Big East: Robert McClain
Second round
No. 37: Nate Allen, S, South Florida, to Philadelphia: No surprise here, as Allen was mentioned as a possible first-rounder at various points.
Third round
No. 65: Jerome Murphy, CB, South Florida to St. Louis: Here is proof that college production isn't always the most important thing to NFL scouts. Murphy struggled against some of the Big East's better receivers, but he has great physical tools and hopefully will find his niche in the pros.
Fourth round
No. 99: Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati, to St. Louis: If you watched any Bearcats games the past two years, you know that the Rams got an absolute steal. Think Sam Bradford will like having Gilyard around?
No. 101: Mike Williams, WR, Syracuse, to Tampa Bay: He was a first-round talent who was lucky to get picked this high given his off-the-field issues.
No. 107: Marcus Easley, WR, UConn, to Buffalo: Easley had great workouts, and though some thought he would go higher than this, it's still a great story for a guy who was a walk-on this time a year ago.
Fifth round
No. 157: Arthur Jones, DT, Syracuse, to Baltimore: Jones was talked about as a possible first-rounder earlier in his career. This is a great value pick for a player who will always give maximum effort.
Sixth round
No. 177: Carlton Mitchell, WR, South Florida, to Cleveland: Mitchell looked impressive in his workouts, but falling to the sixth round makes you question if he made the right choice in skipping his senior year.
No. 182: Nate Byham, TE, Pittsburgh, to San Francisco: The best blocking tight end in the Big East during his career.
No. 204: Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati, to Carolina: Pike has to be disappointed that he fell this low and that he was drafted by the same team that took Jimmy Clausen a couple rounds earlier.
Seventh round
No. 226: George Selvie, DE, South Florida, to St. Louis: How much would you have bet against the notion that Selvie would be a seventh-round pick at this time last year? Selvie's production dropped after his breakout sophomore year, and now he'll have to prove himself again.
No. 227: Dorin Dickerson, TE, Pittsburgh, to Houston: Surprised to see Dickerson go this low after his great Combine performance. He's a tweener who needs the right team to showcase his skills.
No. 231: Selvish Capers, OT, West Virginia, to Washington: Capers has a lot of talent and potential.
No. 237: Ryan D'Imperio, LB/FB, Rutgers, to Minnesota: The Scarlet Knights' linebacker was drafted as a fullback although he never played it in college.
No. 238: Ricardo Mathews, DT, Cincinnati, to Indianapolis: Mathews didn't get as much attention on the Bearcats' defense as some other players but had a nice senior season.
No. 249: Robert McClain, CB, UConn, to Carolina: McClain had four interceptions last year and also served as the team's punt returner.
Here's a handy-dandy list of NFL Draft picks per Big East school:
South Florida: 5
Rutgers: 3
Cincinnati: 3
Connecticut: 2
Pitt: 2
Syracuse: 2
West Virginia: 1
Louisville: 0
And, finally, some notable players who weren't drafted (I'll have more later on those who signed free-agent contracts): Andre Dixon and Lindsey Witten from UConn; Aaron Webster and Alex Daniels from Cincinnati; Scott Long from Louisville; and Jarrett Brown from West Virginia.
The Huskies had four players selected in the first two rounds of the NFL draft last year and had some players give impressive performances during their pro day on Wednesday.
Cornerback Robert McClain turned heads with a time of 4.43 in the 40 before tweaking a hamstring. He also posted a 38.5-inch vertical. Those numbers will get him some attention.
Defensive end Lindsey Witten was also impressive with a 4.65 time in the 40. Here's a full list of all the 40 times from the Hartford Courant.
Receiver Marcus Easley, who had a great showing at the NFL Combine, did not run the 40, but he showed off a 36.5-inch vertical. It looks more and more like he'll get drafted, which is amazing considering he was a walk on until last April.
Others, like offensive linemen Dan Ryan and Mike Hicks, are hoping to go the free-agent route. On thing teams know for sure is that players who learned under Randy Edsall will be fundamentally sound and prepared.
'06 hits and misses from the Big East
at their 2006 prospect ratings to determine where they were off and where they hit the mark. I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff, as you may recall, so I thought this was a perfect excuse to do the same for the 2006 Big East recruiting classes.
Biggest busts
Andrey Baskin, WR, Syracuse: Baskin was the fourth-highest rated recruit to sign with a Big East school. But he failed to qualify and never made it to campus.
