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Is there such a thing as a Big East coach being hated because he wins too much?

The answer is clearly no when you look at the current group of head coaches. Three of them have never coached in a Big East game. Three are going into their third seasons in the league and are barely above .500. Paul Pasqualoni has a bushel-full of victories, but nearly all of them came at Syracuse two decades ago.

So let us take a dip back into history to find an answer. Here are the all-time winningest coaches in Big East history, by overall percentage. I am using this statistic because many of the biggest winners do not stick around the Big East for long.

• Larry Coker, Miami: 35-3 (.921)
• Dennis Erickson, Miami: 42-6 (.875)
• Brian Kelly, Cincinnati: 34-6 (.850)
• Bobby Petrino, Louisville: 21-4 (.840)
• Butch Davis, Miami: 51-20 (.718)
• Bill Stewart, West Virginia: 28-12 (.700)
• Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia: 60-26 (.698)
• Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech: 108-48-1 (.691)

The conclusion is an easy one: Much more than one hated coach, Miami was a hated team because of all the wins it racked up while playing in the Big East from 1991-2003. That includes two national championships and seven Big East titles, more than any other school. Coker was never vilified or hated. The man is impossibly nice.

Davis' image took much more of a hit at North Carolina because he left the place in scandal, with two major investigations hanging over the program. While at Miami, he was lauded as the man who saved the program from NCAA sanctions. It is hard to hate a coach who won 10 games only once in his career.

Erickson simply took over for Jimmy Johnson and continued what was started.

But the assignment is to find a coach hated for winning. Let's look at some of the other names on the list. Kelly and Petrino were hated much more for the ways they left their programs. Kelly only coached three years in the Big East; Petrino only two in the Big East. I can't imagine their short stays struck fear into the hearts of opponents, despite all the victories.

So let's turn the focus to Rodriguez. He, more than any of the aforementioned coaches, probably fits the bill. In his final three seasons in Morgantown, Rodriguez won two league championships and had three 11-win seasons. His team went undefeated in league play in 2005, one of only two teams to accomplish the feat in the past seven years. He won with swagger and style, and some of the best athletes in Big East history.

But I used the word probably. Because as great as Rodriguez was, his on-field coaching career in the Big East will be defined by what he didn't do in 2007. West Virginia was ranked No. 2 in the country going into the regular-season finale against Pitt in the always-heated Backyard Brawl. Win, and the Mountaineers would be playing for the school's first national title. Pitt was already out of the bowl picture, entering the game at 4-7. West Virginia was a 28 1/2-point favorite.

Slam dunk, right? Well, you guys know what happened. Pitt pulled one of the biggest upsets in the series, and Rodriguez went packing to Michigan. The loss will always follow Rodriguez, despite all of his wins in the league. On the day he needed a win most of all, he failed. But that loss did not make him a villain in Morgantown. Leaving did.

That is why it is hard to anoint any Big East coach as somebody hated for winning.

Current Big East coaches' career records in the league:

• Paul Pasqualoni, Syracuse and UConn: 112-63-1
• Doug Marrone, Syracuse: 17-20
• Butch Jones, Cincinnati: 14-11
• Charlie Strong, Louisville: 14-12
• Skip Holtz, USF: 13-12
• Steve Addazio, Temple: 0-0
• Paul Chryst, Pitt: 0-0
• Kyle Flood, Rutgers: 0-0

It is well documented that coaches leave the Big East -- in less than graceful ways.

But I contend that nobody left their program more in the lurch than Todd Graham at Pitt.

What he did was cold and callous, resigning after he was not given permission to interview at Arizona State last December. Refusing to open the door when Pitt officials came knocking. Sending out a goodbye text to his players, the very ones he sold on honor, loyalty, trust and commitment. Now, this does not make him different than many other head coaches, who say one thing today and are gone tomorrow.

What makes his situation different are the circumstances surrounding his departure. Yes, Greg Schiano left Rutgers in the lurch for the Tampa Bay Bucs, less than a week before signing day. But he had been at Rutgers for 11 seasons and built a successful program on his own. Maybe you overlook some of the more unsavory details about the way he left because you can appreciate what he did while in New Jersey.

Graham? He stuck around for one miserable 6-6 season. He did nothing but hurt Pitt. Because his one-year tenure left the Panthers looking for their fourth head coach in a two-year span. No other program has had to deal with that type of coaching turnover. Most importantly, no player has had to deal with that type of coaching turnover.

