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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 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.

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- Pitt coach Paul Chryst came right out and said what had become obvious this spring -- Tino Sunseri is his starting quarterback going into fall practice.

Chryst said Tuesday during the ACC spring meetings, "He was the best quarterback we had out of spring. That's why he's the starter."

Sunseri had been competing with Mark Myers and Trey Anderson for the starting job after a pretty brutal 2011 season. The truth is that Sunseri was not really a match for the spread offense under former coach Todd Graham. But he was inconsistent the season before under Dave Wannstedt, so there are those Pitt fans probably scratching their heads wondering what Sunseri can do to be better entering his third season as a starter.

"The biggest thing for quarterbacking is being able to do it and doing it on a consistent level," Chryst said. "That’s your normal progression. He clearly was the best this spring that we had. You’re aware of the history but it doesn’t really matter for us. What do you have right now? It’s our job to coach them and how can you help everyone get better? He’s got a great opportunity. He has played in a lot of games, he does have experience. He’s got room to grow. If he chooses to grow, and I know it’s easier for us to say last year or two years before that doesn’t matter. It matters in the sense that you should learn from all of it, positive or negative. But it doesn’t matter going forward.

"Right now, if you were to say who gives you the best chance to have success, it would be him. So coach the heck out of him."

Chryst said nobody grabbed the backup quarterback job. As for what he anticipates for Chad Voytik once the four-star prospect arrives this summer, Chryst said, "First he's got to get here. Then we've got to see how he picks up things. I anticipate him getting work. Legitimately getting work and then we'll see."

Now here is a quick update on running back Ray Graham, coming off a knee injury. Chryst said Graham is "progressing" and anticipates his star back will be ready for the start of fall camp.

"The plan is he will be ready," Chryst said. "We’ll have him practice. He needs it. They all need it. I’m not going to project too much until it’s time. But we’re planning on it. We’re going full steam ahead."

Chryst anticipates he will have all his players available for practice when fall camp opens.

Andrea Adelson picks her Big East player to watch for 2012: Pitt running back Ray Graham.

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.

Pitt coach Paul Chryst has not definitively declared Tino Sunseri as his starting quarterback headed into fall practice.

Does he need to?

Chryst said last week that Sunseri had separated himself from Mark Myers and Trey Anderson, which seemingly points in the direction of Sunseri winning the starting job. True freshman Chad Voytik enrolls this summer, so there is a chance that he could come in and blow everybody away with his amazing talent and grasp of the offense.

But right now, it appears Sunseri will go into his third straight season as the starter.

That is hard to believe for many, considering the lackluster results along the way. It is no secret that Sunseri has struggled with the deep ball, and clearly cannot run a spread offense. He should never be asked to do that again. I truly believe Sunseri should be given a pass for what happened last season, and I think the longer time goes on, perhaps more Pitt fans feel the same way. Todd Graham deserves the blame for what happened last season.

The point is that Chryst must believe Sunseri truly gives his team the best chance to win, given his experience and current understanding of the new offense. While the passing game was nothing to write home about -- Sunseri went 13-of-27 for 147 yards with a touchdown and interception in the spring game -- you wonder how much of an ask is going to be made of the quarterbacks with the potential for such a strong running game.

Perhaps the quarterback for Pitt this season will be more of a game manager. Sunseri has been good at times throughout his career. Look back to the USF, UConn and Louisville games for recent examples. Give him time in the pocket, and he does not implode. I can guarantee the offensive line will be miles better this season.

The short passing game works for him, along with play action. Does he need to make 80-yard throws every game? Obviously a home run ball is nice every once in a while, but there have been quarterbacks without the greatest command of the deep ball that have fared just fine.

With the development of Isaac Bennett and Corey Davis, along with the return of Ray Graham and the arrival of Rushel Shell, Pitt has the perfect opportunity this season to just ground and pound, and let Sunseri throw it as a change of pace. Obviously, any great team wants to have balance with their running and passing attack. Obviously, teams will want to stack the box to force Pitt to throw. Sunseri has to learn how to beat the blitzes and make the clutch throws with games on the line.

