games to get to bowls every year. Neither school adds anything in the other sports. And while the trip to West Point is always a treasure, Army is still a long way away from consistently competing at a BCS level in football.

John from Beaufort, S.C., writes: Is it a good or bad thing that there has been so little news about Louisville this offseason? And how do you think Louisville will really do this year?

Brian Bennett: It's good from the standpoint that there haven't been any arrests, transfers or other negative issues arising. It's bad from the perspective that the Cardinals have become somewhat irrelevant from the national scene, which is Steve Kragthorpe's most damaging lasting legacy. I think things could be a little rough this year, but I expect Charlie Strong to get some young kids experience and toughen this team up. He'll have Louisville back in the news for the right reasons very quickly.

In the last two days, we've seen a couple of players -- Demetrius Jones from Cincinnati and Leslie Stirrups from South Florida -- get their official exodus from their respective programs.

Neither is an essential player, but it got me to thinking about which individuals that each Big East team could least afford to lose, via an injury or suspension, this spring. While hoping this doesn't serve as some sort of voodoo jinx, here is the list I came up with. Some of them are obvious choices, while others may surprise you a bit.

Cincinnati: Derek Wolfe, DT. The Bearcats are loaded at the offensive positions and could plug Chazz Anderson in for Zach Collaros and still be OK. But Wolfe is the only guy who looks like he can be a dominant run-stuffer in the middle of the defensive line. His absence would have a major negative impact on the defense.

Connecticut: Lawrence Wilson, LB. This is a tough call, because UConn is not a star-driven team and the Huskies have depth at most spots. But even though the defense made do without Scott Lutrus for long stretches last season, I think it needs a really athletic guy to run around and make plays at that spot. And Wilson, who led the Big East in tackles a year ago, is that guy.

Louisville: Johnny Patrick, CB. Simply put, the Cardinals don't have a lot of strong options in the defensive backfield, which is why running back Darius Ashley is getting a look at corner now. Patrick is the team's most experienced player there and has developed into a standout corner. Without him, the team could really be hurting.

Pittsburgh: Dom DeCicco, SS. Like UConn, this one was a tough call. I thought about Jonathan Baldwin, because his playmaking ability is irreplaceable. But Pitt has other receivers. Jason Pinkston at left tackle is another candidate. I settled on DeCicco because the Panthers are thin at safety, and losing a veteran player back there would cause them to have to mix and match.

Rutgers: Tom Savage, QB. This one is pretty obvious. The Scarlet Knights have only Steve Shimko behind Savage, and he's the heart of the team right now. He's got to stay healthy.

South Florida: B.J. Daniels, QB. See Savage, Tom. The Bulls are already in scramble mode this spring because of Daniels' shoulder injury. He has nothing but walk-ons behind him right now.

Syracuse: Derrell Smith, LB. Smith was excellent in 10 games before getting hurt last year, and his leadership in the middle of the linebacking corps is vital for the Orange defense to excel.

West Virginia: Chris Neild, DT. Geno Smith would be the obvious pick, as the Mountaineers lack depth at quarterback. However, I think they could make up a little bit for his loss with some combination of Coley White, Bradley Starks and the two incoming freshmen, Barry Brunetti and Jeremy Johnson. It's not like Smith has a lot of experience now, either. On the other hand, the Mountaineers don't have anybody like Neild, who can occupy two offensive linemen as the nose guard on the three-man defensive front. That D-line is thin and inexperienced as is, and losing Neild could be catastrophic.

Which players do you think are the most indispensable to their teams?