If college football is supposed to be about the student-athlete experience, then I cannot imagine anybody at Pitt can say they have had an unbelievable time when you consider the drama.

Dave Wannstedt recruited this group of seniors. Then he got fired after delivering a share of the Big East title. New coach Mike Haywood came along from Miami (Ohio). He was then fired after less than three weeks on the job after an arrest on domestic violence charges. In came Graham, who arrived selling high-octane football in a blue-collar Pennsylvania town. Was he all about the Pitt student-athletes?

Not if you consider billboards around the city with his face on it. Not when you consider the way he criticized his players for failing to pick up his prized system. Not when you consider the way he treated quarterback Tino Sunseri. It was always about Graham, which is why he ultimately left. The job was a mistake, he says now. His kids did not like Pittsburgh, he says now. Yet during the season, his wife proudly posted photos of herself and her kids in Pitt jerseys before games and practices.

He failed Pitt, and he failed his players, who came out on Twitter to blast him publicly for the way he left. Not one player ripped into Schiano. That shows you the big difference between the two.

Now, the Panthers players have to start over again. Sunseri has to learn his third offensive system in three years. Who can blame him for being slow to pick it up this spring? Changing playbooks once in four years is hard enough. Doing it three times in three years is almost too much to ask. Credit the Pitt players for not complaining about the lot they have been given.

They are happier to have new coach Paul Chryst, a man who at least seems to want to put roots down in Pittsburgh. He is going back to the way Pitt likes to play offense, another positive step. If hindsight is 20/20, Pitt should have just hired Chryst instead of Haywood when it had the chance. Instead, the Panthers went through an unnecessary and overly straining rigmarole.

Pitt is hoping all that is in the past. It cannot afford to have another coach leave it in the lurch yet again.

As part of the “College Football Live” 100 Days 'Til Kickoff countdown, here’s a look at the top 10 players in the Big East. For those wondering, the Big East blog will still have its annual preseason Top 25 player countdown a little later in the summer.

Without further ado:

1. Ray Graham, RB, Pitt. Taking a calculated risk here, considering we have no idea how Graham is going to look a year after tearing his ACL. Coach Paul Chryst says Graham will be ready for fall camp. If Graham is able to return to form, he should be the best player in the league.

2. Khaseem Greene, LB, Rutgers. Greene goes into the season as the preseason favorite to win Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second straight season after sharing honors with Derek Wolfe in 2011. Though he broke his ankle in the bowl game, he will be ready for fall camp. Side note: Isn't it a neat that he and Graham are brothers?

3. Aaron Donald, DT, Pitt. Donald emerged last season, finishing second in the league with 11 sacks. He has shifted inside to tackle this year, but he is the most productive and experienced player returning to the Pitt defensive line and should continue his upward trajectory.

4. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville. Bridgewater had a sensational freshman season, winning league newcomer of the year honors. Hopes are high for him to build off his impressive campaign in his second year as a starter. Louisville will do more to take advantage of his athleticism, with plans to install some hurry-up offense.

5. Logan Ryan, CB, Rutgers. Ryan led the league with 16 passes defended -- 13 breakups and three interceptions last season. Defensive back is one of the strongest positions across the league, and Ryan leads the way as the Big East's best cornerback.

6. Hakeem Smith, S, Louisville. Smith has gotten better in each of his seasons with the Cardinals, so this season should feature more of the same. In 2011, he had 84 tackles, tied for second in the league, with nine pass breakups. He also tied for second in the league with three forced fumbles and made the Big East first team.

7. Ryne Giddins, DE, USF. Giddins emerged in the second half of last season (yes, I know many of you still remember him for his personal foul against West Virginia) and is in line to have a breakout year for the Bulls, who should have one of the stronger defensive lines in the Big East.

8. B.J. Daniels, QB, USF. Daniels should be the best quarterback in the Big East, considering he is going into his fourth year as a starter. Is this the year he finally lives up to expectations and delivers a long-awaited -- and first -- league title?

9. Walter Stewart, DE, Cincinnati. Coach Butch Jones says he has not been around a player as focused as Stewart in a long time. That is saying something, considering the defensive stars the Bearcats had last season. Stewart is poised to give Cincinnati a huge presence at rush end.

10. Lyle McCombs, RB, UConn. McCombs ran for more than 1,000 yards as a freshman last season and returns for 2011 with much more confidence -- and the Huskies hope a better offensive line. He goes into the season as the unquestioned featured back.