But Ray Graham was so good last season, teams loaded the box and still couldn't stop him. The potential exists for the same to happen again this season with so much talent in the backfield. Pitt needs its ground game to work for Sunseri to work.

"(The run game) has a chance to be good," Chryst said after spring ball wrapped. "But it all starts with the line. The line made some improvements this spring. Ray's working, we need to get him back healthy and Rushel, we all know what he is ... There's also a lot of quesitons, but that will be a good problem if we have a bunch of running backs."

Especially if it takes pressure off Sunseri.

Ray Graham might be on the sideline this spring for Pitt, but the running game has looked outstanding anyway.

Isaac Bennett has taken charge.

Given all the headlines he has made, he has to be a real candidate for spring MVP for the Panthers headed into their spring game Saturday. During practice Thursday, Bennett busted another 70-yard score -- his third this spring that went for 50 or more yards.

Bennett, ever humble, insisted on giving all the credit to his linemen and fullbacks during a phone conversation earlier this spring -- as grateful running backs tend to do.

"My position is just to play the game, do what I can, do what I'm coached to do and go from there," he said. "I just want to show Coach [Paul] Chryst he can trust me."

There is plenty to trust about Bennett, a tough back who rarely goes down on first contact. He got game experience last season after Graham went down with a torn ACL. The initial plan was to redshirt him, but he still traveled with the team.

When the time came to lift his redshirt, at least Bennett had an idea of the routine on the road and what should be expected out of a featured back. He did admirably filling in, with 58 carries for 237 yards and two touchdowns.

"I am glad I got experience that early," Bennett said. "I went from still studying the plays to getting more work during practice so I could get up to speed quickly."

This spring he has seemed like a natural, especially with the scheme change and the way Chryst is emphasizing the run. That did not go unnoticed in the running backs room. Bennett also has noticed a change in the mind-set of his offensive linemen as well.

"I've seen them have a greater passion this year," Bennett said. "I just see the looks in their eyes when they line up for the huddle. Everybody is getting up there properly, they have a new motivation. That is the vibe I'm getting from them."

Though Graham is on the sideline, he has still been able to help Bennett, who is working on his speed, agility and reading defenses this spring.

"I always tell Ray to watch me, to see what I'm doing wrong," Bennett said. "Sometimes he just comes up and tells me you should have read the play a different way, or just to follow my instincts, or make a different cut. He has been a real big help."

Whenever Graham does come back, you can bet the two will be a big help to the Pitt offense.

To have a workhorse back or to split reps? That is the question.

And it certainly is a question on the minds of Big East coaches around the league. With five starters gone headed into 2012, and Ray Graham coming off ACL surgery, this is a position of intrigue during the spring. The ultimate decision has to be made about whether to rely on one back a lion's share of the time, or whether to get a nice rotation going to provide yourself some depth and versatility.

Two league coaches offered their opinions recently on the matter, and both are in favor of finding a workhorse back. Louisville offensive coordinator Shawn Watson pointed to 2010, when Bilal Powell had 229 carries and 1,405 yards. Victor Anderson had the next-highest carries total with 64. Last season, the Cardinals distributed the ball more evenly among its backs -- Anderson and Dominique Brown each had over 100 carries -- and did not fare as well in the ground game.

But it is important to keep in mind the offensive line had its share of struggles as well.

Still, Watson said he wants to find a go-to guy among the four players competing for the starting running back position. “We need someone to be the war daddy at that position, like Bilal Powell was in (Charlie) Strong’s first season,” said Watson. “Biggest thing we look back at is not having a go-to guy. We have to find a go-to-guy. That creates competition in the room and makes everyone better.”

At UConn, Lyle McCombs returns after putting up 1,000 yards his freshman season, but there is some nice competition at the position this spring with D.J. Shoemate returning from injury, in addition to Joe Williams, Martin Hyppolite and Max DeLorenzo. But coach Paul Pasqualoni wants one go-to guy as well.

“I don’t want a guy that’s got to come out of the game," Pasqualoni told reporters in Connecticut. "I don’t want a guy that’s saying I’m tired, take me out. I don’t want a Jaguar. Do you know what a Jaguar is? The Jaguar is always in the shop, always breaking down so I don’t want a Jaguar. I want a durable guy and if we put him in the game he stays in the game and he stays in the game. We’re trying to develop the depth we have but I’m all for one guy staying out there. Now we’re going to use the talents and ability we have but I want them all to be able to do it if you know what I mean.”

