ESPN College Football

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

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

• Jonathan Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh: second round

• Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut: third round

• Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: fourth round

• Delone Carter, RB, Syracuse: fourth round

• Bilal Powell, RB, Louisville: fifth round

• Anthony Sherman, FB, Connecticut: fifth round

• Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: sixth round

• Henry Hynoski, FB, Pittsburgh: seventh round

• Armon Binns, WR, Cincinnati: seventh round

Now, the offensive linemen/tight ends:

• Jason Pinkston, OT, Pittsbugh: fifth round

• Cameron Graham, TE, Louisville: sixth round

• Zach Hurd, OG, Connecticut: sixth round

• Ryan Bartholomew, C, Syracuse: seventh round

• Jason Kelce, C, Cincinnati: seventh round

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

• Terrell McClain, DT, South Florida: second round

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

• Johnny Patrick, CB, Louisville: third round

• Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh: fourth round

• Brandon Hogan, CB, West Virginia: fourth round

• Robert Sands, S, West Virginia: fourth round

• Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut: fifth round

• Scott Lutrus, LB, Connecticut: fifth round

• Joe Lefeged, S, Rutgers: sixth round

• Chris Neild, DT, West Virginia: sixth round

• Derrell Smith, LB, Syracuse: sixth round

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

• Doug Hogue, LB, Syracuse: sixth round

• Greg Lloyd, LB, Connecticut: seventh round

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

• Syracuse offensive lineman Ryan Bartholomew helped his cause at the NFL combine.
• Jordan Todman was impressive too, though the reviews weren't as favorable for teammate Zach Hurd.
• A look at West Virginia's participants in the combine.
• Louisville got its first commitment for the 2012 class.

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

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

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

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

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

Cincinnati (3)

Armon Binns, WR

Jason Kelce, OL

Jake Rogers, K

Connecticut (6)


Zach Hurd, OL

Anthony Sherman, FB

Jordan Todman, RB

Lawrence Wilson, LB

Greg Lloyd, LB

Scott Lutrus, LB

Louisville (3)


Cameron Graham, TE

Johnny Patrick, CB

Bilal Powell, RB

Pittsburgh (6)

Jon Baldwin, WR

Henry Hynoski, FB

Dion Lewis, RB

Jason Pinkston, OL

Greg Romeus, DE

Jabaal Sheard, DE

Rutgers (1)


Joe Lefeged, S

South Florida (1)

Terrell McClain, DT

Syracuse (4)

Ryan Bartholomew, OL

Doug Hogue, LB

Delone Carter, RB

Derrell Smith, LB

West Virginia (6)

Noel Devine, RB

Brandon Hogan, CB

Chris Neild, DT

Jock Sanders, WR

Robert Sands, S

J.T. Thomas, LB

Today, we begin our countdown of the Top 25 players in the Big East from the 2010 season.

These lists have incorporated different criteria at different times. For this particular exercise, I am focusing solely on 2010 performance, not past heroics in previous seasons or future potential in either the 2011 Big East season or the NFL.

I'll also be giving more weight to high-impact guys, players who made a major difference to their teams and the league race as a whole. These types of lists invariably are slanted in favor of skill position players whose stats are easily measurable. There won't be a whole lot of linemen or defensive tackles on here, and I apologize in advance to the guys who do the dirty work in the trenches.

And away we go ...

No. 25

Zach Hurd, OG, Connecticut, Sr.

2010 numbers: Started all 13 games for the Big East champion Huskies

Preseason rank: 25

Making the case for Hurd: OK, so it's a little boring to have the same guy ranked 25th in both the preseason and postseason lists. But Hurd performed up to expectations in 2010 and was named to the All Big East first team. He was a big reason why Jordan Todman finished second in the nation in rushing. I can't imagine too many scarier things for a linebacker to see than the 6-foot-7, 325-pound Hurd pulling and gaining a full head of steam heading right toward you.

Hurd was invited to the NFL combine and even worked out at center some during all-star season. As I wrote, not too many of the true trench guys will find love on this list, but Hurd is too good to ignore.