DeAntwan "Peanut" Whitehead, DE, Louisville: A major coup when the Cardinals landed him out of Alabama, Whitehead hurt his neck as a sophomore and never played again.
John Maddox, WR, West Virginia: A 6-foot-3 athlete who looked like a future contributor if not star, Maddox quit the team after a season.
Aundre Henderson, DT, Louisville: Henderson was a hometown star with a ton of ability. Unfortunately, he never really liked football and quit the sport.
Jamie Nixon, CB, Connecticut: Maybe this is why Randy Edsall doesn't like highly-rated recruits too much. Nixon was ranked as the 18th best cornerback in '06 but never panned out.
Hasn't met expectations ... yet
Brandon Heath, S/LB, Louisville: Heath was the highest-ranked player to sign with a Big East team in '06, checking in at No. 58 in the ESPNU 150. He hasn't lived up to that billing, thanks in large part to injuries. He moved to linebacker this past season and was productive. He has another year of eligibility.
Met expectations
Nate Byham, TE, Pittsburgh: Byham was No. 68 in the ESPNU 150 rankings and justified it as an All-Big East performer.
Dorin Dickerson, TE, Pittsburgh: Dickerson would have been labeled a bust this time a year ago, but the Panthers finally figured out what to do with him as a senior. He's a legitimate pro prospect now.
Jason Pinkston, OL, Pittsburgh: The Panthers' batting average was surprisingly high in 2006, as several signees became major contributors.
Tim Brown, WR, Rutgers: Ranked as one of the Scarlet Knights' top recruits in '06, Brown had a terrific career in Piscataway.
Chris Neild, DL, West Virginia: Neild was ranked among the top tight ends out of high school but made the successful transition to All-Big East nose guard.
Exceeded expectations
Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers: Rated just a "40" prospect, which is as low as the grading scale goes, Britt was a first-round pick last year after a record-breaking three-year career.
Nate Allen, S, South Florida: The scouts had him listed as the No. 152 quarterback in the class. He should be one of the first safeties picked in the NFL Draft.
Scott Lutrus, Robert McClain, Lindsey Witten, Lawrence Wilson, Zach Hurd, Connecticut: All were unheralded. All turned into top-notch Big East players. Should we even be surprised at that anymore when it comes to the Huskies?
Greg Romeus, DE, Pitt: Another "40" rated player, he was Big East co-defensive player of the year this past season.
Aaron Webster, S, Cincinnati: After attracting little notice out of high school, Webster developed into a starter and key member of a two-time Big East championship defense.
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
Hop in the DeLorean and rev it up to 88 mph. It's time to look back at Week 10 in the Big East:
Team of the week: Cincinnati. There was plenty not to like defensively, but the Bearcats put up a convenience store (711) in total yards and survived against UConn in a weekend when other Top 10 teams fell by the wayside.
Best game: Going to go out on a limb here and say the little ol', run-of-the-mill, 47-45 game at Nippert Stadium on Saturday.
Biggest play: Isaiah Pead's 14-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1 with 1:52 left gave Cincinnati a 47-38 lead. Brian Kelly never hesitated about going for it, knowing the way UConn was shredding his defense. And the Huskies very nearly made the stop, as safety Robert Vaughn had Pead in his sights. But the sophomore running back juked past Vaughn and kept on running into the end zone. Funny enough, Kelly said the goal was for Pead to get the first down and fall down so Cincinnati could kneel out the clock. But the Bearcats happily settled for the touchdown.
Best call: I'm actually giving this to a player. At the end of the first half, Cincinnati was trying for a field goal when Zach Collaros bobbled the snap. The quarterback, who turned a similar play into a touchdown pass a week earlier at Syracuse, rose up and threw the ball away, taking an intentional grounding penalty. That actually turned out to be a terrific decision, because Cincinnati got another chance at the kick, and Jake Rogers nailed it. Those three points wound up making a huge difference.
Big Man on Campus (Offense): I never thought Tony Pike could get Wally Pipp-ed. Now I'm wondering how Kelly takes Collaros out of the lineup. The sophomore set a new Big East record with 555 yards of total offense against UConn, including 480 passing yards and three total touchdowns. And this was his third collegiate start.
