By
Pete Fiutak
-
2006 Big East Spring Analysis
-
2007 Preseason Lookaheads -
Big East
Cincinnati
Spring Practice
Begins: March 27 Game: April 21
The early spring buzz ... Is football the new king at Cincinnati?
It might have more to do with the
basketball program's slide than the
ascension of football, but as evidenced
by the new ticket policy that doesn't
force fans to buy football tickets to
get prime hoops games, and with the
turnaround last year, things are
changing. Now the fans have to show up.
Duke is the only BCS program that brings
in less fans, but if Brian Kelly can be
as successful as he was at Central
Michigan, that'll change.
The big spring question is ... How will things change under
the new coaching staff? Expect the
defense to be a little worse and the
offense to be a lot better. Mark
Dantonio was a defensive head coach,
while Kelly is all about his explosive
version of the spread offense. Things on
both sides of the ball will stay the
same, for the most part, but Kelly will
bring more pop and give more
responsibility to the quarterback to
make plays through the air.
The most important position to watch is ... Quarterback.
Dustin Grutza has plenty of experience
after two mediocre years, but is he
really the type of passer/runner to
handle Kelly's attack? He grew into more
of a running option as last year went on
and is a good enough thrower to be the
number one guy throughout spring drills.
However, Craig Carey and Tony Pike will
each get shots at the job, and Wake
Forest transfer Ben Mauk will soon be on
campus offering more of a runner to the
mix.
Spring attitude... Build on what Dantonio started. The Big
East has suddenly become nasty, but UC
was able to navigate its way through to
win eight games and go 4-3 in conference
play. Step one is to beat all the teams
it's supposed to (like Connecticut and
Syracuse) while still coming up with
wins over the top teams. The schedule is
just light enough to hope for another
bowl year, which would be more than
acceptable in a transition year. Then
Kelly and the program can shoot for
bigger things.
Connecticut
Spring Practice
Begins: March 13 Game: April 14
The early spring buzz ... Things have been going slowly downhill
over the last few years under head coach
Randy Edsall, and while he's not
necessarily on a hot seat, a turnaround
season is a must to keep things from
getting warm next year. Several freshmen
were needed to fill key holes and the
quarterback situation was never quite
settled. Worse yet for a program that's
always played above its talent on D was
a porous run defense that got
steamrolled over by everyone. With a
bulk of the experience returning,
another 1-6 season in Big East play
won't be acceptable.
The big spring question is ... How will the run defense be
better? The Huskies got pounded on for
180 yards per game and didn't have the
offensive pop to get back in games after
getting down. Unfortunately, the
interior of the defense takes a hit
losing big tackles Ray Blagman and Rhema
Fuller, but all three starting
linebackers return and there's size
waiting to step in up front in 315-pound
Lawrence Green and 275-pound Rob Lunn.
This is a good group at getting into the
backfield, now it has to hold up against
the better lines.
The most important position to watch is ... Quarterback. Part
of the problem was a porous offensive
line that never gave the quarterbacks
time to work, and part of the problem
was that the quarterbacks were just bad.
D.J. Hernandez hasn't come close to
living up to expectations meaning Tyler
Lorenzen and Iowa State transfer Dennis
Brown will get plenty of reps. The UConn
quarterback doesn't have to throw for
300 yards a game; he just has to keep
things moving and be efficient.
Spring attitude... Get to October unbeaten. To do that, the
team has to be fully jelled by September
first meaning every practice is vital.
Outside of a road trip to Pitt,
September is as easy as it gets playing
at Duke, Maine, Temple, and Akron. If
the Huskies can pull off the upset over
the Panthers, they'll be 5-0 with four
home games left to play. At worst, the
team has to be 4-1 to have any hope of
going bowling.
Louisville
Spring Practice
Begins: March 30 Game: April 20
The early spring buzz ... The Cardinals suffered their first loss
of the season when Keith Patterson, new
head coach Steve Kragthorpe's right hand
man and defensive coordinator, left to
go back to Tulsa to coach under Todd
Graham. It was simply a case of family
issues, but it still might make for a
bit of an adjustment period until the
new defensive coordinator can be found
before the end of March.
The big spring question is ... Can the program keep up the
same production and momentum it had
under Bobby Petrino? If Kragthorpe is as
good as he was in Tulsa, it's possible.
Getting Brian Brohm back for his senior
season is a major plus, while receivers
Harry Douglas and Mario Urrutia will
help keep the offense among the best in
the nation. While there will still be
balance, look for Kragthorpe to give
Brohm even more responsibility and let
him throw even more.