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

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

Jon Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh

Ryan Bartholomew, OL, Syracuse

Armon Binns, WR, Cincinnati

Delone Carter, RB, Syracuse

Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia

Cameron Graham, TE, Louisville

Brandon Hogan, CB, West Virginia

Doug Hogue, LB, Syracuse

Zach Hurd, OL, Connecticut

Henry Hynoski, FB, Pittsburgh

Jason Kelce, OL, Cincinnati

Joe Lefeged, S, Rutgers

Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh

Greg Lloyd, LB, Connecticut

Scott Lutrus, LB, Connecticut

Terrell McClain, DT, South Florida

Chris Neild, DT, West Virginia

Johnny Patrick, CB, Louisville

Jason Pinkston, OL, Pittsburgh

Bilal Powell, RB, Louisville

Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh

Jake Rogers, K, Cincinnati

Jock Sanders, WR, West Virginia

Robert Sands, S, West Virginia

Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh

Anthony Sherman, FB, Connecticut

Derrell Smith, LB, Syracuse

J.T. Thomas, LB, West Virginia

Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut

Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut

National signing day is Wednesday, and every fan base will be excited about the guys their schools bring in.

But how much do star rankings and hype really correlate to future success? One way to find out is by working backwards. Let's take a look at this year's official All-Big East team and see where each player was ranked as a recruit coming into his program.

All information is based on ESPN.com's recruiting rankings.

Offense

QB: Zach Collaros, Cincinnati: Unranked as a recruit.

RB: Jordan Todman, Connecticut: Two-star recruit, ranked No. 118 among running backs in the Class of 2008.

RB: Bilal Powell, Louisville: Unranked as a recruit.

WR: Armon Binns, Cincinnati: Unranked as a recruit.

WR: Jon Baldwin, Pittsburgh: Four-star prospect, ESPNU150 performer, No. 8 among wide receivers in the Class of 2008.

OT: Mike Ryan, Connecticut: Unranked as a recruit.

OT: Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh: Four-star prospect and No. 13 defensive tackle in the Class of '06.

OG: Zach Hurd, Connecticut: Unranked as a recruit.

OG: Mark Wetterer, Louisville: Two-star prospect and No. 70 offensive tackle in Class of '07.

C: Sampson Genus, South Florida: Three-star prospect and No. 12 center in the Class of '07.

TE: Cameron Graham, Louisville: Junior college transfer.

Defense

DL: Kendall Reyes, Connecticut: Unranked as a recruit.

DL: Jabaal Sheard, Pittsburgh: Two-star prospect and No. 83 defensive end in the Class of '07.

DL: Terrell McClain, South Florida: Three-star prospect and No. 29 defensive tackle in Class of '07.

DL: Chris Neild, West Virginia: Three-star prospect and No. 17 tight end in Class of '06.

LB: Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut: Unranked as a recruit.

LB: Doug Hogue, Syracuse: Three-star prospect and No. 84 running back in Class of '07.

LB: J.T. Thomas, West Virginia: Unranked as a recruit.

CB: Johnny Patrick, Louisville: Unranked as a recruit.

CB: Keith Tandy, West Virginia: One-star prospect and No. 207 quarterback in Class of '07.

S: Dom DeCicco, Pittsburgh: Two-star prospect and No. 126 wide receiver in Class of '07.

S: Robert Sands, West Virginia: Unranked as a recruit.

As you can see, it was almost as likely that a player without any stars attached to his name would develop into an All-Big East performer as those more highly regarded. There were some on-the-mark evaluations, such as Baldwin and McClain, Pinkston and Genus. And there were guys who flew way under the radar, like Binns and Powell, Ryan and Wilson.

It still, like always, comes down to proper evaluation by a staff, then to player development and an individual's own desire to be great. Something to keep in mind on signing day.

Here is the list of players from the Big East who will be participating in the East-West Shrine Game, a showcase for seniors and NFL hopefuls:

• Anthony Sherman, FB, Connecticut

• Armon Binns, WR, Cincinnati

• Delone Carter, RB, Syracuse

• Doug Hogue, LB, Syracuse

• Greg Lloyd, LB, Connecticut

• Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut

• Ryan Bartholomew, OL, Syracuse

• Scott Lutrus, LB, Connecticut

• Terrell McClain, DT, South Florida

• Zach Hurd, OL, Connecticut

The 86th annual game will be held Jan. 22 in Orlando.

Ted Miller talks with UConn guard Zach Hurd about the Huskies’ line play.

Earlier today, I presented you with my picks for the All-Big East team, which you can find here. Not long after, the official league awards and first and second teams came out, which you can find here.

The Big East official teams are voted on by the league's eight head coaches, who know a heck of a lot more about football than me. But that doesn't mean they always make the right choices. Let's take a look at each position and go over some of the reasoning behind the picks, starting with what seems to me like the most egregious error.