Big Man on Campus (Defense): West Virginia's Julian Miller had six tackles, three sacks and a pass break-up to help the Mountaineers hold off Louisville 17-9. Miller had two straight sacks of Will Stein when the Cardinals were threatening to tie the game.
Big Man on Campus (Special teams): UConn's Robert McClain helped the Huskies get back in the game with an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Worst hangover: Syracuse. There's no shame in losing at Pitt, which is as hot as any team in the country right now. But the Orange have problems. They took just 55 scholarship players to Heinz Field, and left with safety Max Suter and tight end Cody Catalina suffering season-ending injuries. The passing game is a mess without Mike Williams. Syracuse was 3-4 after seven games and still in the hunt for postseason. If the Orange don't win at Louisville this week, they may not win another game this year..
Strangest moment: I know this actually happened because I witnessed it first hand, but I still have a hard time believing it.
On the first series of the fourth quarter, Cincinnati faced a third-and-8. Collaros tried to run for the first down on what appeared to be a quarterback draw. The play got blown up early, and he only gained three yards. Then came the absurdity: a large smattering of boos actually emanated from the home crowd. Yes, that's right. Bearcats fans were booing an offense that had generated 657 total yards at that point. Just goes to show how quickly a fan base can get spoiled. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody started a FireBrianKelly.com site after that play.
Now let's g0 back to the future and preview a very appetizing Week 11 (Games listed in descending order of importance and interest):
No. 25 West Virginia (7-2, 3-1 Big East) at No. 5 Cincinnati (9-0, 5-0): Is this the Mountaineers' last stand? Without a win at Nippert Stadium, West Virginia will be officially eliminated from the Big East race. (8 p.m. Friday, ESPN2)
Notre Dame (6-3) at No. 12 Pittsburgh (8-1, 5-0): If Notre Dame hadn't spit the bit against Navy, this would have been a heavily-hyped game that maybe would have brought the "GameDay" gang to Heinz Field. Instead, Pitt is the big dog here and must dispatch a desperate Irish team. (8 p.m., TV TBA)
No. 24 South Florida (6-2, 2-2) at Rutgers (6-2, 1-2): The Bulls want to show that they are back on track. Rutgers wants to show that it has turned the corner this season. They'll have a Thursday night crowd watching. (7:30 p.m. Thursday, ESPN)
Syracuse (3-6, 0-4) at Louisville (3-6, 0-4): The Big East's Basement Bowl. Feel the excitement?
Bye: Connecticut
CINCINNATI -- Robert McClain returned a punt 87 yards for a touchdown, bringing UConn back to within 37-24.
This is the most points the Bearcats have surrendered this year. They can't relax yet -- and they've sprung a few leaks that need to get fixed by next week, especially on special teams.
UConn is showing a lot of heart.
What to watch in the Big East, Week 10
1. Focus: That's the key word this week, as the top three contenders in the Big East all are heavy favorites at home. Showdowns between Cincinnati, Pitt and West Virginia loom on the calendar ahead. But for those to matter, they need to take care of business this week against the heavy underdogs and not start thinking ahead to the stretch run.
2. Cincinnati's receivers vs. the UConn secondary: The Huskies got burned by Tim Brown on an 81-yard pass play to lose this week, but they've been pretty good against the pass this year and have the league's two co-leaders in interceptions (Robert Vaughn and Robert McClain). They will face a major challenge this week against the Bearcats' Mardy Gilyard, Armon Binns and D.J. Woods. Syracuse had some small success slowing Cincinnati down last week by trying to keep everything in front of the defense. UConn might also want to make the Bearcats prove they can sustain long drives.
3. Attack of the backup Zachs: Cincinnati looks likely to go with Zach Collaros again at quarterback as Tony Pike continues to recover from his left forearm injury. Collaros has been outstanding the past two and a half games, though this will be the best team he's started against thus far. UConn's Zach Frazer is back at quarterback now that Cody Endres is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Frazer has been way too erratic this season, including three more interceptions last week at Rutgers, and can't afford those mistakes against the Bearcats.
4. Lindsey Witten vs. Jeff Linkenbach: Witten is tied for second in the nation in sacks with 10.5. Linkenbach has developed into the best left tackle in the Big East, in my opinion. If UConn can't get pressure on Collaros, it could be a long night at Nippert Stadium for the Huskies. Witten needs to bring the heat.
