By the numbers, Big East had big draft

By Darrell Laurant  |   Thursday, April 30, 2009  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article!

Gee, maybe the Big East has been underrated as a football conference.

Certainly, Syracuse Post-Standard beat writer Donnie Webb made a good point in a recent blog post.

At first glance, the numbers of 2009 NFL draftees from the BCS conferences seemed to comprise a predictable pecking order -- 37 for the SEC, 33 for the ACC, 32 for the Pac-10 and Big Ten, the Big XII and Big East in arrears at 27 each.

The thing is, Webb noted, the Big East is the smallest conference in the mix with just eight teams. If you crunch the numbers differently, then, the Big East led the pack with 3.7 picks per team.

And how about Cincinnati? Obviously, there was a reason why the Bearcats won the league title -- six UC players were drafted, which tied Brian Kelly's team for third in the nation.

In case you wondered, Southern Cal was far out in front with 11 draftees. Ohio State had seven, as did the unlikely duo of South Carolina and Oregon State. Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Oregon and, yes, Cincinnati were next in line.

Then there was Connecticut, which placed four players in the first two rounds -- including running back Donald Brown, the first Big East player picked (by Indianapolis).

True, the Big East was largely ignored in the first round, with Brown sitting on the sidelines until pick No. 27. Then Louisville center Eric Wood went to Buffalo on the next pick and Rutgers wideout Kenny Britt was selected by Tennessee with the 30th selection.

Still, who would have thought that seven Big East teams would have multiple selections? Even lowly Syracuse had two (FB Tony Fiammetta and G Ryan Durand), which was more than Florida State, Tennessee and Notre Dame, among other perennial powers.

Meanwhile, a healthy number of other Big East players were signed as free agents.

The league's coaches can can only hope this has a trickle-down effect. If you're a blue-chip high school prospect with NFL dreams, the 2009 draft said loud and clear that the Big East will get you there as quickly as any other conference.
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article! (0)

About Darrell Laurant

...Sorry, Darrell Laurant's bio is currently not available. Please check back soon!
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report