WVU QB Jarrett Brown (6-3, 219)

Florida’s Tebow drew the throngs and gets Saturday’s start, but it was Brown, CBSSports.com’s Rob Rang wrote, who “was consistently the South’s best quarterback.” And who was, the National Football Post’s Wes Bunting wrote, “the most physically gifted quarterback here.”

Brown spent four years backing up Pat White, so with just this one year as a starter – and a sidelining-injury in the Gator Bowl – this week was very important for him. After running West Virginia’s spread from the shotgun, he had to show he could get under center and execute a five-step drop – and all the other footwork required of a classic pro-style quarterback. He did that and then some.

Brown’s body and athleticism were as billed, the ball came out of his hand well and Bunting gushed over how he spins the football, writing, “(he) can make some quality NFL throws.”

He will have to become more consistent over time, but as Mayock pointed out, he’s still raw.

“I think, ‘He doesn’t anticipate windows opening up and doesn’t respond to blitzes as well’ and then I have to tell myself, ‘Slow down, he’s only a one-year starter,’” Mayock said. “He’s a good-looking kid though and I think we’ll see good progress out of him.”

 WVU OL Selvish Capers (6-5, 304)

Capers is the perfect example of why scouting is absolutely an art, not a science. Just as former Browns and Ravens scout Daniel Jeremiah was tweeting of Capers, “Rough week, looked like a priority free agent. Waist-bender, slow feet, no anchor,” ESPN’s McShay was writing that he “was the best offensive lineman on the South team, showing good mobility.”

Capers has always gotten to the second level well and, after starting his career as a tight end, has decent athleticism. He holds blocks downfield well, he’s generally considered to have good lateral mobility and both McShay and the National Fooball Post’s Bunting think he’d be a good fit for a zone blocking scheme. He needs to get bigger and stronger, though, especially in the lower body.

“I want to believe he can play left tackle,” Mayock said, “but he needs to work on his technique.”

This year, as a fifth-year senior, Devin had one of the most decorated years of any Rutgers athlete. He was a captain (like his brother before him), he was an all-league corner (like his brother before him), he was a frighteningly fast receiver (again, like his brother) and now there’s chatter he could work his way into the first round.

Rutgers CB Devin McCourty (5-11, 186)

Teams threw away from McCourty and he still had 10 pass break-ups and 80 tackles. Oh, and he notched his sixth blocked kick this year. His sixth.

McCourty learned in watching his twin Jason go through the process a year ago that special teams versatility could be as much a ticket to the NFL as corner play. And so, he rarely took a play off (he notched 111 at UConn, a game where he returned a kickoff for a score), he was Rutgers’ gunner on punts too and NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock said he’s “been a very pleasant surprise.”

He mixed it up with some of the country’s best receivers down in Mobile this week, the experts at Draftinsiders.net wrote that he “physically beat down Mardy Gilyard on a number of instances,” and CBSSports.com’s Rob Rang said he “has the agility and straight-line speed for man coverage. He breaks on the ball quickly and has the active hands to rip away passes at the last moment.”

Mayock called him “a very quick, tough kid” and said as of now, he seems McCourty as a solid second round pick. And perhaps rising.

USF S Nate Allen (6-1, 205)

Allen’s had a huge week down in Mobile. He proved that the hips he shows on tape are just as fluid in person and that he really does cover even more ground than the tape sometimes shows. RealGMFootball.com’s Jeff Risdon said he has the best instincts of the South’s secondary and commended his anticipation of what the offense was going to do.

The National Football Post’s Wes Bunting was just as complimentary, writing, “Not only does he display good instincts and ball skills in coverage, he also possesses by far the best footwork of any safety on the South. He’s very quietly been one of the most impressive prospects here.”

Allen is quick and moves well, and though Mike Mayock said he’s been “a little bit inconsistent as a tackler,” the NFL Network analyst still sees him as a second round pick.

 USF CB Jerome Murphy (6-0, 191)

Murphy is a corner who absolutely locks the part. He has long, long arms, he’s not at all afraid to, as Mayock said, “stick his nose in there,” and he’s definitely got real physical strength.

