Big East: 2008 Look Ahead

Brian McDonald
Senior Editor
February 28, 2008
The Big East will not be a prime conference to raid on draft day, but this certainly doesn't mean there isn't some talent that can be unearthed by the shrewd college fantasy football archaeologist. Each team, from recent powerhouses like West Virginia and Rutgers to recent also-rans such as Syracuse and Pitt, have players that may play a significant role while leading your 2008 college fantasy football squad to glory. This is the next-to-last installment of our look aheads. Next up will be a glance at non-BCS schools and our thoughts on who may emerge. Of course we better get moving as (thankfully) spring practice is upon us, and soon we'll have practice reports and coach speak to dissect. For now, here's a look at the Big East's top performers in 2007 followed by what CFFInsider.com thinks will transpire in 2008. 2007 All Big East Fantasy Team QB: Ben Mauk* 315.10 RB: Ray Rice* 300.06 RB: Steve Slaton* 201.40 WR: Marcus Barnett 145.60 WR: Darius Reynaud** 133.73 TE: Gary Barnidge** 85.66 K: Jeremy Ito** 121.20 D: West Virginia Cincinnati Will be missed next year: Ben Mauk was a rare one-year transfer who had a huge impact. Mauk, following his move from Winston-Salem, was a question mark entering the season due to a fractured humerus suffered while a Demon Deacon. It was thought that Mauk may be a season-long, game-time decision as there was concern about whether his arm could hold up, and the grad student ended up accounting for around 3500 yards to go along with 34 scores. More than just a feel-good story, Mauk was pivotal in providing first-year Bearcat Coach Brian Kelly with the skills and smarts necessary to make the transition from the Mark Dantonio regime. The Mauk story came to a conclusion a few weeks back when the NCAA denied the signal caller another year of eligibility. However should Brian Kelly remain at Cincy and continue to build upon 2007, Ben Mauk will be remembered fondly at Montgomery Inn as one who played a pivotal role in Cincy’s national emergence. Replacing him will prove very difficult. Fantasy Star of 2008: Even with the uncertainty at the quarterback spot, we still like a Bearcat receiver to step up and emerge on the national scene, and it will likely be Marcus Barnett or Dominick Goodman. Each had near identical numbers, except Barnett was able to find the end zone six more times on the season. In the spread-it-around Cincy offense, we can just as easily see Goodman scoring 14 times in 2008. Barnett’s status is a bit up in the air following a broken leg suffered in the bowl game, and this leaves Goodman as our favorite to emerge. We were all over Goodman during the 2007 preseason, and just as owners and even we were ready to give up on Dom for good, he started catching lots of passes down the stretch. We expect the senior wide out to pick up where he left off and enter the enchanted land of double-digit scores. Fantasy sleeper of 2008: It’s going to be a quarterback; it’s just hard to determine who it will be. Brian Kelly doesn’t seem too enamored with Dustin Grutza, and Demetrius Jones was a top national recruit who, following his sudden departure from South Bend, and a short stop at Northern Illinois, landed at Cincinnati. He provides mad scientist Brian Kelly with an intriguing, dual-threat talent that he’s not had at his disposal (and yes, we do like Dan LeFevour). Still, because nothing is ever easy, Jones must recover from shoulder surgery. Redshirt junior Tony Pike will also look to make an impact, however he appears to be the odd-man out in this race. My money is on Demetrius Jones getting the gig and Brian Kelly having a great deal of fun. Kelly has never had as decorated a talent to work with, and this writer thinks that Jones will emerge as a star. No other signal caller on the roster provides the same upside as the ND transfer, and he’s one to nab in the middle rounds. Looking for a running back sleeper? Well say aloha to my DeMarco Murray special: incoming Bearcat running back Isaiah Pead. Brian Kelly’s recruiting class didn’t include a whole lotta of star power, however Pead’s numbers and his home run ability stand out, and he’s going to make an early impact in a big way. Some big-time programs were very interested in this young whippersnapper, and I’m very interested in seeing Pead take some carries against defensive units spread out wide. If Pead had committed to a Big Ten power, he’d have another star next to his recruiting profile. I’m all over incoming wide receiver recruit D.J. Woods as well, but Pead has the opportunity to explode right now. 2008 Fantasy Outlook: The defense will not be as good in 2008. Don’t expect similar production. The offense is very, very intriguing. The two receivers are worthy of early round selections. However after Barnett and Goodman, it become a