Time for a little game. Think of the most vilified college football coaches today.

Your list probably looks something like this:

Bobby Petrino.
Rich Rodriguez.
Todd Graham.
Randy Edsall.

You know what they all have in common. They all were Big East coaches at one point in time. Really great Big East coaches, to boot. But alas, great coaches never stick around for long in this league, a common lament among Big East fans. Perhaps the bigger question is -- what has made the Big East a breeding ground for villainous coaches?

Consider the recent history.

Exhibit A. Petrino got his first head coaching job at Louisville, and did one heck of a job, going 41-9 in four seasons. But the Cardinals were never just right, were they? I mean, how could they be when you 1) Try to negotiate a deal to become head coach at Auburn behind your boss' back. 2) Interview at Florida, Mississippi AND LSU the following year, while pledging love and loyalty to Louisville in between. 3) Forget loyalty and interview with the Oakland Raiders after Year 3 in Louisville. 4) Finally end the misery and leave for the Atlanta Falcons after a 12-1 season and an Orange Bowl berth.

That Atlanta dream job was not quite right either, so he left with good-bye statements taped to his players' lockers before the season even ended and headed for Arkansas. You all know how well his stint ended there.

Maybe all these aforementioned Big East coaches just hate good-byes.

Edsall left for Maryland after UConn lost the Fiesta Bowl to Oklahoma in January 2011 and never told his players word one about his plans. In fact, he did not even take the team charter home with the team. What may even be worse than that -- he made Jordan Todman get up in front of the team to explain why he was leaving early for the NFL draft. Edsall just finished a 2-10 season at Maryland in which he took a beating and lost 24 transfers. He is working hard to right the ship -- but you can bet some folks in Storrs are thinking, "Karma!"

Meanwhile at Pitt, Graham also had a tough time with good-byes at the end of last season. He told his players he was leaving via text message and hightailed it for Arizona State after a 6-6 season in which he had his players buying into an "high-octane" and "high-energy" offense. This, of course, came after he pretty much begged for the Pitt job after the Mike Haywood fiasco. But his shenanigans started at Rice, where he also had a one-year stint before leaving for Tulsa. ESPN.com columnist Mark Schlabach dubbed Graham the new president of the Liar's Club after his Pitt exit.

Rich Rod? Well, he is persona non grata in two states, West Virginia and Michigan. Who can forget the drama after he left the Mountaineers for the Wolverines in 2007, a few short months after signing a new contract and pledging his commitment to his school? West Virginia sued Rodriguez in the wake of his departure, and Michigan turned out to be an absolute disaster. It sure ain't easy being hated in as many spots as these guys.

There are others who left in less-than-ideal ways. How about Brian Kelly at Cincinnati, waiting until the end of his team banquet to announce his departure for Notre Dame? This was hours AFTER players began hearing news reports that they had lost their coach. Most recently, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano left for Tampa Bay less than a week before signing day, not even telling his loyal assistants, who were out on the road recruiting without any idea about what was happening.

His departure was tame compared to the rest. As for the others, I think they would make an excellent subject for a new television series.

"College Football Coaches Behaving Badly."

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- One of the big topics discussed during the football coaches meetings at the Big East spring meetings was how they want the future BCS to look.

The consensus from the Big East coaches: They would like to see bowl sites incorporated for the semifinals, have no problem with a neutral-site national championship game, and want preference given to conference champions.

With talk about a four-team playoff growing, and the next BCS meetings scheduled for June, each conference is taking various proposals to their administrators and coaches for further evaluation. Big East athletic directors will weigh in on the future BCS during discussions Tuesday.

"In college football, it’s different than college basketball. We don’t play nearly as many games. Winning your conference should matter," Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said. "It should stand for something. Not that there wouldn’t be a place for a team in an at-large situation. But at the end of the day, winning your conference should have some value."

Added Cincinnati coach Butch Jones: "The first thing is preserving the bowl system. So much of it is a reward to our student-athletes and our universities and to our fans and it’s embedded in college football. But also it's good having a playoff to crown a national champion. So to be able to have the semifinals in the bowl games, that helps solidify that, but also having a neutral site for the national championship game would be extremely healthy for the world of college football."

As for the Big East's place in the future of the BCS, senior associate commissioner Nick Carparelli believes there will be a seat for the league in the future despite talk about the league not being a part of the largest BCS revenue generators.