Quarterback

The league coaches chose Cincinnati's Zach Collaros as the unanimous pick, which is just shocking to me. Don't get me wrong, Collaros is a fantastic player who can put up crazy numbers. But I don't see how Collaros was chosen over West Virginia's Geno Smith. Smith led the Big East in passing efficiency and had a 23-6 touchdown to interception ratio. He had one bad game against Syracuse and was terrific just about every other game. Collaros threw 26 touchdowns but with a whopping 14 interceptions. His completion percentage was 58.7 compared to Smith's to 65.8.

In conference play, Collaros had 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Smith had 11 touchdowns and four interceptions in league play, not to mention that the Mountaineers were co-champions while Cincinnati finished 4-8.

The coaches, frankly, blew this one.

Running back

Jordan Todman and Bilal Powell were the easy calls here. What's amazing is that neither Noel Devine nor Dion Lewis made the first or second team. No one saw that coming before the year.

Wide receiver and tight end

Armon Binns and Jon Baldwin were the obvious calls at receiver. Louisville's Cameron Graham was the most productive tight end in the league.

Offensive line

Here's where the coaches' expertise should come into play. It's really hard just watching from TV or even from a press box to tell who's playing well on the interior of an offensive line, especially if you don't know what the blocking assignments are supposed to be. I made sure to get some input from coaches on this one and was pleased to see my choices of Sampson Genus at center and Zach Hurd and Mark Wetterer at guard were echoed by the coaches. We also agreed on Jason Pinkston at tackle, though the coaches had UConn's Mike Ryan at the other tackle, while I had Louisville's Byron Stingily. Both are fine choices, since Louisville and UConn had the best offensive lines in the league.

Defensive line

Very little question here with Jabaal Sheard, Terrell McClain and Chris Neild up front. The second defensive end spot was a tricky one for me. The coaches chose Kendall Reyes, who had an excellent year. I picked West Virginia's Julian Miller, who was a beast in conference play and part of the Mountaineers' unbelievable defense. When in doubt at one of these defensive positions, I went with a West Virgina player. I also strongly considered Chandler Jones, Brandon Lindsey and Jesse Joseph for that spot.

Linebacker

Linebacker is one of the deepest positions in the Big East this year. Lawrence Wilson was a definite, and the coaches and I agreed on J.T. Thomas. They chose Doug Hogue while I went with his Syracuse teammate, Derrell Smith. Can't argue too much either way and I would have put all four of them on there if there were enough spots.

Defensive back

Here's another place where I sharply disagree with the coaches' pick. They had West Virginia's Keith Tandy and not Brandon Hogan. I'm not sure even Tandy would agree with that. Tandy had the better interception and tackle numbers, but as he told me in a late-season interview, most of that was because teams wouldn't throw Hogan's way. The coaches I talked to all said Hogan was easily the best cornerback in the Big East. I had him and Johnny Patrick, who was also an official pick, though I heard some support for and strongly considered South Florida's Mistral Raymond.

At safety, Robert Sands was a no-brainer. The other safety spot was my most difficult choice on the entire list. Safety was not a strong position for the Big East this year. The coaches picked Dom DeCicco, who had a solid year. But I felt like he played some his best while working at linebacker for Pitt this year. I went instead with West Virginia's Sidney Glover, a rock-solid senior who fit my "when in doubt pick a Mountaineer" strategy. I liked Rutgers' Joe Lefeged earlier in the year but thought he faded along with his whole team. One coach who played Rutgers late in the season said they picked on Lefeged in the passing game.

So there you have it. How do you feel about the all-conference picks? Do you think, like I do, that Smith and Hogan were the biggest snubs?

Welcome to the ESPN.com 2010 All-Big East team. Unlike the official league team, we don't do ties here. One man, one spot.

I compiled the following list after watching each team the entire season and through consultation this week with some coaches throughout the league. Later on today, I'll offer up some thoughts on the selections, explaining my picks and the toughest omissions.

