Signing day has come and (nearly) gone, filled with celebration and upheaval. Sort of like life. We're here to parse what can be parsed and detail the recruiting classes that were for the major conferences.So, who had the best recruiting class in the Big East? It seems to depend on who you ask. West Virginia was tops according to Rivals.com and Scout.com. ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc., however, had them at number three. Rutgers was ranked first, third and fourth in the various team rankings. Only South Florida seemed to have consistency at the two spot.
There is no question that the Mountaineers got offensive talent that would thrive in their old spread schemes. Whether it will still happen under the Bill Stewart and Jeff Mullen version of the offense is the big unknown. The headliners were running back Tavon Austin and quarterback Eugene Smith. Both are players that fit perfectly in the spread option offense.
The player that may have the most immediate impact would be JUCO defensive end Tevita Finau. West Virginia also got more help for the defensive line with Dominik Davenport, a defensive tackle from Virginia.
Unlike in the actual season, South Florida closed the recruiting season strong as Jim Leavitt appears to be doing more in Florida than just picking up kids missed by Florida, Miami and Florida State. Ryne Giddens is one of the top defensive ends in the country and chose USF over all the Florida programs along with Tennessee and North Carolina.
The defensive side, was definitely a place where USF hauled in some major talent. Defensive tackle Khyri Thornton is one of the top prep school players. Ricardo Dixon is an underrated cornerback that South Carolina, Auburn and Florida State wanted.
Much like the actual season, Rutgers recruiting had ups and downs. The Scarlet Knights pulled in a lot of talent early, especially getting quarterback Tom Savage out of Eastern Pennsylvania. Then they started the season 1-5 and several top verbal commits started looking elsewhere. At the last minute, Rutgers pulled in a couple more solid players in tight end Malcolm Bush and defensive tackle Isaac Holmes and to complete a very strong class.
Dave Wannstedt has provided Pitt with the Big East's top recruiting class the prior three years. This year the class was solid, but not eyepopping. Part of that was having the second smallest class with only twenty signees. Todd Thomas, a wide receiver, has the size and sure hands to provide another big target. Of the class, seven are offensive or defensive linemen, as Pitt works on building depth on the lines. Jack Lippert, a defensive end looks to be the best defensive player in the class.
At Cincinnati, Brian Kelly continues to build the team for the spread. Nearly one-third of the recruiting class were receivers or tight ends. The best player in the class, though is cornerback Chris Williams. A local kid, and one of the top players in the state.
It is not like Steve Kragthorpe does not know he is under pressure to win soon at Louisville. He has made excuses for the drop-off after following Bobby Petrino left. When your recruiting class has four JUCOs and possibly three more signing soon, well that is a clear indication of desperation and needing to win now. Adam Froman, a JUCO quarterback, has a good shot at playing immediately.
For UConn, it is still about coaching up the players they get and finding the sleepers. Dwayne Difton, a wide receiver from Florida fits the sleeper category. Given the struggles in the Huskies passing game, he could also provide immediate impact.
Despite one of the worst recruiting classes in the country, Syracuse fans are actually feeling something resembling optimism as the Doug Marrone era begins. Greg Robinson did not just do a lousy job of coaching, he was sub-par as a recruiter. The Orange only had three verbals when Marrone was hired in mid-December. That Syracuse was able to cobble together eleven more in the brief time was not too bad. There is actually a chance they could still land one of the top running backs in the country in David Oku. That the Orange even got in the picture at this late date gives hope.