Risdon said he did well this week in short-field conditions, citing examples on a fade route and an inside slant. Bunting wrote that he more be more of an athlete than a fundamentally sound corner, though.

“Murphy has a tendency to get too high and narrow with his footwork when asked to change directions and seems to simply glide in and out of his breaks instead of sharply driving on the ball,” he wrote at the National Football Post.

Still, Mayock said, “he’s a corner that I like. He’s a good football player.”

USF DE George Selvie (6-4, 247)

Remember when Selvie was the can’t-miss physical freak? It’s been two years since that breakout year, two unkind years.

“Selvie’s issue is that he’s just really not strong enough to hold the point against the run on a long term,” Mayock said, speculating that Selvie may fit better as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.

Selvie certainly needed a good week down in Mobile and while McShay did highlight one drill when Selvie knocked down Tennessee lineman Chris Scott – and in comparison made Alabama nose tackle Terrence Cody look weak – he mostly hasn’t earned the raves to suggest mission accomplished.

Bunting wrote that Selvie “looked stiff and was absolutely out of his element in space.” NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks didn’t like the way he came off the edge either and worried that he may “not be a major threat to get to the quarterback on the next level.”

RealGMFootball.com’s Jeff Risdon said it’s been “a poor week” for Selvie and so he clearly has his work cut out for him these next few months.

Gilyard’s one of the draft’s great stories, a player who’s gone from high school marijuana troubles to flunking out at Cincinnati to becoming one of the league’s best leaders. He’s been wildly productive on the field too (2,467 yards and 22 touchdowns in the last two years) and he’s a proven dynamo as a return man, which is always an added value come draft time. He has undeniably quick hands and feet, and in a phone conversation before practice started this week NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock said, “He sure is fun to watch on tape.”

In person in Mobile, Gilyard’s been just as fun – and occasionally not. After running a lot of slants, bubble screens and crosses in college, he’s shown he can run solid NFL routes and ESPN analyst Todd McShay wrote that he “got off the line better than any other wideout” during press coverage drills early in the week. But he’s also dropped a lot of balls and Wes Bunting of the National Football Post echoed many voices who’ve worried over Gilyard’s – as Bunting called it – “frail” frame.

“He lacks the physicality needed to consistently fight his way through physical corners, (he) hasn’t looked real explosive out of his breaks and (he) has had a tough time separating vs. man,” Bunting wrote.

Mayock had Gilyard pegged as an early second round pick. He may have some work to do come combine time to prove that’s where he stays.

Cincinnati QB Tony Pike (6-6, 212)

            While not quite drawing the same curiosity level as Tim Tebow, Pike certainly was one of the quarterbacks scouts were anxious to see this week. He closed his Cincinnati career by throwing for a touchdown in 17 straight games and amassing 5,018 yards and 49 touchdowns. His completion percentage (61.7) is the highest in school history, he’s shown  excellent touch on short passes and he came to Mobile with a reputation for accuracy and getting rid of the ball on time.

            He also came in with a reputation for scrawniness. And the Senior Bowl weigh-in – where he measured just 212 pounds – didn’t help his cause. Pike’s reportedly made an excellent interview subject and done his best to assuage fears about his injuries (he missed four games and has a metal plate in his left arm) this past week. McShay wrote that he was “very efficient” during seven-on-seven drills and commended him for having the best arm among the North quarterbacks.

            Pike will still have to prove he can make the transition from a spread offense to more pro-style ones and Mayock said right now, he’s likely a third round pick. At the same time, Mayock warned that it’s early yet for assessing quarterbacks. He remembers his fellow “experts” pegging Phillip Rivers as a third round pick just around this time too back in 2004.

            “He’s interesting because he’s a big kid, accurate and has an above-average arm,” Mayock said. “But is he going to put weight on?”

Will Mardy Gilyard prove scrawny legs and toughness are not mutually exclusive?

Has Devin McCourty made first round noise, is Jarrett Brown really turning the talk from Tim Tebow and did Mike Windt really sing Cincinnati’s fight song before Tuesday’s practice – while sprinting?

