Big East Football 2011 Preview: The Biggest Breakout Star on Each Team
Bilal Powell, Bruce Irvin, Mark Harrison, Geno Smith, Sio Moore—those are just a few of the players who broke onto the Big East scene with eye-opening campaigns last season.
Every year, dozens of Big East players go from unproven commodities to coveted contributors in the span of a single season, and 2011 promises to offer up plenty more breakout performances.
Once again, there’s a good mix of established veterans and intriguing up-and-comers throughout the conference, so it should be interesting to see which players rise to the top this year.
Here’s a look at a few Big East players who could be in store for bona fide breakout seasons in 2011.
Cincinnati: WR Kenbrell Thompkins
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The Cincinnati offense wasn’t the culprit for the extreme downturn that the Bearcats took last season. But it wasn’t as if the passing game remained as potent as it was in 2010.
The Bearcats finished the season with nearly 900 less passing yards even though the team had two reliable targets in Armon Binns and D.J. Woods.
Binns, who led the Big East with over 1,100 receiving yards and 10 TD catches, is now gone, but Woods is back and set to be the team’s go-to receiver this year.
Woods certainly can’t carry the passing game by himself though.
He'll get some needed help now that former Tennessee commit Kenbrell Thompkins is eligible.
Thompkins, a former 4-star JUCO recruit, is an imposing physical presence who could be a game-changer in Cincinnati’s pass-based attack.
The 6'1", 195-pound junior turned heads in the spring, and he should be able to keep that momentum going into the start of the season.
Connecticut: DE Jesse Joseph
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Even though nobody will be confusing Connecticut's defense with a brick wall any time soon, if you actually look over the Huskies’ defensive depth chart, you’ll see a lot of playmakers all over the field.
Guys like CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson and LB Sio Moore should be among the best in the Big East at their respective positions this season, but it’s the defensive line that’s the real headliner.
DT Kendall Reyes, one of the top senior pro prospects in the country, is the face of Connecticut’s talented line, but Reyes won’t be the only one leading the charge up front.
DE Jesse Joseph led the team with 7.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss in 2010, and he will play just as big of a part as Reyes.
Joseph is developing into one of the Big East's premier defensive players, and he should only continue to get better with more experience.
The 6'3", 260-pound junior failed to earn postseason all-conference honors last year, but that is sure to change in 2011.
Louisville: RB Victor Anderson
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Going into the 2010 season, many Louisville fans expected Victor Anderson to be the running back who powered the Cardinals offense and wowed NFL scouts. But Anderson relinquished that role to Bilal Powell, who ended up rushing for over 1,400 yards and 11 TDs in his senior season.
Powell’s production rocketed him up draft boards, and he was eventually taken in the fourth round by the New York Jets.
Anderson must have watched his teammate and wondered why that wasn’t him.
The former Big East Rookie of the Year has failed to find a level of consistency over the past two seasons, rushing for just 759 yards in two years.
Now that he’s finally fully healthy, it could be time for Anderson to return to his freshman form.
The 5'10", 190-pound senior will have to defer some carries to standout sophomore Jeremy Wright, but if he can stay injury free, Anderson should once again be an important part of Louisville’s offense.
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Pittsburgh: RB Ray Graham
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Many people were left wondering why Dion Lewis failed to replicate his freshman exploits in his second season last year, which is odd because the answer was standing right behind Lewis for the entire 2010 season.
Lewis’ backup, Ray Graham, emerged as a viable backfield complement, and he gave coaches the confidence to feed him a bigger share of the carries.
Graham rushed for over 900 yards on just 148 carries, averaging 6.2 yards per touch, and he finished the season with 10 total TDs.
The 5'9", 195-pound junior is a versatile back who can be equally dangerous as both a runner and a pass catcher and he should play a big part in both phases of Pittsburgh’s offense in 2011.
With Lewis leaving for the NFL early, Graham is now the main man in the Pittsburgh backfield, and given his production from last season, he should be a top contender for the Big East rushing title.
Rutgers: RB Savon Huggins
5 of 8Greg Schiano usually comes up short in the race to land New Jersey’s elite high school recruits. But that changed this year, when Schiano landed one of the best recruiting classes of his tenure.
The jewel of the group is RB Savon Huggins out of St. Peter's Prep.
Huggins was rated as one of the nation’s top running back prospects by nearly every major recruiting service, and he was certainly the most sought-after senior in all of New Jersey.
Luckily for Schiano and the Scarlet Knights, the New Jersey native made the decision to stay in his home state and chose Rutgers over offers from schools such as Notre Dame, Auburn and North Florida State.
The 6'0", 190-pound freshman runs with a devastating combination of speed and power, and he should be able to make a smooth, quick transition to the college game.
Syracuse: LB Marquis Spruill
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It can’t be easy for a first-year player to make a name for himself when he's playing alongside standout linebackers like Derrell Smith and Doug Hogue.
Most players would simply get lost in the shuffle, but not Marquis Spruill.
In his first season straight out of Fork Union Military Academy, Spruill tallied 51 total takedowns, nine tackles for loss and two sacks.
With Smith and Hogue off to the NFL, Spruill will be asked to move to the middle linebacker spot, where he should be a natural.
Spruill, a 6'2", 225-pound sophomore, will now assume a leadership role on the Syracuse defense.
South Florida: RB Darrell Scott
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The marriage between Darrell Scott and the Colorado Buffaloes just never felt right from the beginning.
The most coveted running back recruit of the 2008 class could have played for any school in America, but Scott surprisingly chose a Colorado program that didn’t exactly have a reputation for hauling in many blue-chippers.
It turned out to be an unfortunate choice, considering the former 5-star prospect only lasted a little less than two seasons in Boulder, totaling just 438 yards and one touchdown.
Now the humbled recruiting hero will have a fresh start across the country in Tampa, where he’ll be counted on to be a solid contributor for a South Florida backfield that lacks a definitive No. 1 option.
Scott is the total package as far as skills go, and if his focus remains constant, he has a chance to finally live up to his high school hype.
West Virginia: WR Stedman Bailey
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QB Geno Smith and WR Tavon Austin won’t be the only beneficiaries of Dana Holgorsen’s newly installed Air Raid-inspired pass-heavy offensive system.
With an increased number of passes comes an increased number of opportunities for receivers other than Austin to become key offensive contributors, and Stedman Bailey is the team’s clear-cut second-best option.
Bailey finished the 2010 season with a modest 24 catches for over 300 yards and four scores. But after seeing firsthand what the redshirt sophomore had to offer in the 2010 spring game, I can tell you with a good amount of conviction that this kid is the real deal.
Bailey and Geno Smith are former high school teammates from Miramar High School in Florida, and it’s obvious that they’ve developed a special chemistry over the years.
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