"Everything that’s being discussed at some level is going to include the performance of the teams in each conference," Carparelli said. "If you look historically at the number of teams we’ve had ranked, revenue-wise, we’ll do fine. Some conference may end up making more revenue than others but it’s probably deserved. And in the end, the pool of money is going to be so much greater this time around, we feel pretty confident we’ll have an increase in revenue we will be getting."

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- There are plenty of items on the agenda for the Big East spring meetings, which begin Monday and run through Wednesday. Here is a brief primer on what the league's administrators, coaches and interim commissioner Joe Bailey will have on the table.

1. Conference stability. Though a league official told Joe Schad that Boise State has reaffirmed its commitment to the conference, you can bet that is going to be among the topics discussed. The Big East needs Boise State to join in a pretty bad way, and the Broncos must find a home for its non-football sports now that the WAC appears to be on the brink of collapse. Boise State is the big-ticket school the Big East needs moving forward. But beyond Boise State and the non-AQ schools joining, the Big East needs to know that all its member schools are committed so it can move forward in a meaningful way. That goes for teams like Louisville, UConn and Rutgers to name three. All of the new members -- Boise State, San Diego State, SMU, Houston, UCF, Temple, Memphis and Navy will be represented at the meetings. Syracuse and Pitt will not be there.

2. Commissioner search. The Big East has to find a new leader for the conference and fast, what with BCS negotiations set to continue in June and TV negotiations set to begin in September. What will the consensus be among those in attendance about the type of person they want in charge? How will Bailey assist in getting the Big East the best leader it can find among a rapidly changing landscape?

3. TV contract. The Big East has to get an excellent TV deal when it begins negotiations in September. First and foremost, it needs to be in the same ballpark as the deal that it turned down last year; and it is going to have to be in the same ballpark as the ACC to really be able to move forward. How will the Big East negotiate, which TV partners are interested, and will this finally lend stability to the league?

4. BCS, playoff. It appears to be a certainty that a four-team playoff will be coming to college football for the 2014 season. Which format does the Big East approve? More importantly than that, how does the Big East keep its seat as one of the top-six conferences in terms of BCS revenue distribution? The league is in danger of falling out of that grouping. That leads to the next topic.

5. Bowl tie-ins. The recent news that the Big 12-SEC champions would play in a bowl game is not good for a league like the Big East. Colleague Mark Schlabach writes: "And what about the depleted Big East? It's pretty clear the Big East is no longer sitting at the same table with the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC, after it lost Pittsburgh, Syracuse, TCU and West Virginia to other leagues. Now the Big East might not even be sitting in the same room as the other BCS conferences." The possibility of a Big East-ACC matchup might be on the table, but Schlabach writes, "That matchup has really worked out well for the Orange Bowl. Maybe they'll increase the stakes by giving the winner an at-large invitation to the NCAA men's basketball tournament."

6. Divisional alignment. Lost among all the hot topics is divisional alignment once the Big East expands beyond eight teams for 2013. All reports point to Temple joining the West with Boise State and San Diego State, along with Houston and SMU. The other team moving out West has not been completely determined. Once Navy joins for 2015, then there will probably be more shifting. Of course, the Big East may look totally different in 2015 so ...

Time for my long-awaited post-spring power rankings. I made only a few changes from the pre-spring rankings. Here goes ...

1. Louisville: Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater looked better than ever this spring, giving me renewed confidence the Cardinals are going to be the preseason favorite in the league. The secondary should be exceptionally strong, and the offensive line should be better. Questions remain at running back and with depth in the front seven. But of all the teams in the league, I think the Cardinals have the most stability headed into the season. Plus, it hugely helps to have Charlie Strong entering Year 3.

2. USF: Big jump for the Bulls. I know I said I refused to buy into USF until the Bulls actually do something. But what they have returning is hard to ignore. Generally speaking, teams with 18 returning starters -- many of them seniors -- do really well. So do teams with veteran starting quarterbacks. While USF still has some major question marks on paper -- can B.J. Daniels develop, what happens at running back, where is the depth at linebacker -- the Bulls look like they have a shot.

3. Rutgers: At one time, I had Rutgers as my preseason favorite. But I am a little nervous about the situation at quarterback. I thought there would be a resolution this spring, but neither Chas Dodd nor Gary Nova did much to impress. Mohamed Sanu is gone, there are more shifts on the offensive line, and the running game has to prove something. I think the defense will be the best in the Big East. The offense is scaring me right now, which is why I moved the Scarlet Knights down.