The last one gets a yes. But outside the Bearcats’ long snapper, the Big East’s Senior Bowl invitees are still in the process of answering all sorts of questions. They’ve been in Mobile all week, interviewing with NFL coaches and general managers, practicing for scouts and personnel directors, and hoping to send their draft stock skyward.

Eleven Big East players were invited down to college football’s premier all-star game. Syracuse defensive tackle Arthur Jones, after undergoing knee surgery in the fall, decided not to attend. Windt hasn’t net much of a scouting report – at least for his on the field attributes. Here’s a look at how everyone else rates before Saturday’s 4 p.m. kickoff at Ladd-Peebles Stadium:

Pittsburgh TE/WR Dorin Dickerson (6-1, 222)

With 529 yards and 10 touchdowns, Dickerson was an All-American at tight end. After a weigh-in that showed he’s two inches shorter than the Pitt media guide said, he practiced at wideout this week. The experts at NFLDraftScout.com said he lacked the speed to make the switch; ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said the switch sent his draft stock up.

“It was a somewhat risky move going to the outside, because instead of looking like the most athletic tight end, he could have turned into the slowest wide receiver,” McShay wrote. “But the versatility he showed this week has improved his stock.”

Dickerson has very good hands and an ability to get vertical. The more he works at wideout these next few weeks, the better he’ll be served. Of course, Mike Mayock thinks he’s actually an H-back.

“He’s intriguing,” the NFL Network draft analyst said. “He can contribute in a few ways. He’s most likely a third or fourth round guy.”

Distractions apparently boost memory… Did JD Salinger actually define adolescence? … Sure the economy’s growing, but that doesn’t mean much without jobs… Bill Gates rocks…

A BYU commit is visiting Cincinnati this weekend. (Deseret News)

UConn beat writer Desmond Conner answers questions every single day; here’s today’s version. (Hartford Courant)

Louisville got itself another wideout. (Louisville Courier-Journal)

The Bears called, but Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti’s staying put. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Some nice words about former Rutgers assistant and new Bucknell head coach Joe Susan. (The Daily Item)

A Piscataway resident is not so sure about Rutgers using its football stadium for more than football. (Home News Tribune)

A Q&A with Rutgers corner Devin McCourty from down at the Senior Bowl. (Scout.com)

Miami and Rutgers wanted him. He liked South Florida. Then the Bulls’ administration fired Jim Leavitt and Matt Canales and now Ace Sanders, one of the country’s top wideouts, is going to South Carolina. (GoGamecocks.com)

Someone thinks Skip Holtz has the pedigree to take USF where Jim Leavitt couldn’t. (xtrapointfootball.com)

Barry Switzer, Bob Knight and Isiah Thomas all got second chances. Why shouldn’t Jim Leavitt? (St. Petersburg Times)

A one-time FSU tackle committed to USF and then the new coaches came in and never called him. He’s not coming to USF anymore. (St. Petersburg Times)

Holtz did call on someone else. And that means USF should get a quarterback this weekend. (St. Petersburg Times)

Syracuse picks up a defensive back from Florida. (Syracuse Post-Standard)

West Virginia’s considering putting luxury suites where Milan Puskar Stadium’s press box is. (Times West Virginian)

The Mountaineers took time out to visit – and raise money for – the Boys and Girls Club in Parkersburg. (News and Sentinel)

Down at the Senior Bowl, Jarrett Brown will play behind Tim Tebow. But when has being a back-up ever riled him up? (Charleston Daily Mail)

Heading into next Wednesday, a look at the some of the busts – and bests – from 2006’s Day of Hype, aka Signing Day. (ESPN.com)

The power of staying after a goal: she finally got her degree, three weeks after her 100th birthday – and a day before she died… Toyota’s extending its recalls so check your cars… About time she leaves him…

First a coach UC wanted to keep left. Now a coach UC wanted gone is suing the school. (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Guess how many coaches in the FBS have been at their schools longer than Randy Edsall’s been at UConn. (ESPN.com)

Addressing UConn’s schedule. (Hartford Courant)

Jon Fabris re-thought leaving home and so Louisville replaces him with Miami recruiting coordinator Clint Hurtt. (Louisville Courier-Journal)

Pitt’s offensive coordinator may be interviewing with the NFL Bears. (Eye of a Panther)

