ESPN College Football

Not getting drafted doesn't necessarily mean the end of one's football career. Once the draft finishes, there's a scramble for players and teams to sign free-agent deals. Here's a list, compiled from various media and team reports, of undrafted Big East players who have signed with NFL teams (list will be updated as new information rolls in):

Cincinnati

Jeff Linkenbach, OT, Indianapolis

Aaron Webster, S, Houston

Mike Windt, LS, Cincinnati

Connecticut

Lindsey Witten, DE, Pittsburgh

Louisville

Joe Tronzo, FB, Cincinnati

Scott Long, WR, San Francisco

UPDATE: Trent Guy, WR, Oakland

Pittsburgh

Bill Stull, QB, Kansas City

John Malecki, OG, Tennessee

Mick Williams, DT, New York Jets

Aaron Berry, CB, Detroit

Rutgers

Kevin Haslam, OT, Jacksonville

Jack Corcoran, FB, Houston

UPDATE: Tim Brown, WR, New York Giants

South Florida

Kion Wilson, LB, San Diego

Delbert Alvarado, K, Dallas

West Virginia

Jarrett Brown, QB, San Francisco

Alric Arnett, WR, Denver

South Florida was a popular place to be for its pro day on Tuesday, and with good reason. The Bulls have five legitimate draft picks and others who could earn a shot, and that drew representatives from 27 NFL teams to Tampa.

The big winner might have been receiver Carlton Mitchell, who continues to make his decision to skip his senior year look like a wise one. He ran a 4.40 in the 40-yard dash, down from 4.49 at last month's NFL Combine. With his size (6-foot-3) and speed, he'll be an intriguing option on draft day.

Cornerback Jerome Murphy, who's stock has been on the rise this offseason, improved his 40 time to 4.51 seconds. Defensive end George Selvie turned in a 4.88 in the 40, which was a slight tick faster than what he ran at the combine.

Jason Pierre-Paul ran well enough at the combine that he chose not to do so at pro day, but he did participate in the broad jump (9 feet, 9 inches) and the vertical leap (31.5 inches). Safety Nate Allen didn't the run the 40 because of a pulled quad injury, the same condition that kept him from running at the combine.

And quarterback Matt Grothe worked out. He measured in at 5-foot-11 and 1/2 and posted a 4.84 in the 40. That's faster than Selvie and the same time as linebacker Kion Wilson.

South Florida's official site has video of every drill, plus interviews with the participants.

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. 27

Kion Wilson, LB, South Florida, Sr.

Preseason rank: NR

Why him here: Few players are tougher than Wilson. In the Florida State game, he dislocated a finger and sustained a cut on his hand that required 26 stitches. After missing six minutes of action, he told his coaches he was ready to go back in.

Wilson was a real leader for the Bulls defense and finished with a team high 105 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. A bit undersized (235 pounds), he'll have some convincing to do to make it at the next level. But he was impressive at the East-West Shrine game, where he was his team's second-leading tackler.

No. 28: Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh
No. 29: Lindsey Witten, DE, Connecticut
No. 30: Jeff Linkenbach, OT, Cincinnati

Several Big East players were part of the winning side in Saturday's East-West Shrine Game, a showcase event for NFL hopefuls.

South Florida linebacker Kion Wilson had the biggest day from the Big East contingent. He had six tackles and a forced fumble in the East's 13-10 win.

"He has the potential to be a very good special-teams player, which he'll have to do if he wants to make it on the next level," wrote ESPN's Scouts Inc. in a game-day blog. "He's undersized, but has shown excellent instincts throughout the week."

UConn's Andre Dixon led the East team in rushing, but had only 24 yards on seven carries.

"Dixon has surprisingly looked hesitant at times today," Scouts Inc. wrote. "He's a downhill runner on film and during practices this week, so we didn't expect to see the stutter steps at the line of scrimmage today. He has room to improve as a receiver with his hands away from his frame and running crisper routes, but he's athletic enough to do it. He's also a willing pass-blocker who will step up and take on blitzing linebackers. Despite today's struggles, he'll be a good value for someone in the middle rounds."

The Huskies' Lindsey Witten had one tackle, and it was behind the line of scrimmage.

West Virginia's Alric Arnett, who had a strong week of practice leading up to the game, made three catches for 54 yards.

Pitt's Aaron Berry recovered a fumble for the East team.