Here is the team:

Offense

QB: Geno Smith, West Virginia
RB: Jordan Todman, Connecticut
RB: Bilal Powell, Louisville
WR: Armon Binns, Cincinnati
WR: Jon Baldwin, Pittsburgh
TE: Cameron Graham, Louisville
OT: Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh
OG: Zach Hurd, Connecticut
C: Sampson Genus, South Florida
OG: Mark Wetterer, Louisville
OT: Byron Stingily, Louisville

Defense

DE: Jabaal Sheard, Pittsburgh
DT: Chris Neild, West Virginia
DT: Terrell McClain, South Florida
DE: Julian Miller, West Virginia
LB: Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut
LB: Derrell Smith, Syracuse
LB: J.T. Thomas, West Virginia
CB: Brandon Hogan, West Virginia
CB: Johnny Patrick, Louisville
S: Robert Sands, West Virginia
S: Sidney Glover, West Virginia

Specialists

K: Dave Teggart, Connecticut
P: Dan Hutchins, Pittsburgh
KR: Lindsey Lamar, South Florida
PR: Doug Beaumont, Louisville

1. Championship week: The Big East doesn't have a title game, but this week works the same. Connecticut will claim the league's BCS bid with a win at South Florida. If the Huskies lose, West Virginia takes the crown by beating Rutgers. If both teams fall, Pittsburgh can still sneak in the BCS back door with a victory at Cincinnati.

2. Battle in the trenches in Tampa: The UConn-South Florida game will pit the Huskies' powerful offensive line versus one of the Bulls' main strengths: their defensive line. Nose guard Terrell McClain has quietly had a great season and will try to wreak havoc inside against Moe Petrus and Zach Hurd. Teams can run on the Bulls, though; their last three opponents have all rushed for at least 150 yards, which could mean big things for ...

3. Todman time: Jordan Todman has been the league's MVP and has carried the Huskies during their recent four-game winning streak, averaging 161 rushing yards in that span. You would think the Bulls would stack the box and force one of the nation's least productive passing attacks to beat them, but other teams have had the same idea and still can't stop Todman. If UConn is going to the BCS, Todman shall lead them there.

4. USF's quarterback situation: B.J. Daniels is gimpy on an injured quadriceps muscle. True freshman walk-on Bobby Eveld led the team to victory in the second half and overtime last week at Miami and may start Saturday. Eveld was impressive at times, but he's still wildly inexperienced, and young quarterbacks can have major ups and downs. Daniels may be able to play at least some snaps. UConn's defense has been a ball hawking bunch of late, and this is a dangerous situation for South Florida.

5. Return delivery: The USF-UConn game will feature two of the top kick returners in the country. Nick Williams is leading all returners with a 42-yard average and two touchdowns for the Huskies, while South Florida's Lindsey Lamar also has scored twice and is averaging 29 yards per attempt. If either of them gets loose, that could be a game-changer.

6. West Virginia's defense vs. the indefensible Rutgers O-line: The Mountaineers' defense is just plain scary and is among the nation's leaders in all important categories. It ranks sixth in the FBS in sacks, and this is a match made in hell for the Scarlet Knights' offensive line. Rutgers has given up a nation's worst 55 sacks already, and with guys like Bruce Irvin and J.T. Thomas charging through that line, things could get ugly fast. I fear for quarterback Chas Dodd's well being.

7. A 180 at Nippert: A year ago at this time, Pitt and Cincinnati staged a classic shootout for the Big East title. The Panthers still are mathematically alive for the BCS bid and can earn a share of the Big East title with a win Saturday, but no one will remember that tie after a 7-5 season. They have to beat Cincinnati just to avoid going 6-6, and a crummy bowl destination could await either way. Cincinnati has already been eliminated from the postseason and has nothing to play for but pride. All eyes were on this game last year; not many will be watching 12 months later.

8. Bowl bids: Since the Big East plays its regular-season schedule during other league's title-game week, nothing has been decided yet on bowls. We're reasonably certain Syracuse is going to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, but that's it. This weekend's results will determine not just the BCS bid but which teams get the other six Big East slots.

Apparently, Connecticut just likes to play with its back against the wall.

How else to explain the past two seasons for the Huskies? Last year, they were reeling from the murder of teammate Jasper Howard and the three painstakingly close losses that followed. Facing postseason elimination, they ripped off four straight wins.

This year, UConn started 0-2 in the Big East and just 3-4 overall. Since then, they have won three straight games, beating arguably the best three other teams in the conference: West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

The Huskies are playing now like many thought they would at the beginning of the season. But this program did not look ready to handle expectations.

"At the beginning of the season, everybody was giving us respect and patting us on the back, saying 'These guys are going to win it this year,'" offensive lineman Zach Hurd said. "But we're a team that faces adversity, and we win.

"After we started off 0-2 in the conference, we said we can lose respect and just lay down and die for the rest of the season. But my teammates and I are not like that, and neither are our coaches."

