BE Post-Spring Position Rankings

1. Cincinnati: Zach Collaros will enter the season with probably the highest expectations of any Big East signal-caller, given his spectacular four-game starting stint in 2009 and the offense he'll play in for Butch Jones. Chazz Anderson also had a strong spring and could easily win games if something happens to Collaros.

2. Connecticut: Surprised? Don't be. Zach Frazer looked sharp this spring after ending the 2009 season strong, and his backup, Cody Endres, has already proved he can win games in the Big East. Michael Box is a promising prospect, Johnny McEntee does some things well and Leon Kinnard is a lightning bug who could help out in certain packages. This may be the deepest team in the league at QB.

3. Pittsburgh: No, Tino Sunseri has never started a game. But Pat Bostick has, and he's won some big ones. Sunseri is skilled and has a lot to work with, while Pitt can feel comfortable with one of the more experienced backups in the league. Remember, depth matters.

4. Rutgers: Though only a true sophomore, Tom Savage has more career starts than any returning starting quarterback in the league, amazingly enough. But the situation is perilous behind him, with only Steve Shimko there now. Can incoming freshman Chas Dodd help out this summer?

5. South Florida: Talk about your dangerous backup situations. B.J. Daniels is an electric player, but right now he only has walk-ons behind him. Incoming true frosh Jamius Gunsby will serve as his backup, but the Bulls don't want to have to go down that road this year.

6. West Virginia: This is one of those rankings that will look silly in time. I think Geno Smith will develop into one of the league's better quarterbacks. But since he was limited in the spring by a foot injury, the jury has to remain out on the sophomore until he's healthy. Coley White stood out this spring when given a bunch of snaps, but he'll likely move to receiver this fall as the Mountaineers see what they have in true freshmen Barry Brunetti and Jeremy Johnson.

7. Louisville: Depth is not a problem for the Cardinals, who are still deciding between Adam Froman and Justin Burke, with former starter Will Stein in the wings. Freshman Dominique Brown will be given a look this summer as well. The problem, instead, is the lack of an elite player at the position.

8. Syracuse: The Orange enter the season as one of only two Big East teams to not return a quarterback with starting experience. Ryan Nassib did play a lot this year, and redshirt freshman Charley Loeb pushed him this spring. Highly-touted recruit Jonny Miller arrives this summer.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast

LOL at the comments by people who think Collaros is the fifth best QB in this league and that this team will be on the decline. What's even more funny is the Rutgers fans who did not learn from last year's 47-15 curbstomping that UC is legit.

It's no contest for anyone who saw him play last year. Savage looked ok at times, but struggled w/ conistency.

Jealous city! Collaros for Heisman.

Not only is Zach a really good QB but he is a winner. He is use to winning. It is apart of his nature.

Not a bash at Pike but I think when you come from Reading when winning is awesome but if you lose oh well I think you lose some of the competitive win at all cost mentality. Zach has that about him I think.

Not the UConn Zach of course. LOL

Wide Receivers

1. Cincinnati: Pretty easy call here. The starting trio of Armon Binns, Vidal Hazelton and D.J. Woods is as good as anybody's in the country. If Kenbrell Thompkins, Marcus Barnett and Jamar Howard can add to the group, this could be a really deep and dangerous unit.

2. Pittsburgh: It just doesn't get any better than Jonathan Baldwin. Mike Shanahan came on late in the season a year ago and should provide a strong No. 2 target. Guys like Devin Street, Cam Saddler and Greg Cross could make this a corps that can give Cincinnati a run for its elite status.

3. West Virginia: Depth here is a problem. But the Mountaineers are solid on the front lines with Bradley Starks, Jock Sanders and Tavon Austin, who will try to succeed as a wideout. Stedman Bailey played very well this spring at times. Beyond that, there are question marks, but incoming freshman Ivan McCartney could contribute right away.

4. Rutgers: Mohamed Sanu is the only proven receiver on this team. But Mark Harrison, Tim Wright and Quron Pratt all looked great this spring. I'm expecting big things out of this crew this year.

5. Connecticut: No one on the current roster had more than 24 catches a year ago, but the Huskies still should be fine at receiver this year. Kashif Moore, Isiah Moore and Michael Smith are all quite capable of providing big plays. If youngsters like Gerrard Sheppard, Malik Generett and Dwayne Difton can add something positive, this ranking will improve.

6. South Florida: The loss of A.J. Love to an ACL injury in the spring game leaves this group with more questions than answers. Dontavia Bogan turned in a huge spring game performance and may have to become the go-to guy. Sterling Griffin and Lindsey Lamar have tremendous speed if not much experience. Evan Landi is trying to convert from quarterback into a dependable target. It's still a work in progress.

7. Louisville: Eventually, Doug Beaumont (38 catches a year ago) is going to find the end zone. Troy Pascley and the 6-foot-9 Josh Chichester have been around a few years now, and Andrell Smith looks promising. Still, one wonders if the Cardinals have any true deep threats. Incoming freshman Michaelee Harris and junior-college import Josh Bellamy could contribute right away.

8. Syracuse: Perhaps I'm not giving the Orange enough due, but I just haven't been overly impressed with their receivers outside of Mike Williams for the past few years. Guys like Marcus Sales, Alec Lemon and Van Chew have improved, and Hofstra transfer Aaron Weaver could help this year. But this is a case of needing to see it before I believe it.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/9679/post-spring-position-rankings-wr

Man I can't wait to see what our passing game does next year.

I agree. I am almost more curious to see what our running game does. No way we see 8 in the box against Pead and company.

I'm surprised the recruiting for WR is going so slow. That's one area that a recruit can point to and say that UC is going to pass for a ton of yardage, and I want to get some of that.