4. Cincinnati: The Bearcats do return talent, and players who saw some significant action last season. But they also lose 21 seniors, including Big East Offensive Player of the Year Isaiah Pead and Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year Derek Wolfe. I don't have any doubts that the Bearcats will have a good season. I just don't know if they will win another championship.

5. Pitt: If there is any team with "ifs" all over the roster, it is the Panthers. They have a new head coach. They are returning Tino Sunseri at quarterback. Nobody knows how Ray Graham is going to do after major knee surgery. The offensive line has to be better. There is not much depth on the defensive line. If all of these come together, the Panthers could be really good. If they don't, they could be really bad.

6. UConn: The Huskies will be good on defense. But what about quarterback? I feel like a broken record saying the same thing over again. Quarterback uncertainty always makes me hesitant to rank a team in the top half of the league. I was hesitant last year, and I am hesitant again this year.

7. Syracuse: I have said this before, but it bears repeating: I think Syracuse is the hardest team to gauge in the Big East. The Orange have to be more consistent on offense. They have to find a running game to help ease some of the burden off quarterback Ryan Nassib. Does Ashton Broyld give them enough to get them more explosive plays? The defense still has depth concerns in the front seven.

8. Temple: I worry about how the Owls will make the transition to the Big East in Year 1. I think Temple has a good team, but the Owls also lost a lot of their best players and have depth concerns on the offensive and defensive lines. That is enough to worry any coach in Year 1 in a major conference.

Every once in a while, it is important to remember that there is a reason players at every single university in America are called student-athletes.

Because, you know, they are on campus to get that all-important degree. While everybody is familiar with what football players do on Saturday, every athlete you root for has an overloaded schedule filled with classes, study hall, home work, practice and film study. So I felt it is important to recognize two Big East schools that have made some serious strides with their academic reputations this last semester.

USF and Louisville each set program marks for academic performance during the recently completed spring semester. But what makes this an even bigger accomplishment at each school is what they had to overcome to get there.

Just one year ago, the Cardinals announced they lost three scholarships because of a poor Academic Progress Rate performance. APR is a measure of eligibility and retention of student athletes over a four-year span. Its intention is to help schools better track how their players are doing in the classroom. In the 2011 report, Louisville went below the NCAA minimum 925, thanks in part to coaching turnover. During the four-year span that was measured, the Cardinals had three different head coaches (Bobby Petrino, Steve Kragthorpe, Charlie Strong).

Strong put a major emphasis on academics, and that showed this spring. Thirty-seven players had a grade-point average of 3.0 or better -- two had a perfect 4.0. Seventy-three players earned a 2.5 GPA or higher this spring. The team produced a combined 2.76 GPA for the semester, the highest average under Strong.

USF also made major strides since poor APR marks in 2006. Over the past two years, the Bulls have posted the largest APR gains of any team in an automatic qualifying conference. This spring, a program-record 37 student-athletes posted a grade-point average of 3.0 or better. USF also set a new top mark with a semester GPA of 2.76, better than the record of 2.64 set in fall 2011.

Since Skip Holtz became coach in 2010, the number of players with at least a 3.0 GPA has increased each semester.

"I feel like we're really healthy right now as a program," Holtz said on the school's website. "Not just physically, but academically we're on a very sound foundation."

Rutgers already made serious improvements under former coach Greg Schiano, ranking in the top three in APR in the nation in his final four years with the Scarlet Knights. Last year, Cincinnati won the Big East Academic Excellence Award for the 2010 season. The football team had a 2.68 GPA for the 2010-11 year, including an all-time team record of a 2.9 team GPA for the 2011 winter quarter.

And every Big East school was represented on the 2012 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society, recognizing college players who maintain a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers. The Big East was the only one of the six automatic qualifying conferences that had every school represented.

Andrea Adelson picks three games to watch in the Big East this season.

With the season coming into view, let's take a look at what we learned in the Big East this spring.

1. Running backs have to prove themselves. Isaiah Pead is gone. Antwon Bailey is gone. Ray Graham is coming off a serious knee injury. There are some major question marks at virtually every Big East school at this position headed into the fall. Chief among them -- how does Graham do a year removed from ACL surgery? How do Cincinnati, Syracuse and Louisville spread the ball to their various running backs? How does Temple replace the production of Bernard Pierce? Does Savon Huggins improve on his injury-shortened freshman season at Rutgers? How is Lindsey Lamar used in the backfield at USF? Can Lyle McCombs repeat as a 1,000-yard rusher for UConn?