5. Dion Lewis: The Pitt freshman tailback was named a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award this week and floats on the periphery of the Heisman race. Syracuse has been surprisingly stout against the run this season, ranking first in the Big East with just 88.9 yards allowed per game on the ground. Another big game by Lewis against this defense should vault him into the lead for Big East player of the year and other award honors.
6. Paulus and the passing game: Syracuse quarterback Greg Paulus was booed at home last week and then received a passionate defense by his head coach Doug Marrone. Paulus has struggled in Big East play, and he just lost his best and maybe only big-play receiver in Mike Williams, who quit the team on Monday. How do he and the Orange offense respond?
7. West Virginia's pass defense: The deep pass has hurt the Mountaineers the past few weeks and much of the season. Louisville has the worst scoring offense in the Big East but is capable of pulling off some big plays in the passing game with guys like Scott Long, Trent Guy and Doug Beaumont. If West Virginia can tighten that part of its defense up, it should have little trouble at home against the last-place Cardinals.
8. Louisville's quarterback derby: Three guys -- Justin Burke, Will Stein and Adam Froman -- have started, and it's anybody's guess who will get the call this week. Coach Steve Kragthorpe said earlier this week that Burke and Froman, who were both hurt at Cincinnati, should be available for practice. If they're all good to go, Froman likely gets the nod. But West Virginia has to prepare for all three just in case.
9. Speed on the edge: The main difference between West Virginia and Louisville the past two years was that the Cardinals didn't have the defensive speed on the perimeter to contain the Mountaineers' playmakers unlike, say, South Florida. Pat White got outside with ease in last year's game in Louisville, and the Cardinals' quickness hasn't gotten significantly better. Expect at least one huge run, if not several, from Noel Devine and maybe even Jarrett Brown or Jock Sanders.
10. Cincinnati's competition: We're not talking about UConn, but the other contenders for the national title. Keep an eye this weekend on Alabama against LSU, Iowa against Northwestern, Boise State at Louisiana Tech and TCU against San Diego State. Any of them faltering would help the Bearcats' national title chances.
UConn looks to bounce back at Baylor
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
Connecticut coach Randy Edsall preaches to his players that once they walk off the field after a game, it's time to turn the page.
That was a little bit easier said than done on Saturday. The Huskies led North Carolina 10-0 in the fourth quarter, only to lose 12-10 on a late safety. That kind of disappointment isn't so quickly erased.
"It sticks with you a little bit, to lose to a ranked team like that at home," defensive back Robert McClain said. "But we have to bounce back and get ready for another high-powered offense."
UConn doesn't have a lot of time to feel sorry for itself or lament its lost chance for a breakthrough victory. That's because this Saturday's game at Baylor (1-0) is fast approaching.
The Bears opened with a win at Wake Forest and were a trendy offseason pick as a Big 12 sleeper. The Huskies know just how good Baylor and sophomore quarterback Robert Griffin are. Last year, Griffin threw for three touchdowns and ran another one in as UConn barely held on for a 31-28 win at home.
Griffin, a track star in his spare time, had his coming-out party during that game on national TV.
"I was definitely surprised by how fast he was," linebacker Lawrence Wilson said. "I had no idea a quarterback would be that fast. I've never played against anybody faster than him, especially at quarterback. So we know what we are in for this year."
Defense hasn't been a problem so far for the Huskies, who have surrendered just 26 offensive points through two games. The pass rush, led by Lindsey Witten's six sacks, has been ferocious while the secondary has proved it's one of the best in the Big East with three interceptions. The only concerning stat is that 20 of those 28 points have been scored in the fourth quarter.
"We're focusing this week on finishing each practice, because we're trying to eliminate those scores in the fourth quarter," McClain said. "It's not conditioning. It's just mistakes and mental errors, things we didn't do in the first three quarters."
One can only wonder, though, how much the UConn offense is hurting its counterpart. Edsall hired offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead to install a new hurry-up attack this year, but so far it's mostly just making sure the defense has to hurry back onto the field.
Through two games, the Huskies are averaging just 16.5 points per game, which is more than eight points off of last year's average. The offseason was dedicated to improving last season's anemic passing game, but instead things have gotten worse. UConn is completing just 50 percent of its throws while averaging 125.5 passing yards per game, which ranks 116th out of 120 FBS team. Last year, it averaged 139.7 passing yards per game.