Last season, four running backs had over 200 carries. Had Graham been healthy, that number would have been five. Rutgers and Cincinnati also went with one back primarily. This season, that may not be the case. Rutgers coach Kyle Flood already has talked about the value of having more than one back consistently produce, while coach Butch Jones has talked about trying to get more backs involved to make up for the loss of Big East Offensive Player of the Year Isaiah Pead.

USF had three players with over 100 carries last season. The last time USF had a back with over 200 carries was Andre Hall in 2005, but even then the Bulls had another player with over 100 carries as well.

Pitt coach Paul Chryst has shown a proclivity to get multiple backs involved as well, but some of his offenses at Wisconsin did rely on one workhorse. If Graham returns on schedule, one would expect him to get the majority of the carries, but Isaac Bennett has had a nice spring game, and freshman Rushell Shell arrives in the summer.

As for Temple, the Owls relied on Bernard Pierce in recent years, though Matt Brown got his share of the carries. That load falls to him this season, with the hope that other backs can get involved as well.

Pitt has a grand tradition of rushing the ball. New coach Paul Chryst has produced some of the best rushing seasons in Wisconsin history.

The fit seems perfect.

But the natural question, of course, is whether the Panthers will be able to get back to their smashmouth roots in Year 1. There are a few unknowns that complicate the answer.

1. What can we expect out of Ray Graham? Graham would have easily topped 1,000 yards last season had he not torn his ACL in Week 9. He will not be available for the spring, but all indications are that he will be healthy in time for the start of the season. Graham said on his Twitter account Feb. 13 that he already has begun running. Will he bounce back and be the player we saw last season, running in and out of cuts with such ease he made would-be tacklers look silly? Or will he be hesitant and a step slower? Every player reacts differently to ACL surgery, and it sometimes takes a full two years before a player is back to himself. Even if he is less than 100 percent, Graham should still be the best player on offense when he returns.

2. What about the offensive line? One of the most scrutinized units on the team, the Panthers were definitely better at run blocking than pass blocking. But this group has got to play better overall, be more consistent and stay healthy if this team is going to have success rushing the ball on a consistent basis. Getting Chris Jacobson back helps. But this team loses three senior starters and is strapped for depth. It also will be slightly smaller up front than the groups Wisconsin fields. Pitt will be about 20 pounds lighter per man up front than the Badgers' projected unit.

3. How about depth at running back? The Panthers should be in good shape here with Isaac Bennett, Corey Davis and Rushel Shell. They provide the potential to take some of the rushing load off Graham. Chryst has had workhorse backs at Wisconsin, and he also has had backs split reps. Most famously, Wisconsin nearly had three different players rush for at least 1,000 yards in 2010 as James White had 1,052 yards, John Clay had 1,012 and Montee Ball had 996. Last season, Ball and White had more than 100 carries each, but it was Ball who had 1,923 yards.

Also, keep in mind that Wisconsin failed to have a 1,000-yard rusher just once in the seven years Chryst served as offensive coordinator. That happened in 2008. Pitt broke its four-year streak with a 1,000-yard rusher last season. With Graham and a talented group of backs returning, you have to think getting a 1,000-yard rusher will absolutely happen.

But having a 1,000-yard back does not always mean a team rolls up yards on the ground with ease. For all of the rushing tradition at Pitt, the Panthers have not exactly torn up the nation in rushing offense. Going back to 1999, the most yards Pitt averaged on the ground was 180.3, back in 2009. That ranked No. 34 in the nation. Only twice during that time span -- in 2009 and 2010 -- did Pitt finish in the top half of the nation in rushing offense.

Contrast that with Chryst's time at Wisconsin. Going back to his first year as coordinator in 2005, Wisconsin has never finished lower than No. 37 in the nation in rushing offense. That happened in his first two years there, and they were the only two years the Badgers failed to average more than 200 yards a game on the ground.