Coach Randy Edsall had a potential mess on his hands just a month ago. Coming off a bye week, he dismissed starting quarterback Cody Endres three days before a game at Louisville. The entire team looked disjointed and uninterested in a 26-0 shellacking at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, and UConn's preseason hopes of winning the Big East appeared dead in the water.

Edsall demanded more leadership from his players after that Louisville loss and told them it was time to get back to the hard-nosed Connecticut style.

"We needed to be more physically tough and mentally tough," Edsall said. "I told them to let it fly and have fun. We wanted to play a little more nasty, and we had to practice a lot better.

"Our leadership stepped it up a notch, and guys started to do the things we wanted them to do from the beginning of the season."

Six days after the humbling at Louisville, the Huskies scored their first-ever win over West Virginia in overtime. They followed that by handing Pittsburgh its only conference loss so far as they battled back from a third-quarter deficit. Last week's 23-6 win at Syracuse has put them in position to possibly capture their first-ever BCS bid. If Pittsburgh loses to either West Virginia or Cincinnati and the Huskies beat Cincinnati and South Florida, they will be Big East champions.

They wouldn't be here now, Hurd says, if it weren't for the increased focus at practice. UConn has been going in full pads and doing lots of full contact work even this late in the season. That has carried over into games, where the Huskies are pounding on teams in the trenches.

"We're really hitting each other," Hurd said. "The scout team started going harder, and that made us go harder. It's all about going out there and having the passion to play and the desire. We got away from having fun out there."

It's a lesson that took a while to sink in, but Connecticut likes playing with its back against the wall.

"Our goal right now is to earn national respect," Hurd said. "To show everybody that we started off bad but we're going to finish off strong."

Officially, Connecticut played Notre Dame in its 10th game of the season last year. Unofficially, it felt different.

"Every game was about Notre Dame last year," senior linebacker Scott Lutrus said. "Whether it was the first week, the second week -- before we even got to that game, all the talk was about playing Notre Dame."

Squaring off against some of the titans of college football -- and having a chance to beat them -- still ranks as relatively new business for the Huskies, who have been playing at the FBS level for less than a decade. But it's starting to become the norm, and Saturday's opener at Michigan offers the program a chance to take another step.

Connecticut has shown it can beat teams with rich traditions. The Huskies took down Notre Dame in an emotional, double-overtime classic and defeated South Carolina in the Papajohns.com Bowl, arguably the two biggest wins in school history.

"Those games showed the nation we can put together a complete game," offensive lineman Zach Hurd said. "Notre Dame is Notre Dame, but it doesn't matter if we play our game. Against South Carolina, we ran all over them and passed all over them."

UConn will not be intimidated by Michigan's winged helmets or even the nearly 110,000 fans expected in the renovated Big House on Saturday. This is a team with 16 returning starters, with depth on both sides of the ball and a close-knit bond formed while dealing with the murder of teammate Jasper Howard last year.

"It all comes down to experience," Hurd said. "We're not going to be shell-shocked when we walk in there, even though it's a big-time environment."

The Huskies know exactly what to expect from the Wolverines. They just have to figure out how to stop it.

When Rich Rodriguez coached West Virginia, he owned UConn. In four meetings, his Mountaineers won by 12, 32, 26 and 45 points. Their speed always caused Randy Edsall's team fits, and Rodriguez will be looking to exploit the same advantage Saturday.

"They run a lot of the same plays and have similar athletes as West Virginia did," said Lutrus, who played in the 2007 game that Rodriguez's team won 66-21. "Denard Robinson is quick and fast just like Pat White. We've seen it before, but the thing is we've never beaten West Virginia and we've never beaten Rich Rodriguez. Hopefully, we'll make that happen."

For the first time ever, a lot of people -- including yours truly -- think the Huskies can and will beat a Rodriguez team. UConn is a trendy pick to win the Big East and make some national noise after it closed last season with four straight wins. A victory on Saturday, even against a Michigan program that is 8-16 the last two years, would still rate as one of the most important in Edsall's tenure and could likely vault the team into Top 25 status. A manageable schedule means the Huskies could start 5-0 heading into Big East play if they can get the first one.

Edsall acknowledged Tuesday that in every neighborhood and town he visits throughout his state, optimism for Huskies football is at an all-time high. Still, he's downplaying the opener as "just one of 12" and said UConn prepared the same way for this game as it has for the beginning of every season.