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

Over the years, I've had several Big East coaches and administrators point to South Florida as the sleeping giant of the league.

They knew that if the Bulls got everything going, that program could turn into a dominant force in the conference. That's saying a lot for a school that didn't even field a football team until 1997, but South Florida has many advantages.

The No. 1 advantage, of course, is easy access to the gold mine that is Florida high school football talent. Bulls coaches rarely had to leave the state or even spend much time on airplanes in recruiting. Jim Leavitt's rosters usually were made up of about 95 percent Floridians, with the occasional player from Georgia or somewhere else mixed in. Everybody wants to recruit Florida; the Bulls are right in the heart of that talent pipeline in Tampa.

Leavitt's recruiting began to really gain steam recently as well. He pried defensive end Ryne Giddins away from Florida and others, like receiver Sterling Griffin, out of the clutches of Miami. The administration allowed Leavitt to mine the junior college route as well, and he plucked gems like Kion Wilson and Jason Pierre-Paul out of those ranks.

South Florida may never consistently outrecruit Florida, Florida State and Miami, but as one of only four BCS conference schools in the state, it has plenty of drawing power. And just winning a few of those battles, augmented by other outstanding local high school players, is enough to make the Bulls highly competitive in the Big East year in and year out.

The university is trying to shake free of its image as a commuter school, and the facilities aren't up to par with some of the Bulls' Big East counterparts. The team has no indoor practice facility, for instance, and has had to either cancel workouts or go inside the Sun Dome -- the school's basketball arena -- during big storms, which of course are commonplace in Florida. With little history and tradition to draw upon, the program lacks the well-heeled booster presence of other schools on its level.

But the Tampa location is enticing for recruits, as is the chance to play in Raymond James Stadium. The Bulls play in a large metropolitan area that loves football and will support a winner, as evidenced by the huge crowds for games against West Virginia, Cincinnati and Miami recently.

There will probably be a lot of piling on Leavitt in the coming hours and days. But let's pause here to applaud the job he did of bringing the program from nothing to this point. Whatever you think of the guy, he worked tirelessly and pulled off some stunning wins, including victories at Auburn and Florida State. He guided the Bulls to top-10 rankings in 2007 and 2008, peaking at No. 2 two years ago. He gave legitimacy to the idea that Florida would have a Big Four.

The next guy, if the Bulls make the right hire, could make things even better.

The rosters for postseason all-star games are fluid and will continue filling up in the coming days. But here are the players from the Big East who we already know have been invited to one of the two big showcase games ...

Senior Bowl

Nate Allen, S, South Florida

Jerome Murphy, CB, South Florida

George Selvie, DE, South Florida

East-West Shrine Game

Kevin Haslam, OL Rutgers

Andre Dixon, RB, UConn

Lindsey Witten, DE, UConn

Nate Byham, TE, Pitt

Kion Wilson, LB, South Florida

Alric Arnett, WR, West Virginia

Jarrett Brown, QB, West Virginia

Like we did for every week of the regular season, it's time to hit the rewind button and look back on the Big East postseason:

Team of the postseason: Connecticut. The Huskies took out an SEC opponent (South Carolina) in impressive fashion and finished the year with four straight wins. There was no better story in college football this season.

Best game: Pitt's 19-17 win over had all the requisite drama and a game-winning field goal in the final minute. Hard to believe, but it was the only Big East bowl game decided by fewer than 12 points.

Biggest play: Connecticut receiver Kashif Moore's one-handed, 37-yard touchdown grab from Zach Frazer in the first quarter against South Carolina. It was spectacular and set the tone for the Huskies' win.


Best call: Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt's two fourth-down decisions on the winning drive at the Meineke Car Care Bowl. First, he decided to go for it on fourth-and-one from his own 30 with half a quarter left instead of punting and playing defense. Bill Stull converted the quarterback sneak. Then on fourth-and-two from the North Carolina 30 with 1:56 left, Wannstedt sent out the field goal unit but hoped to draw the Tar Heels offsides. That's exactly what happened, and both plays helped Pitt string together an incredible 18-play, 79-yard, 8:47 drive to win the game.

Big Man on Campus (Offense): Dion Lewis. How appropriate that the league's offensive MVP and freshman of the year also wins postseason Big Man on Campus honors. He deserves it after his 159 yards rushing on 28 carries and a touchdown against North Carolina.