There is no doubt Chryst will want to try to establish the run with the Panthers. He is smart enough to know that is where the strength of his team is, at least headed into this season. But it will be interesting to see how long it takes before the Panthers become a team that can be among the best in the nation in rushing the ball.

Pitt has lost two assistant coaches in the span of several weeks in a bit of unusual timing.

Both running backs coach Eddie Faulkner and offensive coordinator Bob Bostad were in place to help out with recruiting and seemingly committed to new coach Paul Chryst. But each left for different opportunities -- Faulkner to return to his alma mater at Wisconsin, Bostad to become offensive line coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

That has forced Chryst to do some staff reshuffling with less than a month to go before spring practice. Quarterbacks coach Joe Rudolph moves to offensive coordinator and Jim Hueber moves from tight ends to offensive line. Chryst still needs to hire a running backs coach and quarterbacks coach.

It never is good to lose coaches after such a brief period of time, but Chryst said in a phone interview he didn't think the twin departures would have a major impact on his team.

"Other than it impacting the players, I'm comfortable with what happened," Chryst said. "The communication was good so if something like this happened ... the players on recruiting trail, you weren't saying something that wasn't real. I'm not concerned about what happened or how it happened, and I really am fortunate where I feel like the current players are still going to get great, great coaching."

In the case of Bostad, Chryst seemed to anticipate something like this potentially happening. He, Bostad and Rudolph all worked together at Wisconsin.

"I've been fortunate to have been able to work with Bob for five, six years and I knew what goals and aspirations Bob has and then also he's a good friend of mine. I knew that was something if an opportunity like that came along he'd be excited about that. I'm happy for him. The only negative is I've enjoyed working with him, but would like to work longer with him. For Bob and his wife, Karen, it's a great opportunity.

"I also knew going in I wanted to be strong [at offensive line]. I felt real fortunate to hire Jim Hueber. I knew he could step right in for him. He's as good as a line coach as there is. And with Joe having been on the staff as well. I knew if anything like this happened, we had guys that are more than ready to step into those different roles. I'm excited for Bob and also excited for our players to be with Jim and Joe."

A few other notes:

• Chryst said running back Ray Graham is on schedule with his rehab from a torn ACL and should be ready for the start of the season.
• The quarterback competition is open going into the spring, but Chryst also made it sound like Tino Sunseri would have an advantage because of his starting experience. "Tino's got to learn and begin to understand the offense and how he fits into it and play within the structure," Chryst said. "It's always an open competition, and yet he's a guy I'm excited to work with because he's played a lot of football. If we're going to be good this year, we have to be productive at that spot."
• Guard Chris Jacobson did get his sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA after hurting his knee this past season, which is good news for an offensive line in major need of an upgrade.

Plenty can happen in a month. Just ask Rutgers. So with that, we are taking another stab at our way-too-early 2012 power rankings. These are subject to change after spring practice and again before the season starts, but it's never too early to let the debate begin.

Only one change since the first version after the national championship game -- I swapped Louisville and Rutgers.

1. West Virginia:* Every day it seems more apparent that the Mountaineers will do whatever it takes to get into the Big 12 for the 2012 season. But if they are held up in the Big East, they'll be the consensus preseason pick to win the league.

2. Louisville: I moved the Cardinals up from No. 3 to No. 2 based primarily on the upheaval with the Scarlet Knights. As you have seen me say already many times, I think Louisville and Rutgers will be the top two contenders to win the Big East if West Virginia leaves.

3. Rutgers: I still think the Scarlet Knights have an excellent shot to contend for a title, but now there is more uncertainty surrounding this team than there was in January with former coach Greg Schiano gone. I think Kyle Flood can keep the train going, but there are still questions at quarterback and about who will run the defense -- and whether he will be as good as Schiano was in 2011.

4. Cincinnati: I know Bearcats fans continue to harp on the "keep doubting us" mantra, but there is no denying this team is losing a good chunk of its starters and will be one of the least experienced teams in all of college football next season. There is talent, but how does everybody come together?

5. South Florida: The Bulls will have one of the most experienced teams in college football. This should be the year they seriously contend for a Big East title because of all the players coming back. Plus, they made some good junior college pickups and signed several players who can contribute immediately. But they have to show me something before I start bragging about them.