"Any time you make a transition, the biggest thing is it's a matter of executing a little bit better," Edsall said. "We had some things there this weekend that didn't hit, but they were there.
"We understand, and especially I understand, that we need to throw the ball, and we're going to throw the ball. We're still sorting out who's going to be in there at wide receiver and which guys we can depend upon in pass situations. We're a work in progress with a lot of young guys."
The Huskies will likely have to play much better offensively to have a shot of winning on the road in Big 12 land. The North Carolina loss was painful, but it becomes even more damaging if UConn starts out 1-2. Then the team would have to go at least 4-3 in the Big East just to have a winning regular-season record.
"This game is huge for our confidence," Wilson said. "I'm sure everyone is pretty down about the (North Carolina) loss because it was pretty bad. But getting this one would be a big confidence boost for us."
UConn's Endres, Witten have stomach bug
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
Two of UConn's most important players, quarterback Cody Endres and defensive end Lindsey Witten, are suffering from a stomach virus, Randy Edsall said Tuesday.
The illness kept both players from meeting with the media today but is not expected to prevent them from playing this Saturday at Baylor. It's the same bug that affected a couple of other UConn players last week, and the team is trying to stop it from spreading.
"You've just got to make sure to wash your hands a lot," defensive back Robert McClain said.
Endres should get the starting nod because of Zach Frazer's knee injury. But true freshman Mike Box is now practicing with the first team with Endres sick, and Edsall likes the youngster enough that he might play him Saturday.
Linebacker Scott Lutrus, who did not play in Saturday's loss to North Carolina after suffering a stinger in the opener, will practice this week. But his status remains questionable.
Looking back at the '06 Big East recruiting classes
My colleague Ted Miller out in the wild, wild west of the Pac-10 had a really fun post earlier this week. He looked back on that conference's 2006 recruiting class. Players who signed that year should be seniors or redshirt juniors now, so it's a perfect time to judge the class on actual results, not promise.
And so, I figure that's a good idea to steal and apply to the Big East. Pittsburgh had the 16th-best recruiting class in the nation that season, according to our Scouts Inc. experts, while Louisville ranked 21st. No other Big East team cracked the top 25.
Let's take a look back and see how things have turned out, shall we?
Cincinnati
Class: 22
Expected major contributors in 2009: 7 -- LB John Goebel, LB Robby Armstrong, CB Marcus Barnett, TE Ben Guidugli, DL Ricardo Matthews, RB Jacob Ramsey, S Aaron Webster
Misses: DT Oren Wilson
Verdict: Mark Dantonio's final full class contained some players who have already contributed, like Ramsey, Guidugli, Barnett and Webster, and some who should assume bigger roles this year, like Armstrong and Matthews. But overall, this lacked the quality of the deep '05 bunch that formed the core of last year's Orange Bowl squad. Receiver Jamar Howard, who was part of the '06 class but didn't qualify in 2006, is back this year after a stint in junior college.
Connecticut
Class: 24
Expected major contributors in 2009: 11 -- WR Brad Kanuch, S Robert Vaughn, K Desi Cullen, OL Zach Hurd, LB Scott Lutrus, CB Robert McClain, LB Lawrence Wilson, DE Lindsey Witten, OL Mathieu Olivier, DT Alex Polito, DE Mike Cox
Misses: CB Jamie Nixon
Verdict: As usual, Randy Edsall's '06 class didn't draw much attention nationally. But he found a whole bunch of players who exceeded their star rankings and became key pieces for the Huskies. Lutrus is one of the best linebackers in the Big East, while Vaughn is a top safety and Witten has NFL potential. UConn could use a breakthrough from the oft-injured Kanuch.
Louisville
Class: 30
Expected major contributors in 2009: 7 -- DE Rodney Gnat, DT L.T. Walker, LB Brandon Heath, WR Josh Chichester, CB Johnny Patrick, WR Troy Pascley, OT Jeff Adams
Misses: DT Aundre Henderson, DT Kareem Crowell, QB Emmanuel Francis
Verdict: Bobby Petrino's final class at Louisville looked great on paper but was hit hard by attrition and misevaluations, which is part of the reason why the Cardinals have been so thin the past two years. Some problems were unforeseen; promising defensive end Peanut Whitehead had his career ended after just a season by a back injury. Henderson decided he didn't like football and quit. Running back Anthony Allen transferred. Several others were dismissed for disciplinary reasons or never panned out.