Big Man on Campus (Defense): The UConn front seven. Can't single out just one guy in a dominating effort by the Huskies up front. South Carolina was shut out until scoring a touchdown with 3:24 left. The defensive line, led by tackle Kendall Reyes, looked fast and determined and was every bit as good as what the Gamecocks saw in the SEC. The linebackers, particularly Scott Lutrus and Lawrence Wilson, made plays all over the field. And almost all of them return in '10.

Big Man on Campus (Special teams): Pitt's Dan Hutchins missed a field goal early but rebounded to hit four of them, including the 33-yard game-winner with 52 seconds left.

Worst hangover: Cincinnati, and not just because the Bearcats and their fans spent a week roaming the French Quarter. The biggest game in school history turned into possibly the biggest mismatch in a BCS game, as Florida staked a 37-3 lead and rolled to a 51-24 victory at the Allstate Sugar Bowl. It will probably be a long time before we see those Cincinnati white helmets again. And it may be a while before a Big East team silences a skeptical public about its national title credentials.

Best timing: Rutgers senior linebacker Damaso Munoz had been kidded by his teammates for being one of the few Scarlet Knights' defenders who had never scored a touchdown. So with 2:18 left against Central Florida, Munoz corralled an onside kick and ran it back 35 yards to paydirt. He dived into the end zone and spiked the ball to cap his career.

Best off-the-field game: The backflip contest between South Florida defenders Jason Pierre-Paul and Kion Wilson before the International Bowl. Pierre-Paul won easily with a dazzling array of flips, and that athleticism is why NFL scouts drool over the still-raw defensive end. You can watch the whole thing here.

Strangest moment: At the end of three quarters, West Virginia tailback Noel Devine had rushed for 168 yards on 16 carries, including a 70-yard gain. And those numbers wouldn't change. Despite closing the gap on Florida State to 23-21 on the first play of the fourth quarter, the Mountaineers never again gave the ball to their best offensive weapon. It's as if West Virginia coaches thought Devine had already opted to leave for the NFL before the fourth quarter began.

South Florida found success by going to the junior college ranks for defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul this season. The Bulls are hoping for similar luck with two new junior college defenders.

The Bulls announced that defensive end Claude Davis and linebacker Curtis Weatherspoon had signed letters of intent and will enroll in January so they can participate in spring practice.

Davis is a 6-foot-4, 247-pounder who will be asked to bolster the defensive end position. The Bulls lose senior George Selvie and quite possibly Pierre-Paul, who is being projected as a high-round draft pick. Pro Football Weekly named Pierre-Paul a first-team All-American on Monday.

"Claude's a great athlete with excellent speed and quickness," USF defensive line coach John Hendrick said. "He has great ability to rush the passer and is a relentless pursuer of the football."

Weatherspoon, who played at Valdosta (Ga.) High School before going to junior college, is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound outside linebacker. Bulls leading tackler Kion Wilson, a senior middle linebacker, also came over from junior college.

I thought about just copying and pasting the reviews of South Florida's 2007 and 2008 seasons here and seeing if anyone noticed.

You know the drill by now: fast start, crummy ending. The Bulls' 2009 season is almost eerily reminiscent of 2008, with a 5-0 beginning followed by a 2-5 Big East record.

The circumstances, however, were different this time. Star quarterback Matt Grothe was lost for the season with a knee in the third week, pressing redshirt freshman B.J. Daniels into duty. Daniels was brilliant in a momentous win at Florida State, but his inexperience showed at other times during the season as he often tried to do too much.

The defense, despite having star pass rushers George Selvie and newcomer Jason Pierre-Paul, still got chewed up in losses to Cincinnati, Pitt, Rutgers and Connecticut. An Oct. 30 upset of West Virginia provided one of the few highlights from the second half of the season.

Bottom line: The Bulls came into the year talking about finally winning the Big East. They'll end it with a bowl game in Canada against Northern Illinois.

Offensive MVP: Daniels. Yes, he made his share of mistakes. But like Grothe before him, Daniels carried the bulk of the offense on his shoulders -- or more precisely, his legs. He led the team in rushing with 798 yards and nine touchdowns while passing for 1,766 yards and 12 scores. It's going to be fun to see what he can become as he matures.

