Top 2011 Prospects by Conference (Big East, SEC, ACC)

Big East:

1. RB Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh**- Tomlinson Lite. A monster.
2. WR Jonathan Baldwin, Pittsburgh*- One of the most physically impressive WR prospects you'll ever see.
3. DE Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh- Fantastic passrusher, probably none better in the country.
4. RB Noel Devine, West Virginia- Small, but dynamic. One of a kind player, a better runner than McCluster. He's done everything right since getting to WVU.
5. RB Jordan Todman, UConn*- Explosive player permanently under the radar. Expect his numbers to be near the best in the country.
6. WR Armon Binns, Cincinnati- Tall, big play wideout among the best senior WRs in the nation.
7. S Robert Sands, West Virginia*- Big rangy safety that has started all but four games in his career at WVU. Potential is huge.
8. OT Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh- Was one of the best linemen in the country last year, but likely a guard in the NFL.
9. CB Brandon Hogan, West Virginia- Underrated corner that moved over from WR as a sophomore.
10. LB Greg Lloyd, UConn- THAT Greg Lloyd's son, gets a nod just over his highly touted teammate Lawrence Wilson.

Overview: Not exactly loaded in the Big East this year, then again, when is it really. The key will be that Pittsburgh trio up top, all could emerge as top 15 picks if they play as well as they're expected. The skill goes a little bit deeper than that, but don't expect many more than the 18 players they had drafted last year.


SEC:

1. WR AJ Green, Georgia*- Dominant force at WR. About as close to Randy Moss as a prospect as someone could get.
2. CB Patrick Peterson, LSU*- Dynamic cover corner that is the best in the nation even with a game that's pretty raw.
3. DE Marcel Dareus, Alabama*- Tide fans want to give him Randy White's "Manster" nickname. He's the key cog returning on the championship defense.
4. WR Julio Jones, Alabama*- Still waiting to see him dominate, but a lot of WRs didn't bust out until their junior year. Has the QB to do it.
5. DT Jerrell Powe, Ole Miss- Big Pappa Powe, true nose tackle prospect that will probably end up in the top 15.
6. RB Mark Ingram, Alabama*- Heisman winner plays a lot like Emmitt Smith, nothing overly flashy about the style but does everything really well.
7. QB Ryan Mallett, Arkansas*- Still has a long way to go as a player, but has an offense around him. He needs to excel.
8. LB Don'ta Hightower, Alabama*- The other ILB on that defense himself will himself end up as a top 20 pick.
9. S Mark Barron, Alabama*- Barron is ninth on this loaded list, but honestly could end up the #1 safety in the draft.
10. TE Luke Stocker, Tennessee- Favorite to be the best TE in the draft.

Overview: The SEC is absolutely loaded. I had to leave off a number of players that are probably better than most on the Big East list. Hell, there are probably four OTs in the SEC that are better than Jason Pinkston. Plus, there's a bunch of underclassmen that could very easily use their first chances as starters to rocket into the first round (see John Brantley and Will Hill).


ACC:

1. RB Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech**- Dynamic player, physical with great speed, excels at everything.
2. DE Robert Quinn, North Carolina*- A freak type player, the key playmaker on a defense loaded with talent.
3. S DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson- Would have been a 1st rounder if he left this season, the best safety in college football.
4. OT Anthony Costanzo, Boston College- One of the top contenders to be the #1 OT, great pedigree at BC.
5. OG Rodney Hudson, Florida State- Hudson is trying to hold off about 12 Gators to stay atop the OG rankings.
6. LB Bruce Carter, North Carolina- The leader of that Tar Heel defense gets overlooked too easily.
7. DT Marvin Austin, North Carolina- Talented DT needs to step up and make good on that potential.
8. S Deunta Williams, North Carolina- The best of a secondary that will have three guys drafted.
9. CB Ras-I Dowling, Virginia- Talented CB pushed down by the Heels.
10. WR Greg Little, North Carolina- A shame that so many underclassmen are pushing a talent like him down.

Overview: Yeah, I know the Heels are some kind of dominant, but the ACC as a whole has a lot of really good prospects available. There was a ton of really close calls that just missed the cut, like Mark Herzlich (if he's back where he was then he goes up near the top) and Allen Bailey (still all potential at this point).


I'll put up the rest in a couple days, just wanted to get the discussion going. What do you guys think? Any other players you really like that want to mention?

 

He's a solid player that can be a first round guy, but I think people are on the hype wagon a little early with him. I've seen the kid a lot, and right now I'd put him definitely out of the top ten for ACC players, and probably in the 6-8 range at corner, factoring in all UCs. I will say if he starts turning those deflections into turnovers then we'll talk about a big boost up.

 

Yeah, I have them all done, but I didn't want to overload one thread. Im a big Irving fan too, if he's 100% healthy, which I guess we'll only know when he's on the field considering how severe his accident was, he could easily be the best linebacker in the ACC. That battle between he, Herzlich, and the Carolina boys for best ACC LB will be a tight one. Really, there's a ton of talented LBs in the ACC, behind those four are Jersey boy Terp Alex Wujciak, VT's Barquell Rivers, FSU's Nigel Bradham, and Colin McCarthy of Miami come to mind immediately.

And my apologies for the lack of Gamecocks, a couple were on the cusp though. Jarriel King was one of the tackles that just missed but would be ahead of a lot of the BE players. Chris Culliver and Weslye Saunders are among my top 5 for their positions, and Cliff Matthews would be if this DE class wasn't so freakish. SC will have their year in 2012 with Gilmore and Jeffery.

 

Yeah I'm excited to see what McAdoo does with what should be a lot of extended PT. I put him on my big list of ends for next year because of what he could potentially do on that defense. Can't teach 6'7 and athletic. He could make that defensive end picture even murkier if he has a huge season.

 

They have some underrated skill guys that could emerge as All ACC players right along with their defenders. Greg Little is a beast, he is big and strong, and when he catches the ball he turns into a running back (where he switched from). He hasn't even been at receiver that long and he's already making huge strides. I like Armon Binns a lot, but I think if I were predicting a senior to jump up and take some of the 1st round hype all the UCs are getting, it'd be Little.

Shaun Draughn is a really underrated back too. I think that he was about ready to explode last year when he went down with the injury, and could be a difference maker as a senior. Ryan Houston isn't as good, but is a power back that gives them a different look behind Draughn. Zack Pianalto is a sleeper at Tight End too, was a reliable target last year after missing a lot of his sophomore season with injuries.

And to note, Little took the 10th spot on my ACC list from Kendric Burney, another UNC defender. Burney only makes plays in games I've seen him, detroying a Rutgers WR on a hit in 08 and picking off Jacory Harris like 12 times last season (really, three).

 

I'd agree that he's probably better than Bailey at this second as a prospect, because I'm not really sure Bailey knows how to play football yet. Not surprising that is a problem considering he's been moved around so much in his career.

No really other big names in play for the Canes besides a guy like Graig Cooper. Not sure what his plans are, but I'm guessing he'll play when he gets healthy and move on so he's not in the way next season. He's done a lot for the team at times, but I'd rather his carries go to the younger guys, Miller, James, and Johnson.

Orlando Franklin could be a guy teams look at as a RT/OG swing prospect, has played all over the line at UM. Collin McCarthy and Leonard Hankerson should get drafted too.

I hadn't really thought about where Damien Berry's going to go just yet, but I imagine that how he improves from last year to this will play a big part. If he continues to develop as rapidly as he has I definitely see him as a legitimate prospect. Probably no more than a 3-4 round guy, but solid.