2. Next sack leader? The Big East generally has some of the top leaders in sacks in the country. Last year, it was Trevardo Williams and Aaron Donald who emerged to finish in the Top 10. The year before, it was first-year Big East player Bruce Irvin. So who is the next Big East player to lead the charge? USF defensive end Ryne Giddins, Cincinnati defensive end Walter Stewart and UConn tackle Ryan Wirth all had terrific springs so keep those names in mind as the season begins.

3. Earth to offense. We had an inkling that the Big East defenses would be way ahead of the offenses this spring, and that all came to fruition once the spring games were played. Defenses essentially dominated at nearly every school. Syracuse did not score a point on offense; UConn had two total offensive touchdowns; USF quarterback B.J. Daniels went 9-of-26 for 88 yards in the Bulls' spring game; Chris Coyer and his receivers struggled in the Temple spring game; and the Pitt passing game was just so-so in its final scrimmage. While it is true defenses are usually ahead of the offenses in the early going of practices, it is obvious most every offensive unit needs to get much better this offseason.

4. Bridgewater: Rising star. It was apparent that Louisville had a special player in Teddy Bridgewater last season. But worries about a potential "sophomore slump" have been temporarily put to rest after the spring he had. Bridgewater was stellar in the spring game, going 19-of-21 for 257 yards and three touchdowns. Afterward, offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said that Bridgewater completed about 70 percent of his passes in the spring. "I know he's been lights out," Watson said. "He's really played very well. I challenged him with the things he needed to get better with and use all the tools he has available to him. As a young player, he didn't quite get it. Now he's getting it. You're seeing a lot more completions now. He's worked hard. He's doing a lot of good things with his eyes and playing well."

5. Athletes (almost) everywhere. One trend to watch is the conversion of quarterbacks to running backs/receivers. Cincinnati moved Jordan Luallen to receiver, and he is expected to see time as a Wildcat quarterback as well. Ashton Broyld has been moved to running back, though he also played receiver in the spring game. Louisville converted quarterback Dominique Brown to running back last fall, and he is in contention to win the starting job. Temple running back Jalen Fitzpatrick was recruited as a quarterback out of high school. Those four players have the potential to be huge assets to their team. There were a few other notable position switches as well -- Lindsey Lamar is now at running back at USF; and Jeremy Deering is now a receiver at Rutgers.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Any time former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano was asked about his embattled offensive line, he always had a stock answer prepared.

Rutgers did not decline overnight, he would say. And Rutgers would not emerge from the decline overnight, either.

Schiano used to point to several recruiting lapses following the 2007 season -- first-round pick Anthony Davis was the lone bright spot. The season after Davis' departure was the low point, as Rutgers gave up 65 sacks in 2010 and had one of the worst lines in the nation. There was a change in scheme that contributed to the slide. Plus, Rutgers always seemed to move its players all over the line.

A move back to the preferred pro-style offense last season helped the Scarlet Knights improve, though they still struggled in the run game. Schiano continued to maintain there was a long way to go, even with the development of freshman All-American Kaleb Johnson.

Through all of this, we rarely heard from the man in charge of coaching the offensive line. The man who is now head coach at Rutgers, Kyle Flood. Schiano did not make his assistants available to the media; hence, there never was much of an opportunity to hear what Flood had to say about the struggles.

So when I visited campus last month, I asked Flood for his perspective on the decline of the offensive line, considering this was the position he had coached since 2005.

"I think that happens in programs," Flood said. "Recruiting is much more of an art than it is a science. Offensive line is the position probably where the recruiting part of it is projected more than other positions, and the game is significantly different up front. What makes you effective as a high school offensive lineman doesn't always make you effective in college. But with that being said, what we do have is some really good, young offensive linemen in our program right now. A guy like Kaleb Johnson, a guy like Betim Bujari.

"We’ve also had some success with guys who have moved over from defense. One of the things that maybe kept us from being what we wanted to be was Desmond Wynn not being healthy. Desmond Wynn was healthy finally for an entire season last year. When you lose a player like that, it’s a significant loss. But I don’t think we’re the only one who’s gone through that situation where you recruit a kid and it doesn’t work out. But when you have that, and then you have an injury situation it makes it harder for sure."