That's a position I don't worry too much about. It will pick up soon, especially once the season starts and everyone sees how our WRs dominate.

I'm more concerned about defense. Offense will get you a bowl game, but defense gets you championships.

swg said:

I'm surprised the recruiting for WR is going so slow. That's one area that a recruit can point to and say that UC is going to pass for a ton of yardage, and I want to get some of that.

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Give it a season for recruits to see Butch's offense and then we will start seeing some easier WR recruitment. They (hopefully) just need confirmation that we will still be a pass friendly offense.

I'm wondering what it's going to take to convince the defensive recruits. The D has been pretty solid (aside from two games last year, not counting the bowl) last year. Shame that Grace didn't stay at home.

Little Danny said:

LOL at the comments by people who think Collaros is the fifth best QB in this league and that this team will be on the decline. What's even more funny is the Rutgers fans who did not learn from last year's 47-15 curbstomping that UC is legit.

Click to expand...

Just curious - who is saying Collaros is the 5th best in the league ? Almost every article I read has him #1 in the BE...

Tower said:

Just curious - who is saying Collaros is the 5th best in the league ? Almost every article I read has him #1 in the BE...

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The comments under the article from dbag WVU fans and the like.

http://collegefootballperformance.com/player-spotlight/preseason-favorites/

This site has 3 Bearcats on their pre-season list; Colaros[QB], Guidugli[TE] and Rogers[Kick off specialist]; They use a statistical system
"OFFENSIVE AWARDS
The Offensive Awards system annually recognizes the FBS statistical performance champions at 4 positions: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end. The statistical performance champions at each position are determined based upon the extent to which a performer increases the overall effectiveness of that performer’s team. A performer x is an Offensive Awards recipient if and only if x contributes the most to team success of any performer in Division I FBS college football, when controlling for strength of schedule."

AAABearcat said:

http://collegefootballperformance.com/player-spotlight/preseason-favorites/

This site has 3 Bearcats on their pre-season list; Colaros[QB], Guidugli[TE] and Rogers[Kick off specialist]; They use a statistical system
"OFFENSIVE AWARDS
The Offensive Awards system annually recognizes the FBS statistical performance champions at 4 positions: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end. The statistical performance champions at each position are determined based upon the extent to which a performer increases the overall effectiveness of that performer’s team. A performer x is an Offensive Awards recipient if and only if x contributes the most to team success of any performer in Division I FBS college football, when controlling for strength of schedule."

Click to expand...

Armon Binns is also listed

catman09 said:

Armon Binns is also listed

Click to expand...

Thanks, missed that.

Post-Spring Position Rankings: Running Backs

Time to get back to our post-spring position rankings, with running back next up. Remember, we're looking for stars and depth here:

1. Pittsburgh: The Panthers have the Big East's offensive player of the year returning in Dion Lewis, who rushed for 1,799 yards and 17 scores a year ago. Backup Ray Graham, who averaged 5.7 yards per carry, could start for most teams. Henry Hynoski should be the best fullback in the league this year. That's enough to merit the No. 1 spot here.

2. West Virginia: Noel Devine alone would earn the Mountaineers a lofty ranking. But don't forget about bruising fullback/tailback Ryan Clarke, who had eight touchdowns a year ago. Throw in Shawne Alston and Daquan Hargrett, and West Virginia is loaded in the backfield. And that's not even counting Tavon Austin and Jock Sanders, who are considered wide receivers for the purposes of these rankings but who could easily move into running back roles.

3. Connecticut: Jordan Todman (1,188 yards) was the third-leading rusher in the Big East last season. The Huskies are high on Meme Wylie and Robbie Frey, and Martin Hyppolite and Jonathan Jean-Louis could contribute. Fullback Anthony Sherman has 21 career starts. And that UConn offensive line always makes its ballcarriers look good.

4. Cincinnati: I think this is the year that Isaiah Pead takes off and becomes a real star. John Goebel's return adds experience to the backfield, while Darrin Williams is a playmaking spark plug. The only question is how much the Bearcats want to run the ball.

5. Syracuse: Uncertainty over Delone Carter's status -- he has been suspended at least until the fall semester -- makes the Orange a tough team to rank at running back. With Carter, who was a 1,000-yard back last year, Syracuse has a frontline workhorse plus two versatile guys in Antwon Bailey and Averin Collier. Without him, this unit is average at best.

6. Louisville: When healthy, Victor Anderson is one of the best backs in the Big East. He went over 1,000 yards and was the league's newcomer of the year in 2008. He was plagued by injuries last season and was still recovering this spring. If he's back to form, the Cardinals will have a solid trio with Bilal Powell and Jeremy Wright also in the mix. That doesn't count Darius Ashley, whose move to cornerback this spring may be permanent.

7. Rutgers: I put the Scarlet Knights this low despite the return of Joe Martinek, who nearly ran for 1,000 yards last year. But he was far from an explosive runner, and Rutgers averaged just 3.6 yards per carry last season (hurt, no doubt, by a subpar run-blocking offensive line). This backfield needs more playmakers, whether that's from an improved Martinek, a more experienced De'Antwan Williams or one of the speedy freshmen arriving this summer.

8. South Florida: The departure of Jamar Taylor was the latest setback to a position that lacks proven depth. The Bulls will begin the year with a starting tailback (Mo Plancher) who gained just 581 yards last season, and a backup (Demetris Murray) who has 14 career carries. On the flip side, South Florida running backs haven't been given much of a shot to establish themselves under the previous, quarterback-heavy offensive schemes. Perhaps that will change under Skip Holtz, who wants his backs to do more.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/9725/post-spring-position-rankings-rb