Defensive MVP: Kion Wilson. Pierre-Paul was spectacular at times, and Selvie was a solid leader, but Wilson was the heart of the defense. The senior middle linebacker battled through injuries to lead the team with 98 tackles.

Turning point: South Florida was 5-0, had Cincinnati at home in front of a packed house on Thursday night and knocked Bearcats quarterback Tony Pike out of the game. If ever the Bulls were to announce themselves as legitimate Big East contenders, this was the time. Instead, Pike's untested backup, Zach Collaros, stunned them into submission in a 34-17 loss. It was mostly all downhill from there.

What's next: The International Bowl is about as insignificant a postseason game as you can find. The Bulls lose several key players, including Wilson, Selvie, safety Nate Allen and probably Pierre-Paul, who's being projected as a high-round draft pick. But this is still a team loaded with promising young players such as freshmen Daniels, receiver Sterling Griffin, linebacker Sam Barrington and safety Kayvon Webster. The talent is there; will the ability to stay consistent throughout the season ever develop?

The official league selections will come out tomorrow. Here are my choices for the best of the Big East, from a season's worth of observations and some consultation from league coaches:

Offense

QB: Tony Pike, Cincinnati

RB: Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh

RB: Noel Devine, West Virginia

WR: Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati

WR: Jonathan Baldwin, Pittsburgh

TE: Dorin Dickerson, Pittsburgh

OT: Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh

OT: Jeff Linkenbach, Cincinnati

C: Moe Petrus, Connecticut

OG: John Malecki, Pittsburgh

OG: Zach Hurd, Connecticut

Defense

DE: Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh

DE: Jason Pierre-Paul, South Florida

DT: Mick Williams, Pittsburgh

DT: Chris Neild, West Virginia

LB: Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut

LB: Kion Wilson, South Florida

LB: Derrell Smith, Syracuse

CB: Devin McCourty, Rutgers

CB: Aaron Berry, Pittsburgh

S: Aaron Webster, Cincinnati

S: Nate Allen, South Florida

Specialists

K: Tyler Bitancurt, West Virginia

P: Scott Kozlowski, West Virginia

KR: Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati

PR: Robert McClain, Connecticut

• Pitt's defensive line knows it has to get pressure on Tony Pike, Ralph N. Paulk writes in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

• Jarrett Brown plays his regular-season finale against Rutgers, whom he beat in 2007 for his first shining moment, Dave Hickman writes in the Charleston Gazette.

• Some past and current West Virginia coaches could be considered for the opening at Marshall, Mitch Vingle says in the Gazette.

• Here's an obituary for former Pitt coach Foge Fazio.

• Jack Corcoran didn't live up to the hype that billed him as the next Brian Leonard, but he'll leave Rutgers after a quietly successful career, Tom Luicci writes in The Star-Ledger.

• Desi Cullen overcame a learning disability and found a home at UConn, Desmond Conner writes in the Hartford Courant.

• If Kion Wilson can't play Saturday, South Florida coach Jim Leavitt has extreme confidence in freshman Sam Barrington, Greg Auman writes in the St. Petersburg Times.
• The Guidugli family has been a gift for Cincinnati, John Erardi writes in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

• The Syracuse Post-Standard's Dave Rahme takes an early look at the Orange outlook for 2010.

• The members of Dave Wannstedt's first full recruiting class can fulfill a goal by winning the Big East championship on Saturday, Paul Zeise writes in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• Dorin Dickerson says the bye week hurt Pitt before the West Virginia game, Kevin Gorman writes in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
• West Virginia isn't even thinking about a bowl game yet after its November to remember, Mike Casazza writes in the Charleston Daily Mail.
• Andre Dixon has gone from the doghouse to team leader for UConn, Neill Ostrout writes in the Connecticut Post.
• The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Notre Dame has gauged the interest of Randy Edsall.
• South Florida might not have leading tackler and linebacker Kion Wilson this week because of an ankle injury, Greg Auman writes in the St. Petersburg Times.
• A quick coaching hire could help Louisville's recruiting, C.L. Brown says in The Courier-Journal.
• Rutgers offensive lineman Kevin Haslam has proved doubters wrong, Tom Luicci writes in The Star-Ledger.

This story didn't go in the blog because of length, but make sure to check it out. I wrote about South Florida linebacker Kion Wilson overcoming personal tragedy (the deaths of two of his brothers this offseason) and some early-life troubles to become a real star for the Bulls.