roll of the dice, but a really, really exciting roll. Demetrius Jones, Isaiah Pead and D.J. Wood could all be the building blocks of great Bearcat (and more importantly) fantasy teams. Brian Kelly will utilize each player to his utmost, and explosions from each could come as early as this season. There is one concern in dedicating keeper spots to Cincy ballplayers, and this concern stems from Brian Kelly’s tendency to look and see what’s out there. Another big Bearcat season and the head coach will bolt the Queen City faster than Nick Saban can email his agent. Connecticut Will be missed next year: UCONN will experience no significant fantasy losses next season, and normally this type of situation would have drafters giddy with anticipation. Alas UCONN returns pretty much everyone, and they’ll still be a squad to avoid on draft day. Fantasy Star of 2008: Running backs Donald Brown and Andre Dixon appear headed for another season of shared carries, and shared carries is the albatross of the fantasy owner. Each back is solid, and each could push towards ten touchdowns, however Spiller and Davis they are not. Each, of course, has good value in Big East-only leagues, but both should be considered late-round backups in BCS leagues with thoughts that maybe one back may experience injury difficulties. Fantasy sleeper of 2008: I can see a scenario where either Notre Dame transfer Zach Frazer or Tyler Lorenzen emerges and has a solid season, but the system and lack of outside speed will prevent either from making a significant fantasy splash. 2008 Team Fantasy Outlook: This is a gritty team and a program that has made impressive strides under Head Coach Randy Edsall, and they’ll likely continue their improvement in 2008, but this doesn’t mean you even want to consider drafting any UCONN players. Split carries + quarterback debate + boring offense = a situation to avoid. UCONN will have a solid season, play in a bowl with a funny name, but they’ll do so with no draft-worthy fantasy players. Louisville Will be missed in 2008: The transition from Bobby Petrino to Steve Kragthorpe was supposed to be seamless. The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. A preseason top-ten squad, the Louisville Cardinals became unwatchable as the defense was horrendous and the running game became a distant memory. So now we have a team that will look to replace, for one reason or another, skill starters Anthony Allen, Harry Douglas, Mario Urrutia, Gary Barnidge and most notably, Brian Brohm. It’s easy to say that all will be missed and that Louisville will have a difficult time replacing each, but they stunk in 2007, can things get much worse? Brohm is a guy who, for some reason, has had NFL scouts salivating while simultaneously leaving college fans scratching their heads a bit. After a blistering start against powers Murray State and Middle Tennessee State (776 yards, nine scores and zero picks) Brohm then threw for 24 scores against 12 picks the remainder of the season. Certainly, these numbers are pretty damn good considering he took his fair share of hits and there was zero running game around him, however owners who invested a high pick on Brohm were left looking for more. Brohm will probably have a very nice career, however following a tough 2007, it’s likely for the best that Hunter Cantwell gets his shot. Fantasy star in 2008: Provided Kragthorpe realizes any attempt at offensive balance is a good thing, Cantwell should put up very good numbers. Hunter saw limited action in 2007; in fact following freshman and sophomore campaigns where he threw over 70 passes in each, Cantwell only threw 14 balls in 2008. Still, even in limited duty, Cantwell has shown himself to be fully capable of producing a very good senior season. In fact, a 2008 where Cantwell surpasses Brohm’s 2007 wouldn’t be stunning. Amazingly enough, Cantwell was the co-MVP of the Gator Bowl…in 2005. Granted it’s not the Petrino system, however this kid is ready to play, and he’s been waiting for his chance to take over the reins. We’re not ready to anoint him a top national quarterback just yet, however this trepidation is based more on a lack of faith in Kragthorpe than it is concern over Cantwell. Fantasy sleeper of 2008: Bilal Powell showed a great burst against Rutgers, and he is purportedly the back of the future after there was some doubt about which side of the ball he’d play after initially committing to Louisville. Powell, in his final two games against South Florida and Rutgers, went for 19-161-2, and these are especially impressive numbers considering the Cardinals’ difficulties running the ball in 2007. We may look back on last August’s decision to move Powell to running back as one of the better decisions made by the new coaching staff. He’s a national sleeper to watch. 