"The name might say Michigan, but you've still got to go out and play the game," he said.

The biggest change for Connecticut might be that playing a team like Michigan no longer registers as all that big of a deal.

The Big East doesn't come up with an official preseason all-conference team. But I do.

Here are my picks for the league's best this year.

Offense

QB: Zach Collaros, Cincinnati

RB: Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh

RB: Noel Devine, West Virginia

WR: Jon Baldwin, Pittsburgh

WR: Armon Binns, Cincinnati

WR: Mohamed Sanu, Rutgers

TE: Ben Guidugli, Cincinnati

OT: Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh

OG: Zach Hurd, Connecticut

C: Moe Petrus, Connecticut

OG: Alex Hoffman, Cincinnati

OT: Don Barclay, West Virginia

Defense

DE: Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh

DT: Chris Neild, West Virginia

DT: Derek Wolfe, Cincinnati

DE: Jonathan Freeny, Rutgers

LB: Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut

LB: Derrell Smith, Syracuse

LB: J.T. Thomas, West Virginia

CB: Brandon Hogan, West Virginia

CB: David Rowe, Rutgers

S: Robert Sands, West Virginia

S: Joe Lefeged, Rutgers

Specialists

K: Tyler Bitancurt, West Virginia

P: Rob Long, Syracuse

Return specialist: Tavon Austin, West Virginia

Thoughts: Toughest calls were at second offensive tackle, second defensive end, linebacker, cornerback and second safety. Linebacker in particularly was a stacked position. I seriously considered Scott Lutrus, Doug Hogue, Dan Mason, JK Schaffer and Walter Stewart. You could almost put all those names in a hat and pick any three and be OK. There really aren't any proven star cornerbacks in this league; Hogan should be that guy but has been inconsistent, while Rowe is coming on. I debated Lefeged and Dom DeCicco at safety next to Sands. Freeny got the call at defensive end for his sack potential, but I was tempted to go with a wild card like Bruce Irvin, while Julian Miller and Jabaal Sheard got serious consideration.

Want to know how Connecticut has become a team to be reckoned with? Start up front.

"It's not mirrors and tricks," said South Florida coach Skip Holtz, who used to work in Storrs. "It's the way they play in the trenches and the hardnosed brand of football they play."

Year after year, the Huskies line up with one of the biggest and most physical offensive lines in the Big East. This season is no different.

"We believe games are decided on the offensive line," senior guard Zach Hurd said. "If the offensive line can move the defensive line around, then we've got a good chance."

UConn's line paved the way for two 1,000-yard rushers last year in Andre Dixon and Jordan Todman. The season before that, Donald Brown ran for more than 2,000 yards.

The Huskies usually have the heaviest O-line in the league. Last year, it often lined up with four 300-pounders, plus 290-pound center Moe Petrus. The line could be a bit slimmed down on the left side this year if the current starters hold onto their jobs. Adam Masters, who's listed at 6-foot-4 and 270 pounds, is listed No. 1 right now at left tackle, with Mathieu Olivier (6-6, 276) at right left guard. Pushing them are Jimmy Bennett (6-8, 301) and Erik Kuraczea (6-2, 315).

The field may tilt a little to the right side when UConn's offense takes the field. That's where Hurd (6-7, 323) and right tackle Mike Ryan (6-5, 332) roam.

Hurd, a senior, was the only guard to make my Big East Top 25 players list. He was a first-team All-Big East selection last season and is one of the biggest interior offensive linemen around.

"When I got here, I wasn't the best tackle," he said. "We had Will Beatty and Mike Hicks, so I moved to guard. I love it there. I feel like I'm able to show off my athletic ability and get to the second level to take on a linebacker. It's been a real good fit for me."

It's not always a lot of fun for opposing defensive tackles when they see Hurd line up. Cincinnati's backup nose tackle, for instance, was giving up nearly 60 pounds in last year's game.

"But sometimes it's hard for me as well, being 6-7 against a guy who's 6-foot and trying to get him out of there," Hurd said. "That's where getting low comes into play."

Connecticut's linemen aren't just big. They're extremely well-coached and have fantastic footwork, a huge emphasis by offensive line coach Mike Foley. They've also got to be in tremendous shape to run the no-huddle offense installed last season by offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead.

They're also the key to why UConn is a team on the rise.

"I think we're one of the biggest lines in the nation, so we should be moving some people around," Hurd said. "If we don't, it's on us."