Pittsburgh
Class: 27
Expected major contributors in 2009: 9 -- TE Nate Byham, OT Jason Pinkston, CB Aaron Berry, OL John Malecki, CB Jovani Chappel, OL Joe Thomas, S Elijah Fields, DE Greg Romeus, CB Ricky Gary
Misses: QB Kevan Smith, CB Aaron Smith, DT Scott Corson
Verdict: Overall, this was a deep, solid class that will form the backbone of this year's team. Add in the fact that star left tackle Jeff Otah was part of this group as a junior college transfer, and it becomes all the more impressive. Byham, Pinkston, Berry and Romeus are All-Big East-caliber players with pro futures. Pitt hasn't seemed able to figure out what to do yet with once highly-rated prospect Dorin Dickerson. Running back Kevin Collier could contribute this year.
Rutgers
Class: 27
Expected major contributors in 2009: 9 -- RB Kordell Young, WR Tim Brown, LB Antonio Lowery, DT Blair Bines, LB Ryan D'Imperio, DB Zaire Kitchen, TE Shamar Graves, FB Jack Corcoran, DT Charlie Noonan
Misses: TE Jeff Minemeyer, LB Sorie Bayoh
Verdict: The best player from this class, Kenny Britt, was a first-round NFL draft pick in April. Combine that with a high number of contributors, and Greg Schiano had a pretty good batting average with this class.
South Florida
Class: 30
Expected major contributors in 2009: 11 -- WR Carlton Mitchell, OL Zach Hermann, S Nate Allen, DB Jerrell Young, OL Jeremiah Warren, LB Sabbath Joseph, DL Aaron Harris, DL Craig Marshall, K Delbert Alvarado, WR Ed Alcin, OL Kevin McCaskill
Misses: DT Leslie Stirrups, WR Jason Sherman, DE Joseph Jackson
Verdict: Surprisingly, some of the Bulls' highest-rated recruits in the 2006 class are the ones who didn't pan out, while the lesser-regarded names have gained regular playing time. The best player so far of this group is Allen, who should have an NFL future. This is a good class that just needs a little more star power.
Syracuse
Class: 22
Expected major contributors in 2009: 9 -- TE Andrew Robinson, RB Delone Carter, OL Jim McKenzie, OL Ryan Bartholomew, OL Tucker Baumbach, OL Jonathan Meldrum, DE Jared Kimmel, LB Derrell Smith, WR Mike Williams
Misses: WR Andrey Baskin, S Derek Hrinya
Verdict: Several players from the '06 batch will start this year, including nearly all of Syracuse's offensive line. But this class, like most of Greg Robinson's efforts, is short on all-conference caliber players. Baskin was the Orange's biggest recruit, but he failed to qualify and never made it to campus. Robinson was the starting quarterback two years ago before switching to tight end this spring.
West Virginia
Class: 16
Expected major contributors in 2009: 6 -- DT Chris Neild, WR Wes Lyons, LB Anthony Leonard, C Eric Jobe, S Franchot "Boogie" Allen, LB J.T. Thomas
Misses: S John Maddox, CB Robert Williams, OL Eric Rodemoyer, CB Greg Davis
Verdict: The Mountaineers had a small class in '06, and they could have handed out half the scholarships and gotten the same results. Only eight 2006 signees are on the current roster. Several from that class are expected to take a step up this year, including Neild, Lyons and Allen. Still, only getting six major contributors from any class is a hard pill to swallow.
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
Here's a look at what players will be attending the Big East's media days on Aug. 3-4 in Newport, R.I.:
• Cincinnati: Tony Pike and Aaron Webster
• Connecticut: Desi Cullen, Scott Lutrus, Robert McClain and Anthony Sherman
• Louisville: Jon Dempsey and Scott Long
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
Connecticut unveiled its new uniforms for the 2009 season on Tuesday, and you can find a photo gallery here.
The uniforms do not say Connecticut anywhere but have the block 'C' in the V-neck portion of the jersey. The blue helmets with the white 'C' remain the same.
"We believe strongly in the 'C' logo," coach Randy Edsall said at a news conference. "We think that when people see the 'C' they know it stands for UConn football. It has a long tradition here, even before the school was officially the University of Connecticut. If you look at the 1924 team photo, the player right in the middle is wearing a 'C' sweater. There is a picture of Red O'Neill that I saw and he is wearing a 'C.' There is a tradition that moved right into the 1970s with the 'C' and we continue that tradition today."