6. Pittsburgh: There are many question marks, even with a terrific signing class. Who is going to be quarterback? Will the offensive line be better? How will the young defense do? How does Ray Graham look in his return from a major knee injury? How will a first-year coach do? The Panthers will be very interesting to watch during the spring and fall.

7. Connecticut: Of all the teams in the league, I think the Huskies have the potential to surprise. They should be better on defense; they get D.J. Shoemate back; and they have signed the best player in Connecticut at quarterback. But relying on a true freshman is always a mixed bag. I will watch this team closely to see how it does in Year 2 under Paul Pasqualoni.

8. Syracuse: The Orange ended on the bottom at 2011, so they start at the bottom for 2012. You will remember I did that with Rutgers and was dead wrong. But this team has many more questions -- receiving depth looks thin; how will the running back rotation go; who steps up in the secondary and defensive line? I want to see those questions answered in the spring and fall.

With one day to go before signing day, it is worth taking a look back at how the players on the Big East first-team fared when they were coming out of high school.

You will see, once again, that recruiting rankings generally have nothing to do with the way a player will do in college. So anybody freaking out about what your school does or does not have in the way of commitments for 2012, just take a deep breath. And look at how some of the most unheralded players out of high school become some of the best in the Big East.

I used ESPN recruiting rankings. Note only one player honored on the first team was ranked as an ESPNU150 player. Many on defense came in as either athletes, receivers or quarterbacks.

Offense

WR Mohamed Sanu, Rutgers. Sanu was ranked the No. 18 safety in the nation coming out of high school in 2009, with a scout grade of 80.

WR/RS Tavon Austin, West Virginia. Austin was rated the No. 41 running back in the nation coming out of high school in 2009 -- three spots behind De'Antwan Williams (Rutgers) and one spot behind Jason Douglas (Pitt). Know who else was ranked ahead -- Victor Marc and Bradley Battles of USF.

OT Justin Pugh, Syracuse. Unranked at his position for the class of 2009, Pugh got a scout grade of 40. Talk about making the most of somebody who was "undervalued."

OT Don Barclay, West Virginia. Ranked No. 65 at his position in the class of 2007. One other West Virginia player was ranked athead of him, at No. 55 -- Gino Gradkowski, who transferred to Delaware.

OG Randy Martinez, Cincinnati. Rated the No. 161 defensive end in the class of 2007.

OG Art Forst, Rutgers. Forst was ranked the No. 25 offensive tackle in the class of 2008 -- the second-highest Big East player on the list behind Lucas Nix of Pitt.

OG Andrew Tiller, Syracuse. Tiller was unranked and did not even get a scouts grade when he was being evaluated in 2009 out of Nassau Community College.

C Moe Petrus, Connecticut. The best center in the Big East was unranked and had no scouts grade when he signed with UConn in 2007.

TE Nick Provo, Syracuse. Provo was ranked No. 86 at his position in the class of 2007

QB Geno Smith, West Virginia. Smith has lived up to his billing -- ranking No. 97 on the ESPNU150 in the class of 2009. He was the No. 8 player at his position and No. 15 in the state of Florida.

RB Isaiah Pead, Cincinnati. The No. 152 ranked running back in the class of 2008, Pead got a scout grade of 71. He just won MVP Honors on the Senior Bowl.

RB Ray Graham, Pittsburgh. Rated the No. 66 running back in the class of 2009, Graham was rated behind West Virginia's Daquan Hargrett (left program) and USF's Adaris Bellamy (academics).

RB Antwon Bailey, Syracuse. Ranked the No. 128 running back in the class of 2008 -- well behind fellow signee Averin Collier (No. 42). Collier was considered the gem of the class, but academics derailed his career.

K Dave Teggart, Connecticut. Teggart was ranked the No. 25 kicker in the class of 2007.

Defense

DL Derek Wolfe, Cincinnati. Wolfe was unranked at his position in the class of 2008 and got a scout grade of 40. Four years later, he was the co-Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

DL Kendall Reyes, Connecticut. Reyes also was unranked in his position in the class of 2007 with a scout grade of 40. Believe it or not, he came into UConn at 220 pounds (he's now around 300) and now has a shot to be a mid-round draft pick.