Taj Alexander, a defensive tackle who switched to offensive line last season, won the most improved offensive player award this spring. He played both guard and tackle. What really hurt Rutgers was losing time with players because of injury: Johnson missed all of spring, Bujari was out for most of it with an ankle injury, and center Matt McBride missed a few practices with an injury as well.

There really is no set offensive line headed into the offseason. Guys like Dallas Hendrikson and R.J. Dill are going to be counted on to step up. And Rutgers did just sign one of its best offensive line classes in recent history as well.

"What I’m excited about is how many young offensive linemen we have," Flood said. "The key is where do they fit and we have to leave them there and let them grow. Any time you move a guy it stunts his progress a little bit.

"I’ll know more about the line in August. Right now it’s hard to gauge. To me, the biggest factor in all that is who is going to be our starting center? Is it going to be Dallas, McBride, Betim? That one is still up in the air. I’ve got a good feeling for what I think Betim can do in there. Now we have to see how everybody else does and go from there."

Anybody who has watched the Big East in recent years realizes this a much more defensive league, than offensive league.

Last season, seven of the eight teams ranked in the top half of the nation in total defense. The "worst" defense, Syracuse, ranked No. 64 -- just outside the top half. In 2010, six of eight teams ranked in the top half of the nation in the same category. The "worst" two defenses -- Cincinnati and Rutgers -- were ranked No. 61 and 63, respectively. In 2009, the worst defense, Cincinnati, ranked No. 67 in the nation.

I went back and looked at recent draft history to see how this translated to the next level.

Sure enough, defensive players were selected more than offensive players, and in higher rounds to boot.

In the past two drafts, 21 of the 34 players selected came from the defense. In the recently concluded NFL draft, eight of the 12 Big East players came from the defense. More pronounced, five of the seven players drafted in the first three rounds were defensive, and all played defensive line (Bruce Irvin, Chandler Jones, Derek Wolfe, Kendall Reyes and John Hughes).

Going back to the 2010 draft, 12 of the 16 players taken in the first three rounds were on defense.

We can continue looking a bit deeper to see defensive line has been an incredible strength, not just in the draft this year. In the past four drafts, the Big East has had at least one defensive lineman drafted in the first three rounds. Last year, two of the first four Big East picks were linemen. In 2010, Jason Pierre-Paul of USF went in the first round.

Coaches like Charlie Strong, Greg Schiano, Randy Edsall, Dave Wannstedt, Paul Pasqualoni and Jim Leavitt all have had a hand in the transformation, given their defensive backgrounds.

So will the trend hold for the 2013 draft?

In the super early mock drafts for next season, there are no Big East players listed in the first round. But CBS Sports already has a listing of the top draft prospects, by position. Eleven defensive players are listed among the Top 25 players at their respective positions, compared to five on offense.

However, there are more offensive players ranked among the Top 5 at their positions. Justin Pugh of Syracuse is listed as the No. 4 offensive tackle; Ray Graham of Pitt is listed as the No. 5 running back; and Ryan Griffin of UConn is listed as the No. 5 tight end.

The top-ranked defensive player is Khaseem Greene, at No. 6 among outside linebackers. Sio Moore of UConn also makes that list, at No. 9.

There is obviously an entire season of football to be played, and all these projections will change. But the way the Big East's defensive players have emerged is a trend worth noting.

Whatever bond the two might have had changed right then and there on the Meadowlands turf on a cool October day in 2010.

Eric LeGrand lay there motionless. Greg Schiano stood above him, praying.

Schiano has spoken at length about how that day changed him as a man and as a coach. How it changed his relationship with LeGrand, paralyzed from the neck down after he made a tackle against Army that day. In that one devastating moment, football meant less than humanity, brotherhood, family. All the little things Schiano spoke about every day at Rutgers meant living them out in more ways than he, LeGrand and every single player on the roster could have ever imagined.

So what Schiano, who is now the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' coach, did Wednesday morning seemed incredibly fitting, in his symbolic signing of LeGrand as a Tampa Bay Buccaneers free agent. Downright amazing, really, given the cynical times we live in today. More than ever, sports is about business. We hear it all the time. Schiano made a business decision when he left Rutgers for Tampa Bay with time ticking down to national signing day.

The future four-team playoff will be terrific for business. Branding stadiums is about business. Increasingly, bottom lines are all that matters. Fans are having a harder time finding good intentions without raising their eyebrows and wondering if there is something else going on behind the scenes.

