Showing posts with label Kenny Britt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kenny Britt. Show all posts

A Hump Day Look Around the Big East Football Landscape

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Here's what I've got for you:

Vidal Links

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Former USC wide receiver Vidal Hazleton decided in December to transfer and has been looking at a variety of options. He was first quoted as saying that Rutgers and Missouri were his top two choices. Now, his father Dexter remarks: "I think (Missouri and Rutgers) are out..."

Hazelton is reportedly now deciding whether to transfer to a D-1AA (Delaware is mentioned as a possibility -- his good buddy Pat Devlin will be playing there) to be able to play immediately, or to another D-1A school (Pitt and Syracuse are mentioned as options -- he would have to sit out one year in order to play).

Chas from Pitt Blather is not feeling optimistic about Hazelton coming to Pittsburgh. That being said, Hazelton was highly recruited coming out of high school and had a tremendous sophomore year for the Trojans, garnering 50 grabs and four touchdowns. It will certainly be interesting to see where he lands, whether it's a Big East school or elsewhere.

The Donald is Cashing In

Saturday, January 3, 2009

No, we're not talking about Donald Trump, although he's probably cashing in as well. We're talking about UCONN tailback Donald Brown who is fresh off a 261 yard performance in an International Bowl win over the Buffalo Bulls. Brown now concedes that he will be forgoing his senior season in Storrs to pursue opportunities in the NFL.


Brown is a junior and has one more year of eligibility to play college football. When asked prior to the bowl game if he was planning on leaving he said that he would stay, but as time went on reports surfaced that he and head coach Randy Edsall would discuss the matter further at a later time.


At the press conference after the International Bowl, Brown said the following:


"I'm not coming back, I'm going to the NFL. I know I told you guys earlier
that I was coming back but that was too [sic] eliminate the distractions on our
team. We had enough internal distractions going on and they didn't need that one
as a burden as well so I apologize for "lying" for what I did to protect my
team. They mean the world to me, so I'm willing to put my neck on the line for
them."

"To be honest with you, going into the season, I worked my tail off and I
made it a point to myself in the position to have the option to stay or leave.
As time grew closer and I just kept sleeping on it for nights and nights and I
just felt in my heart that was best for me. It was one of the toughest decisions
I ever had to make in my life."With the guy next to me [coach Randy Edsall]
giving me advice along the way and my parents and my high school coach made it a
lot easier for me."

This should not be unexpected at all and the UCONN backfield is left in the talented hands of Jordan Todman (who had a solid performance in the International Bowl as well) and Andre Dixon. The Huskies will also have a new quarterback handing the ball off to the new backfield; a possibility at QB is Notre Dame transfer Zach Frazier.
Brown is the second junior Big East football player who today declared that they would not return to college next year. Earlier today, Rutgers wide receiver Kenny Britt also declared his intention to make a jump to the pros. Currently, nfldraftdog.com has Brown tabbed as a 2nd round value and Britt as a 4th round value for this year's draft. It's disappointing to see these fine talents leave the Big East, but it does show potential Big East recruits that the league is producing top notch talent that can make a smooth foray into the NFL.

Yes UCONN!

Well Big East fans, it all came down to today and the UCONN Huskies to conclude the conference's bowl season in the International Bowl against Buffalo. This was today's only bowl being broadcast and another opportunity for the Big East to showcase its wares against the MAC Conference champion led by hot coaching commodity, Turner Gill. UCONN did not disappoint as they overpowered the Bulls 38-20 in a game that demonstrated why Donald Brown was certainly overlooked as a Doak Walker finalist (and winner).

As mentioned, Donald Brown was worth the price of admission, carrying the ball 29 times for 261 yards (nine yards per carry) and a touchdown. With over 200 yards in the first half alone, Brown and soon-to-be departed offensive coordinator Rob Ambrose made it clear to Buffalo that they were going to be partying like it's 1909 by running play after play after play. Husky quarterback Tyler Lorenzen only made six pass attempts, completing four of them for 49 yards and a touchdown.

UCONN sealed the game with a little over two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Buffalo quarterback Drew "free" Willy was picked off in the endzone by Husky linebacker Dahna Deleston, who in turn, rushed the ball back 100 yards for another score. UCONN ends their season 8-5.

All three International Bowls ever played have now been won by Big East teams (Cincinnati in 2007 and Rutgers in 2008), while UCONN gets their first bowl win since a victory over Toledo in 2004's Motor City Bowl. The Big East Conference concludes the bowl season 4-2, and are now 12-4 in bowls since 2006 (certainly something boast about when negotiating new bowl tie-ins).

More on Donald Brown:

It is still unclear whether Donald Brown plans on returning for his senior season. He smiled while evading a post-game interview question, instead noting that he would be celebrating the victory with his teammates. There is no question, that with the early departure of top flight running backs Shonn Greene (Iowa), Knowshon Mareno (Georgia), and Javon Ringer (Mich. State), Brown would be considered a leading candidate for the the Doak Walker award in 2009. The Heisman may prove at least somewhat elusive for DB because it is unlikely that UCONN will perform well enough (a BCS bowl appearance is helpful when pushing a Heisman candidate) in the 2009 season. That being said, there is a lot excitement in Storrs over the potential of Notre Dame transfer QB Zach Frazier to lead the team to more promising results. For right now, I encourage all UCONN and Big East fans to revel in the success of the conference's regular and bowl seasons.

First standings, then links:

Pac 10 5-0
SEC 5-2
Big East 4-2
CUSA 3-2
Big 12 3-2
MWC 3-2
Sun Belt 1-1
ACC 4-6
WAC 1-4
Big 10 1-5
Indies 0-2
MAC 0-4