The most important position to watch is ... Cornerback. The
secondary was great at short to midrange
stuff and lousy deep getting burned way
too often. It might not help that
starting corners Gavin Smart and William
Gay are gone along with strong safety
Brandon Sharp. Juniors-to-be Rod Council
and Bobby Buchanan will get the first
looks at the starting corner jobs until
superstar JUCO transfer Woddny Turenne
is ready. If they're tight, the overall
defense should be among the Big East's
best.
Spring attitude... National title? Really? It's more than
just a distant dream with many of the
key pieces back from last year's 12-1
squad and with the toughest
non-conference game at Kentucky. The
second half of the year will be a bear
with four road games in the final six
before finishing up with Rutgers. To
navigate the tough conference waters,
Brohm has to stay healthy and be even
better than he's been so far in his
magnificent career.
Pitt
Spring Practice
Begins: March 17 Game: April 14
The early spring buzz ... 11-12 isn't exactly what the
program envisioned when Dave Wannstedt
took over after the Panthers went to the
Fiesta Bowl under Walt Harris, but there
needed to be an overall upgrade of speed
and talent while the rest of the Big
East got better. After closing out 2006
with a five game losing streak when the
Panthers needed just one win to go
bowling, it's time for results and, at
the very least, a winning season or the
pressure is going to be turned up
several notches. Wannstedt is supposed
to be a top-notch defensive coach, but
his D died down the stretch giving up
46, 45 and 48 in the final three games.
The big spring question is ... Has the talent gap narrowed between
Pitt and the rest of the league? The
Panthers went 2-5 in Big East play and
got obliterated by West Virginia and
Louisville to close out the season, but
help is on the way. The recruiting
classes have been tremendous, so yes,
the overall talent has improved by leaps
and bounds. While being patient isn't
always part of the plan, it might take
one more year before all the young
players come together and form a Big
East title contender. This is a young
team that should only get better.
The most important position to watch is ... Quarterback.
Everything else is slowly coming into
place, but someone has to step into
Tyler Palko's big shoes. Bill Stull
spent the last two seasons as the top
backup and knows the offense, and Kevan
Smith has had plenty of practice reps,
but they might be keeping the seat warm
until fall when star recruit Pat Bostick
comes to campus. Will Wannstedt entrust
his team with a true freshman? With
layups against Eastern Michigan and
Grambling State to start the season,
it's possible.
Spring attitude... Live through the growing pains. This is
such a young team that it's going to
take a little while for any consistency
to form. The quarterback situation has
to be settled, the best skill players
have come aboard in the last two years,
and the team's two superstar defensive
players, LB H.B. Blades and CB Darrelle
Revis, have to be replaced. Look at 2007
as a mini-step forward before taking a
giant leap in 2008.
Rutgers
Spring Practice
Begins: March 24 Game: April 21
The early spring buzz ... Last year doesn't appear to be any sort
of a fluke, and the future is only
looking brighter. First, head coach Greg
Schiano is still at the school, not a
lock when the season finished last year
and with several major openings. Second,
the recruiting classes are getting
better and better. Schiano and his staff
have always been able to keep one or two
top prospects at home, but now the fence
built around New Jersey is getting
harder and harder for other schools to
get past. There's a lot for long
suffering Scarlet Knight fans to be
fired up about.
The big spring question is ... Will the passing game improve?
When you have Ray Rice and Brian
Leonard, why throw it? Now Leonard is
off to the NFL and defenses have had
plenty of time to focus on how to stop
Rice. Mike Teel was a big-time recruit
who simply needs to be efficient after a
mediocre year. The 6-4, 220-pound junior
has the arm, and has his wide receivers
back, and now he has to complete more
than 60% of his passes and throw more
touchdown passes than interceptions.
The most important position to watch is ... Linebacker. The
defensive line will end up being just
fine and the secondary has plenty of
talent with three starters returning,
but the linebacking corps needs a little
work after losing the team's number two
(Devraun Thompson) and three (Quintero
Frierson) tacklers and their 161
tackles. If the nation's 17th best run
defense struggles, this is why. Now's
when the good recruiting classes are
supposed to kick in.
Spring attitude... It's O.K. to talk national championship.
The team should be better than last
year, and the schedule, once again,
isn't all that bad. The only
non-conference game worthy of showing up
for is a home date with Maryland, while
West Virginia and South Florida have to
come to Piscataway. The road games?
Syracuse, Connecticut and Army before
what might be the make-or-break game in
the regular season finale against
Louisville for, yes, the BCS
championship game.
South Florida
Spring Practice
Begins: March 20 Game: April 14
The early spring buzz ... After turning the corner with the
young program with a 9-4 season and a
dominant bowl win over East Carolina,
South Florida appears on the verge of
taking the next step and becoming a full
blown challenger for the Big East title
and a BCS spot. Eight starters return on
offense and seven on defense along with
both kickers, so if you liked last year,
you might love this season (more on that
below). Now the program has become the
hunted as much as the hunter.