The uniforms are made by Nike and designed to be more lightweight and breathable than in years' past.
"I know we'll be faster on the field this season," cornerback Robert McClain told the Connecticut Post.
Big East afternoon roundup: Bearcats broke even on Orange Bowl
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
I'm heading out to Louisville's spring game tonight and will have a report later on. In the meantime, here's what's going on around the league this Friday afternoon:
• Cincinnati broke even on its trip to the Orange Bowl, athletic director Mike Thomas tells Bill Koch of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
"People have the perception that because you went to the Orange Bowl you have all kinds of loose change falling out of your pocket,” Thomas said. "For us, the Orange Bowl was about a wash. The best we could have done on the Orange Bowl if we could have sold out our whole allotment (of tickets) was probably another $600,000.
"With our comps and actually sold tickets we were at about 13,000.That would have left us with 4,500 tickets to sell to reach our 17,500 allotment. Even if we would have sold all of those, that would have added about another $600,000.”
Bowl trips themselves are almost never profitable enterprises because of all the people that schools take with them.
• I'm pretty sure the Robert Marve saga will end ... sometime. But not yet. Brett McMurphy of the Tampa Tribune reports that the former Miami quarterback has at least whittled his list of transfer destinations down to five: South Florida, Texas Tech, Arizona State, Nebraska and Purdue. Given how strong B.J. Daniels and Evan Landi have looked this spring, I don't know that the Bulls would even need Marve.
• Greg Schiano isn't putting a lot of pressure on his players for tomorrow's spring game, even though several positions are still up for grabs. He tells Keith Sargeant of the Home News Tribune that he wants his guys just to go out "play hard and have fun" during the scrimmage. It should help that the weather forecast looks great after a spring that saw several miserable days.
• UConn has picked captains for 2009, Desmond Conner reports in the Hartford Courant. They are Desi Cullen, Scott Lutrus, Robert McClain and Anthony Sherman.
It's been a while since I opened the ol' mailbag. That's because things have been pretty busy with signing day and some breaking news, and frankly because there haven't been that many compelling questions.
(Note to readers: Whenever you ask me my thoughts on a particular recruit or to analyze a recruiting class, my answer is always going to be, "Ask me in a couple of years." I don't spend time stalking high school football sidelines or breaking down grainy highlight videos. We have excellent recruiting people who do that sort of thing.)
Anyway, the letters have been piling up, so I'm going to get to as many of them as I can with two installments today.
Allen from Henderson, Ky., writes: "Kragthorpe to be own O-coordinator." Is this a cruel joke? I know the Brohm/Kragthorpe offense was a forced marriage that had some political undertones, maybe there was trouble between the two maybe there wasn't, but how can Kragthorpe honestly do this? I understand a head coach wanting to put his stamp on the offense, but if Krags is going to truly be his on OC, won't he have to huddle with the offense during the game while the other team has the ball -- you know when Louisville's defense is on the field? How is he going to be an effective head coach if he is neglecting the defense completely? Louisville is going to have a new DC again this year (and that's 4 in 3 seasons for those scoring at home). Kragthorpe needs to keep his eye on what is going on. Don't you think a good head coach should be able to delegate some authority? A large portion of the Louisville fan base is already calling for Kragthorpe's head on a platter after the past two seasons, which were not pretty. I think Kragthorpe is setting himself up for a major downfall.
Brian Bennett: A coach serving as his own offensive coordinator is not unheard of. Steve Spurrier did it. Jeff Tedford did it. Charlie Weis did it (OK, that last one is a bad example). Bobby Petrino even called all the plays, though his brother was the official offensive coordinator. Kragthorpe will certainly have help in calling plays and will pay attention to the entire team. I don't think that's the problem.
The way I see it, this is a classic high risk/high reward situation. If the team surprises people and plays well with a good offensive attack next season, Kragthorpe is going to get a lot of credit. But if they don't play well and the offense is largely to blame -- and without a proven quarterback, that's a strong possibility -- Kragthorpe is going to be facing an enormous amount of criticism and scrutiny. Kragthorpe has described himself in the past as the "captain of the ship," and it's clear he's ready to sink or float with his hands firmly on the wheel.