2008 Fantasy Outlook: We’re cautiously optimistic about the 2008 Louisville offense. While talent has certainly moved on, a clean start may be just what Coach Kragthorpe needs. With Cantwell and Powell he appears to have a couple of nice building blocks. Wide receiver JaJuan Spillman has some legal issues (driving under influence and wacky tobacky possession) to resolve in April, however should he be welcomed back Journey-style (with open arms) then he could be one to pick up where Douglas and Mario left off. Otherwise the pass receptions in the Louisville offense appear to be wide open. The defense cannot get worse, and new defensive coordinator Ron English (the one-time anointed one at Michigan) will likely be the driving force behind a vastly improved defensive unit. It will also help English’s unit if the Cardinals run the ball once in a while. Kragthorpe will be under a wee bit of pressure to kick off the season, and for a program that appears to be on the verge of falling back a bit, he’ll face a couple winnable tests early on. Kentucky, K-State and UCONN all pay early visits to Papa John’s, and while each is losable, a win over Kentucky in the season opener could see a nice little run. Louisville has eight home games in 2008, and if things get rolling early we could see a very nice bounce-back season, both in the standings and the fantasy stats. Pittsburgh Will be missed in 2008: We’ll I’ll be damned…the mustache may have a pretty decent team in 2008 as he loses no real significant 2007 contributors. Sure his kicker Conor Lee moves on, but pretty much everybody else comes back. This actually makes the Panthers an intriguing fantasy option. Fantasy Star of 2008: There is no question that LeSean McCoy is a national star-in-the-making. Having seen quite a few backs this past season I can unequivocally say that not many were more impressive than Mr. McCoy (when he could hang on to the ball). He was a man-against-boys against Michigan State and an absolute man in the mind-boggling, season-spoiling, coach-bailing victory over West Virginia. McCoy has home run speed coupled with the toughness to run between the tackles. It’s going to be interesting to see how much Coach Wannstedt is willing to build his offense around the super talent. Will he essentially give the keys to the offense to the young star, and will McCoy becomes the conference’s answer to Darren McFadden? No matter how many direct snaps he takes in 2008, McCoy will likely match his 1500 yards from scrimmage and 14 scores. He’s about to explode onto the college football scene. Fantasy Sleeper of 2008: Oderick Turner, T.J. Porter and even Maurice Williams have breakout potential, but we think our sleeper will be a player who’s done it before as Derek Kinder may be a forgotten man during many drafts. Kinder (57-847-6 in 2006) will look to bounce back from an August ACL injury that ended any hopes of playing in 2007. While torn ACL’s can never be deemed a good thing, the Panthers will be thankful they have Kinder’s services in 2008, a season when they can make some real Big East noise. If decent quarterbacking emerges at Heinz Field, Kinder could exceed his 2006 numbers. Looking for a short-term flyer? Maybe JUCO QB Greg Cross. Thinking down the road? Then freshman running back Chris Burns is the one to grab. 2008 Fantasy Outlook: He’s been a favorite target of ours, however Dave Wannstedt’s surprising recruiting prowess may be ready to pay big dividends in 2008. This offense may make some real noise, enough noise to fill every other seat at Heinz Field. There is a big question at quarterback where it appears to be a two-horse race between Pat Bostick and Bill Stull, with the aforementioned JUCO Cross as the wild card. McCoy is a top-ten national back. Kinder should be good to go. Turner is a decent late-round option. We even have a top freshman sleeper in Chris Burns. The Panthers ain't bad. Rutgers Will be missed next year: Workhorse, and I do mean workhorse Ray Rice moves on to Sundays, and it’ll not be easy to replace a back who put up over 2200 yards from scrimmage while scoring 25 times and seeing more than 25 carries in ten games. In an apparent attempt to garner Heisman-worthy stats Ray Rice was getting carries when games were well out of reach, and this leads to a great deal of uncertainty over who will emerge at RB in 2008. Oh, and Jeremy Ito will be missed as well. Fantasy Star of 2008: Lost in the love for Ray Rice is the numbers produced by wide receivers Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood, the most underrated receiving pair in the country. Britt went for 62-1232-8 while Underwood went for 65-1100-7. The junior-to-be Britt emerged as the season transpired while Underwood did a great deal of his damage in the early weeks of the campaign. Mike Teel’s return makes both receivers potential stars in 2008. Underwood and Britt will likely be better selections in total-points