But then a story like this comes along, and we are reminded of what we love about sports. The brotherhood, determination, hard work, perseverance, love, joy. Dreams coming true.

"Coach Schiano is like a father figure," LeGrand said on a conference call. "Going into Rutgers as a little boy and coming out a man. When you're faced with adversity, he's not going to say you back down at all. You deal with whatever it is. In life, you can't control what cards you're dealt. That's what's helped me through my whole situation. Sometimes it's hard, but I think about all the stuff I was taught at Rutgers. You fight through it. Tough times don't last. Only tough people do."

One of the biggest regrets Schiano had about moving on to Tampa Bay was leaving LeGrand behind. The two have grown incredibly close. Schiano has helped with the Believe Fund that was set up to help LeGrand. He helped get LeGrand into the radio and television booth for games to begin a sports broadcasting career. Schiano had LeGrand lead the team onto the field before the West Virginia game last year, the one-year anniversary of the injury.

Schiano also has lobbied for the elimination of kickoffs, the play that ended up changing LeGrand's life.

It is incredibly easy to see Schiano has been his biggest champion. So it is easy to see why Schiano and the Bucs decided to sign LeGrand, announcing the move on May 2 in honor of the No. 52 LeGrand wore at Rutgers. Tampa Bay has shipped a No. 52 jersey up to New Jersey for LeGrand along with a helmet.

For his part, LeGrand had no idea Schiano was going to do this. The two still talk about once a week, but Schiano never mentioned he had planned on signing him. Schiano called his mother Monday and told her his plan. She got off the phone with Schiano and merely told her son, "Coach is going to call you tomorrow. Make sure you are by your phone."

The phone rang Tuesday afternoon. LeGrand picked it up and got the news. His response: "Are you serious?"

"He said, 'It's the least we can do,'" LeGrand recalled. "[I said] 'I don't know what to say to you right now. Coach, this is amazing.' This is something I always dreamed about. Dreams do come true if you really believe. He did this out of the kindness of his heart, and he wanted to do it. I had no idea this was going to happen."

"I really appreciate it. Just shows the man he is."

Tampa Bay has done something pretty amazing.

The Bucs announced today they have signed defensive tackle Eric LeGrand, the former Rutgers player paralyzed during a game in 2010. Tampa Bay, of course is now coached by his former coach, Greg Schiano.

“Leading up to the draft, I couldn’t help but think that this should’ve been Eric’s draft class,” Schiano said in a statement. “This small gesture is the least we could do to recognize his character, spirit, and perseverance. The way Eric lives his life epitomizes what we are looking for in Buccaneer Men.”

Despite being told that he would be a quadriplegic, LeGrand persevered. Five weeks after the injury, he resumed breathing on his own. Later, he even became able to stand upright with the help of a metal frame. LeGrand is planning to graduate next fall with a degree in labor studies. He has been featured on several Rutgers television and radio broadcasts as well.

With nearly every Big East team having wrapped up spring practice, one constant remains -- open quarterback competitions.

Unless coach Kyle Flood makes a last-second decision following the Rutgers spring game Saturday, four schools will go into the summer without a starter at perhaps the most important position on a team. Here is a quick look at how those competitions stack up:

Cincinnati. Munchie Legaux and Brendon Kay are the top two players vying for the job. Coach Butch Jones has decided not to name a starter, but all indications point to Legaux as winning the job once the fall rolls around. Legaux said during an interview this spring he had been taking most of the reps with the first team.

UConn. Five players remain in the competition -- Junior college transfer Chandler Whitmer, freshman Casey Cochran, Michael Nebrich, Scott McCummings and Johnny McEntee. Nobody distinguished himself through the spring or in the spring game, though Whitmer had the "best" performance of the three. Don't be surprised if Whitmer is the starter, Cochran is redshirted and McCummings continues in his role as Wildcat quarterback.

Pitt. Coach Paul Chryst has not named his starter, either, but he has indicated that incumbent Tino Sunseri has separated himself from Mark Myers and Trey Anderson. Now we'll see what happens when true freshman Chad Voytik enters the mix when he arrives in the summer.

Rutgers. Chas Dodd and Gary Nova went back and forth at quarterback last season for the Scarlet Knights, and neither one has really stood out this spring. Defense has dominated the scrimmages so far. Flood has said he would not make a decision until one player stood head and shoulders above the rest, but would like a starter in place a week to 10 days before the start of the season.