Eric from Cincinnati writes: What do you think about Cincinnati firing Joe Tresey, the defensive coordinator?
Brian Bennett: I was quite surprised by this, and judging by Brian Kelly's comments in the Cincinnati Enquirer, it seems like this was not something that was planned much in advance. It sure appears that some disagreement or rift developed lately between the two, because they had been together the past three years and Tresey's defenses had played well. Perhaps the two simply have different visions for how the defense should be shaped in the future, but it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Ken from Philadelphia writes: Hey, Brian, I agree that UConn loses a lot of talent, but I think you have them rated way too low. All of those names are big, but that's all they lost. They return eight starters on defense and they actually might have a living, breathing QB next year who actually has a functional throwing arm. Andre Dixon might be as close to as good as Donald Brown, and Robert McClain was excellent filling in for Darius Butler. I guess we'll see.
Brian Bennett: I hesitated putting UConn at sixth in my pre-spring power rankings. I really did. The Huskies do bring a lot back. But in my mind, as I said in my chat yesterday, they lost their four best players in Brown, Butler, Will Beatty and Cody Brown, and all played vital positions. There's also the need to adjust to a new offense. Even with those four stars they only went 3-4 in the league. I see them as just a notch below the other five serious contenders, though my opinion may change as I watch them during spring and fall practice.
Kevin from Tampa writes: Okay, well, Florida International has decided to drop out and go to "bigger and better" things. My question is, who will and/or would be a good opponent for USF? I mean, South Florida already has Miami and Florida State, so they already have their hands full. But with Wofford and Western Kentucky, in my opinion, the Bulls still need one more prestigious team. Maybe Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Washington State, or even up-and-coming Houston. I prefer either the first two. If they do get one of these teams, would their strength of schedule be the strongest in the Big East? Let me know what you think.
Brian Bennett: I appreciate your enthusiasm but let's be real: The Bulls are not going to add another big name to their schedule. There's a reason Florida International was there in the first place, and South Florida wants to put another Sun Belt-level team on the schedule if it can find one. In fact, the Bulls may get stuck playing two FCS teams this year, which would not be a good thing. Major conference teams aren't available at this late date and/or have no interest in adding a program like South Florida to their own schedules. As I wrote earlier this week, everybody wants to schedule winnable home games to buffer their bottom lines and get themselves that much closer to bowl eligibility.
Big East bowl season helmet stickers
Donald Brown, Connecticut: The Big East offensive player of the year ended his college days in style, rushing for a career-high 261 yards and eclipsing 2,000 yards for the season in UConn's 38-20 International Bowl win over Buffalo.
Pat White, West Virginia: White added one final indelible moment to his incredible career by throwing for a career-best 332 yards and completing 26 of 32 passes with three touchdowns to lead the Mountaineers to a 31-30 Meineke Car Care Bowl win over North Carolina. He also rushed for 55 yards.
Mike Teel, Rutgers: The senior finished with yet another 300-yard passing day, completing 22 of 37 passes for 319 yards and two scores as Rutgers beat NC State, 29-23, in the Papajohns.com Bowl.
Matt Grothe, South Florida: In his best performance in several weeks, the junior quarterback went 17-for-24 for 236 yards and threw three touchdowns and no interceptions in the 41-14 magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl rout of Memphis. Grothe played less than three quarters in that game as well.
Pat Lazear, West Virginia: Buried on the bench earlier in the year, the sophomore linebacker came up with the biggest defensive play in the Meineke game, intercepting North Carolina quarterback T.J. Yates with less than two minutes left.
Kenny Britt, Rutgers: The junior receiver piled up 119 receiving yards on just six catches, including a 42-yard score, in the win over NC State. Britt finished as the Big East's career leader in receiving yards before declaring for the NFL draft.
Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati: In an otherwise dreary offensive effort by his team, Gilyard had seven catches for 158 yards in the Bearcats' 20-7 loss to Virginia Tech at the FedEx Orange Bowl.
Robert McClain, Connecticut: The safety came up with several big hits and made Buffalo receivers gun shy as the Huskies limited the Bulls' high-flying passing attack to just 213 yards.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Andrea Adelson
Adelson joined ESPN.com in 2010 after spending time as a college football columnist at The Orlando Sentinel. She has covered college football since her days as a University of Florida student, and lives in Orlando, Fla.