leagues, where the split receptions/yardage/touchdowns won’t cause weekly ulcers. Each receiver will produce, but there will be some pedestrian weeks along the way. Fantasy sleeper of 2008: The sleeper (and potential star) will come from the running back position, and it is truly amazing how little work Rice’s backups received last season. Kordell Young will likely need another year to fully recover from his torn ACL, and this makes sophomore Mason Robinson, and his whopping 36 carries, the favorite to emerge as primary ball carrier. If Robinson is off the draft board, and you’re looking for a late-round flyer, take a shot at incoming running back Rashad White, a local speed back that chose to stay home and play for Rutgers. In all likelihood though, White is probably a couple of years away from making a serious impact. Ray Rice White is not. In fact he’s about 170 lbs. and he’ll have a difficult time staying healthy in the physical Big East. Still, with the uncertainty at the tailback spot, Rashad White is worth a late-round keeper spot. One also needs to proceed with caution on Rutgers backs thinking they'll match Ray Rice's production. First off Ray Rice is a special talent. But also consider that Rutgers will lose considerable bulk on the offensive line with three of last year's starters graduating. 2008 Team Fantasy Outlook: There’s got to be a reason (beyond his rumored desire to replace JoePa) that Greg Schiano decided to spurn Michigan’s overtures, and one major reason must be the Rutgers offense. Yes, Ray Rice has moved on, but there is a great deal of talent returning, and we may see a shift from a run-first offense to a more pass-oriented attack. Schiano will never be confused with Mike Leach, but the proven offensive talent in New Jersey is a part of the passing attack, and with Teel, Underwood and Britt leading the way we may see a very different, but equally effective Rutgers attack this autumn. South Florida Will be missed in 2008: Not a great deal of offensive talent departs South Florida and this is good news for a team that climbed all the way to the number two spot in the polls. Yes, they were the worst #2 ranked team in the history of college football rankings, but as an alumnus of Michigan State, I’d take a #2 football ranking for any reason, any time I could get it. The Bulls return offensive talent but they have such inconsistent offensive tendencies that it’ll be hard to recommend that anyone take a South Florida player early on. Fantasy star in 2008: We love Matt Grothe, but we may have let our love of college football play too much of a role in our college fantasy football analysis of Matt Grothe in 2007. He’s gritty, gutty and he likes wearing a Mohawk. It’s hard not to love him. Still he doesn’t play in an offense that allows him to go nuts, so we may be looking at a great quarterback whose best fantasy years may be the 24 scores he accounted for last season. Not only does Grothe get Pitt, Rutgers and UCONN on his home turf, but he also welcomes Kansas in what will be one of the more intriguing early-season tilts of 2008. Still he’ll likely lead his team to big wins with big performances, but he’ll also do so in gritty, even ugly fashion. He’s a great Big East fantasy quarterback, but let him slide in your national drafts. Fantasy sleeper of 2008: If running backs didn’t have to block, and fumbles were outlawed, Mike Ford would be on the field all the time and he’d be a fantasy superstar. We were all over Mike Ford last season, DeMarco Murray style, and while Ford showed flashes, he never really broke out. So, technically, this allows us to deem Ford a sleeper in 2008. I know, I know. The dude accounted for 13, yes 13, scores in 2007. Clearly I knew exactly what I was talking about and am a college fantasy football god. Still I see a rather large increase in his carries and yards in 2008, and Ford could, I said could, become a top ten national back. Still, like Noel Devine, there is a sense of fear that should accompany calling out Ford’s name on draft day, as you never know if you’ll have a league mate sending you a giddy email referencing your star running back’s eligibility. 