The big spring question is ... Will the offense be consistent enough
to beat all the teams it should? Defense
is never going to be an issue for a Jim
Leavitt team, and the offense should be
fine. However, it can't do what it did
last year and struggle against the
mediocre defenses. Matt Grothe has a
year of quarterbacking experience under
his belt, and there are veterans at all
the other key skill players (not
including the addition of star running
back recruit Mike Ford) to go along with
all five starters back on the line.
Basically, the attack can't help but be
more consistent if Greg Gregory, who
takes over the offensive coordinator
role from Rod Smith, has a good year.
The most important position to watch is ... Outside
linebacker. Stephen Nicholas and Pat St.
Louis were longtime stalwarts of the
defense and great all-around bookends.
With Josh Julmiste gone off the
defensive line, the new starters on the
outside might have to do more than load
up against the run. Marvin Peoples will
get the first look on the strongside in
place of Nicholas bringing more size,
while Sam Miller is a smaller, quicker
option on the weakside in place of St.
Louis.
Spring attitude... Don't gear everything to one game. South
Florida makes a living off the giant
killer role, and it'll get its chance at
Auburn in the second week of the year.
With West Virginia coming up at the end
of September, USF will either be
America's darling or a Big East also-ran
after the first month. It's a long
season and the Big East should be wild,
so winning every game, and staying
focused, is vital.
Syracuse
Spring Practice
Begins: March 21 Game: April 21
The early spring buzz ... It's do-or-die time. Everyone accepted it
might take a while to turn around the
program, but head coach Greg Robinson
has struggled going just 5-18 in his
first two years. The offense has been
pathetic, the defense has been lousy,
and the program has gotten its doors
blown off by the rest of the conference
ever since it was passed over by the ACC
for Boston College. SU doesn't have to
win the Big East title, but it can't be
last (or close to the bottom) in every
major statistical category again.
The big spring question is ... Will the offensive line be any
better? The Orange front five got little
to no consistent push for the running
game and was abysmal in pass protection
allowing a whopping 45 sacks. Three
starters return and all the depth is
back, but there has to be one thing the
group does well for the offense to
finally have an identity.
The most important position to watch is ... Quarterback.
Linebacker could turn out to be the
team's biggest issue with the loss of
Kelvin Smith in the middle and outside
starters Luke Cain and Jerry Mackey, but
there are plenty of options to work
with. Finding better quarterback play is
everything to an offense that did next
to nothing under Perry Patterson over
the last three years. It's Andrew
Robinson's show now with the size and
all around skills to progress into the
type of player the offense has been
desperate for. Now he needs time to
work.
Spring attitude... Survive the first half of the year. This
is still a program in need of a ton of
work and time, but it's not going to get
it in September playing three road games
(Iowa, Louisville and Miami University)
tougher-than-they-look home games
against Washington and Illinois. October
roars in like a lion with West Virginia
and Rutgers coming to the Dome, but if
the Orange can somehow be 3-4 after the
first seven games, a 6-6 season is
possible with things easing up later.
West Virginia
Spring Practice
Begins: March 5 Game: April 7
The early spring buzz ... No longer the Cinderella, West Virginia is
now a bona fide superpower, and it
appears to be embracing the role as
spring ball starts. Rich Rodriguez isn't
coaching in the NFL, he's not at
Alabama, he's still in Morgantown and no
one's blinking twice anymore when the
Mountaineers are considered among the
national title contenders. The offense
should be explosive, as always, but ...
The big spring question is ... Will the defense be any
better? The production fell off the map
allowing 39 points in the three-overtime
win over Rutgers and 35 to Georgia Tech,
not to mention the 44 allowed to
Louisville to spark a lousy second-half
of the season. The 3-3-5 scheme will
still be in place, but Rodriguez and his
staff are spending spring ball tinkering
with it to add new wrinkles. The two
biggest issues, pass rush and secondary
play, go hand-in-hand.
The most important position to watch is ... Center and guard.
As the quarterback on the line, Dan
Mozes was as integral a part of the
high-powered offense as Pat White and
Steve Slaton. Finding guards who can
move and play like Jeremy Sheffey aren't
easy to find. The Mountaineer system
cranks out productive linemen, but it's
not going to be easy for Mike Dent to be
Mozes, if he wins the center job, and
for John Bradshaw to be Sheffey right
off the bat.
Spring attitude... Get back to the BCS. Six road games will
push the team hard, especially with
dates at South Florida, Maryland and
Rutgers, but as long as White and Slaton
are healthy, and if the defense is
better, this will be among the nation's
best teams with the potential to be the
best yet under Rodriguez. A national
title might be too tough with this
schedule, but there's no reason to shoot
lower than the Big East title.