DL Chandler Jones, Syracuse. Jones came to Syracuse as a 230-pound tight end, unranked and giving a scout grade of 40. Now he is headed to the NFL draft as a projected second-to-third round pick.

DL Bruce Irvin, West Virginia. Irvin took an incredible journey to West Virginia through Mt. SAC junior college after dropping out of high school.

LB JK Schaffer, Cincinnati. Schaffer was ranked the No. 93 outside linebacker in the class of 2008, behind such players as Tyler Urban, Marvin Booker (Rutgers), Quavon Taylor (USF) and Marcus Witherspoon (Rutgers).

LB Khaseem Greene, Rutgers. No ranking or scout grade for Greene, who went to prep school before arriving at Rutgers.

LB Najee Goode, West Virginia. Goode was a quarterback and linebacker in high school who was not ranked.

CB Adrian Bushell, Louisville. Bushell was ranked the No. 21 cornerback in the class of 2008 and originally signed with Florida. After playing at junior college, he made an immediate impact with the Cardinals.

CB Keith Tandy, West Virginia. Tandy was ranked the No. 207 quarterback in the nation in the class of 2007. The same group that featured Jimmy Clausen and Ryan Mallett.

S Drew Frey, Cincinnati. Frey was a receiver coming out of high school and unranked, with a scout grade of 40.

S Hakeem Smith, Louisville. Smith was ranked the No. 93 receiver in the class of 2009, but his athleticism allowed him to switch to defense and emerge as one of the best safeties in the league.

S Jarred Holley, Pittsburgh. Also a receiver in the class of 2008, Holley was ranked No. 230 at that position with a scout grade of 65.

S Duron Harmon, Rutgers. The No. 49 athlete in the class of 2009, he was ranked below teammate Jamal Merrell, Todd Thomas of Pitt and Kayvon Webster of USF.

P Pat O'Donnell, Cincinnati. O'Donnell was unranked with a scout grade of 40, but he has emerged as one of the most impressive iron men in the league.

Because I love you all so much, I now present to you my early 2012 Big East power rankings. The season is one day old, so I reserve the right to change my mind based on spring practice and then fall practice. To say these are way early is to say West Virginia beat Clemson. Understatement!

1. West Virginia.* You see the asterisk there for obvious reasons. Will the Mountaineers be in this league in 2012, or will somebody else get to be called the favorite in the preseason? Should West Virginia return to this league, that performance in the Orange Bowl should frighten the rest of this conference. Now granted, there will be some major questions on this defense, but if Geno Smith, Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey can put up half a hundred every week, the Mountaineers are going to be really tough to beat.

2. Rutgers. This was a tough call for me. The Scarlet Knights still have quarterback issues, a nonexistent running game and are losing Mohamed Sanu. But they also return 16 starters, including Co-Big East Defensive Player of the Year Khaseem Greene. Everything should be in place for this team to make a serious run. The offensive line will be better; I firmly believe the quarterback play will be better; and there is enough talent at receiver to make up for Sanu's loss.

3. Louisville. Right now, I think it is a toss up between Louisville and Rutgers. The Cardinals also return a majority of their starters, including freshman of the year Teddy Bridgewater, along with a talented receiving corps and an offensive line that solidified itself as the season went on. What I worry about most right now is maturity and leadership. Louisville seems to thrive in an underdog role, and that will not be the case in 2012.

4. Cincinnati. The Bearcats lose 21 seniors, including Offensive Player of the Year Isaiah Pead, Co-Defensive Player of the Year Derek Wolfe, defensive leader JK Schaffer and starting quarterback Zach Collaros. There is a lot of young talent on this team, but the key word is young. How will the Bearcats handle themselves without so many of their best players?

5. USF. This has got to be the year the Bulls make a serious run at the Big East. The only problem is they have no idea how to win Big East games, and that prevents me from listing them higher than middle of the road in this league. There are going to be a lot of returning starters and returning seniors on this team, and plenty of talent. But there are some holes that have to be filled on the offensive line, defensive line and in the secondary. B.J. Daniels must win this season.