2008 Fantasy Outlook: Jim Leavitt has done one heck of a job, and while I think he’s goofy in a Brett Bielema and Bruce Pearl way, he has a nice offense returning, and I didn’t even mention Carlton Mitchell, a receiver whom I really like. Matt Grothe is a very good national backup quarterback, and Mike Ford could, again I said could, emerge as a fantasy superstar. This team can win in a few ways, and they return a pretty solid defensive unit. USF has made the jump, and it appears they’re here to stay. Syracuse Will be missed in 2008: For offensive units as woeful as the Orange, game breakers, like good songs by Nickelback, are nearly impossible to find. So when guys like Taj Smith decide to move on, it, like listening to a song by Nickelback, really hurts. Smith will look to take his 44-822-5 season to the NFL, and the Orange will have to rely even more on wide receiver Mike Williams while defensive units are able to key on him even more. Fantasy star in 2008: Mike Williams is the sole draftable commodity for the Orangemen, and 60-837-10 in 2007 will be hard to match. The junior-to-be will likely be playing for some NFL bucks, so provided someone can wing him the ball he’ll put up decent numbers. I don’t think he’ll score 10 again, but the 6’2” wide receiver is a top Big East wide out, and a late-round national selection. Fantasy sleeper of 2008: I’m a believer in Andrew Robinson. I think he has a chance to be pretty darn…decent… in 2008. He’s got some talent, a true threat out wide and if he can get a bit of time, Robinson can be a pretty solid fantasy quarterback. Still the likelihood that Robinson’s name is brought up at any point during your fantasy season is not very good. Looking down the road, da Cuse will welcome early-enrollee running back Averin Collier in 2008, and while he may only see spot duty, he’s going to be a pretty good one. The Rochester native is staying close to home, and this is usually a good thing when pondering whether a recruit will last a few years in a particular program. Collier is a worth a keeper look. 2008 Fantasy Outlook: I paraphrase former Celtic Coach Rick Pitino when I say that Jim Brown ain’t walking through that door. Don McPherson ain’t walking through that door. Donovan McNabb ain’t walking through that door. What we have is an offense a lot like UCONN’s, except Syracuse doesn’t have half the grit of the Huskies. It just seems like Syracuse should be rocking the Carrier Dome with an Arena Bowl offense that has fans going crazy for their beloved upstate squad. Instead we get a whole lot of nothing. Williams is a very good receiver. Robinson could be a good quarterback. The running game will see Curtis Brinkley and Delone Carter share carries. So the chances that the 2008 Cuse offense becomes decent, or that Coach Greg Robinson is coaching in Syracuse in 2009, are not very good. West Virginia Will be missed in 2008: I remember being excited about Jason Gwaltney and what he could do in the West Virginia system. So much for that optimism. Steve Slaton leaves Morgantown following what we’d deem an off year, however a career with nearly 5,000 yards from scrimmage and 57 scores will be almost impossible to replace. Despite that annoying touchdown vulture at quarterback Slaton was a fantasy star. Many a fantasy title came on the back of number 10, and Noel Devine has some big shoes to fill. We were high on Darius Reynaud heading into 2007 and he didn’t disappoint. Reynaud was the receiving option in the Mountaineer attack, and the likelihood is that his 836 yards from scrimmage and 13 scores will be spread among a few wide receiving options. Fantasy star in 2008: Provided he can stay healthy, expect more of the same from Pat White (28-35 scores). He will fend off Jarrett Brown and continue to develop as a passer. Sure he didn’t throw a ton of passes, and most were safe tosses, but only throwing four picks displays improved decision-making. It’s too easy to hold his injury-induced struggles against Pitt against him. Sure it throws up a few more durability flags, but a healthy Pat White will be just fine. Spending a high draft pick on Noel Devine brings a little bit of risk, sort of like mixing beer and liquor. Things may turn to be a lot of fun, however there’s the chance you may be wondering what just happened. Adding to his tenuous academic situation, Devine was recently involved in little bar altercation. While Devine may have a monster sophomore season, drafting Devine with long-term hopes of fantasy success is riskier than wearing crocs into a biker bar. Fantasy sleeper of 2008: With each poor decision made by Mr. Devine, freshman running back Terrance Kerns moves higher up on our sleeper board. Kerns will depart Hargrave Military Academy, and the big back will likely see his share of carries, whether or not Devine stays out of trouble. At minimum Kerns has great keeper potential. 2008 Fantasy Outlook: Whenever a team decides to replace the interim tag and hire a coach full-time, there’s a bit of concern that the school is putting familiarity and convenience over finding the best candidate. From a fantasy perspective this familiarity is a good thing. Bill Stewart is not Rich Rodriguez, but he’s close enough to keep fantasy expectations high. Sure there are questions surrounding Devine, the receiving group, and Pat White’s durability, but there is also reason to believe that both White and Devine will emerge as top fantasy producers in 2008. Whew. Next up are the Irish and a little non-BCS talent.

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