6. Pitt. I truly believe Paul Chryst is the best hire Pitt could have made this time around. But does that mean he has what he needs to be able to turn this team into a serious Big East contender? There are major question marks at quarterback, offensive line, defensive line and linebacker. The defense was the strength of this team but it's losing most of its best players. How does Ray Graham come back from knee surgery? I think of all the Big East teams, the Panthers have the most questions headed into the offseason.

7. UConn. Should we talk again about quarterback issues for the Huskies? It was the same theme in the preseason last year. We are no closer today to knowing who is going to lead this team, because there will be yet another quarterback competition. Running back should be an area of strength, just like last season, and there are some good players returning on the defensive line. But offensive line and secondary are also two major questions that must be improved for this team to contend again.

8. Syracuse. The Orange lost their best players on defense in Phillip Thomas, Chandler Jones and Mikhail Marinovich, along with 1,000-yard rusher Antwon Bailey. There are also depth questions on the offensive line, defensive line and at receiver. Ryan Nassib took a good first step this season, but he's got to make bigger steps this year. First and foremost, this team must find an identity and solve all the issues that plagued them at the end of this season.

Editor’s Note: Tune into the “AT&T ESPN All America Team Show” on Saturday (ABC, 1:30 p.m. ET) to see who ESPN’s writers and experts selected.

You saw what the coaches had to say when they picked the All-Big East team. Now it is my turn. I only have a few different opinions than the coaches. To start, West Virginia receiver Stedman Bailey is on my first team over Tavon Austin. Bailey finished with more yards; Austin with more receptions. But I thought Bailey was a little more consistent over the course of the entire season.

I also have West Virginia defensive lineman Julian Miller on the first team ahead of Bruce Irvin. Miller got off to a slow start, mostly because he was hobbled with an injury. But late in the season with games on the line, he was almost unstoppable. Pitt running back Ray Graham also gets a nod even though he missed the final five games of the season with a knee injury.

Without further adieu:

OFFENSE

QB: Geno Smith, West Virginia

RB: Isaiah Pead, Cincinnati

RB: Ray Graham, Pitt

OT: Don Barclay, West Virginia

OT: Justin Pugh, Syracuse

C: Joe Madsen, West Virginia

OG: Randy Martinez, Cincinnati

OG: Andrew Tiller, Syracuse

WR: Mohamed Sanu, Rutgers

WR: Stedman Bailey, West Virginia

DEFENSE

DL: Julian Miller, West Virginia

DL: Kendall Reyes, UConn

DL: Derek Wolfe, Cincinnati

DL: Chandler Jones, Syracuse

LB: JK Schaffer, Cincinnati

LB: Najee Goode, West Virginia

LB: Khaseem Greene, Rutgers

S: Hakeem Smith, Louisville

S: Duron Harmon, Rutgers

CB: Adrian Bushell, Louisville

CB: Keith Tandy, West Virginia

SPECIALISTS

PK: Dave Teggart, UConn

P: Pat O'Donnell, Cincinnati

RS: Tavon Austin, West Virginia

No Big East player is going to New York -- again -- but there is always hope for next season, right? The only problem is that the "best hope" might be playing in the Big 12 next season.

That would be West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith, who is on the verge of throwing for 4,000 yards this season. He has been the most outstanding offensive player in the Big East this season but the Mountaineers have three losses, and he fell out of whatever longshot candidacy he had early this season.

So did virtually everybody in the Big East. Pitt running back Ray Graham put up impressive numbers before being lost for the season with a torn ACL, but the Panthers were not good enough to be considered a team with a Heisman-worthy candidate.

Graham could be considered a favorite if he returns for his senior season, which is expected. But as always, the Big East is going to need a dynamic candidate with terrific stats and a terrific team to make any sort of waves when it comes to a Heisman candidacy in 2012.

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III showed the perfect blueprint for how to get to New York without being on an undefeated team. He put up awesome numbers and really was one of the most dynamic players in football because of the way he elevated Baylor. Without him, would the Bears be 9-3? Highly doubtful. You don't always have to be on a national powerhouse to get to New York, as Griffin proved.