Assessing a handful of candidates to replace Rutgers recruiting coordinator Joe Susan. (Bleed Scarlet)

George Selvie’s impressing at the Senior Bowl. (St. Petersburg Times)

Syracuse is pulling its new running backs coach from the state of Florida. (Syracuse Post-Standard)

Arthur Jones is skipping the Senior Bowl. I hope he’s okay. (News10Now.com)

West Virginia’s new QB could draw the hype. (Dr. Saturday)

Good news: Big East attendance shot up. Bad News: It still didn’t put a single school in the top 30 nationally. (ESPN.com)

Greg Schiano didn’t want to underrate Joe Susan. But after 10 years, he sure wasn’t going to cop to any unease either. Even if he is losing his recruiting coordinator just one week before Signing Day.

“It will have no impact,” Schiano confidently said Wednesday, just hours after Susan accepted the head coaching position at Bucknell.

Susan’s departure ends a nine-season run alongside Schiano at Rutgers. He was one of only three remaining staffers from the start of Schiano’s reclamation project – strength coach Jay Butler and head trainer Dave McCune being the other two – and he was one of only three current Schiano assistants who grew up in New Jersey.

“Certainly Joe’s an integral part, just as all our coaches are, in recruiting,” Schiano said. “It is late in recruiting. But the guys that Joe is directly recruiting we’ve had great relationships with, they’re strong and they (chose) Rutgers. Joe just happened to recruit them. I don’t think it’s a big issue.”

The bigger issue may be replacing Susan.

As a Bucknell assistant from 1981-90, it was Susan who recruited Schiano out of Ramapo to come play linebacker for the Bison. He put in nine years as Princeton’s offensive coordinator, finally got his shot as a head coach at Davidson, went 10-0 and was named Coach of the Year – and then immediately left for a shot to coach with Schiano.

“Greg and I had always talked about coaching together,” Susan said, just a few minutes after Schiano said he’d miss the man who once recruited him.

“When you work with someone for that long and you’ve know him as long as I have, there’s a lot of anticipation that occurs. There’s a familiarity,” Schiano said. “He’s a good friend as well as an assistant coach. He’s been a real good friend for me.”

Therefore replacing him, Schiano said, isn’t just a simple “one-for-one” proposition. He ultimately had to replace wide receivers coach Brian Jenkins – who left last month to become Bethune-Cookman’s head coach – twice after his first appointment returned to a previous job, and Schiano said the short list he created then is still fresh. Susan coached tight ends, but Schiano said he doesn’t necessarily look at position specialties when weighing coaches.

“It’s my belief, if you can coach, you can coach,” he said. “As long as we know what we’re teaching and secure in our scheme, our coaches, our coordinators and myself, we get them up to speed.”

Schiano said he may end up shifting current roles on his staff and he may in fact decide to forego naming an official recruiting coordinator at all. He said as long as he has the NCAA-maximum 10 coaches out visiting prospects, the coordinator position may be better handled by an administrator in the office.

“I’m always trying to look at the whole picture, not just look at it as a one for one replacement,” Schiano said. “I want to get the best person for Rutgers right now. Timing changes what your needs are in everything in life.”

Timing of course played a huge role in Susan’s decision. He said he worried, at 54, about waiting to return to head coaching and that after unsuccessfully throwing his name into the ring at Princeton a few weeks ago, his urgency increased.

“It’s hard to leave a place you’ve been at for 10 years,” he said. “I’ve lived in Princeton longer than I lived in my hometown.”

Where his kids were wary of leaving before, they’re all out of the nest now – his son is headed to law school, his one daughter just graduated from Rutgers and his youngest daughter is a freshman ice hockey player at Rutgers. And though Bucknell’s coming off three losing seasons and previous coach Tim Landis – who Susan ironically replaced at Davidson too – didn’t beat Lehigh or Lafayette in any of his seven seasons, Susan sees a lot of potential at Schiano’s alma mater.

“At this place we have a chance to be pretty good,” Susan said. “The administrators here are outstanding and there’s a lot of support.”

Leaving a BCS conference doesn’t bother him, he said, as his first coach told him, “Big time’s where you’re at.”

“The only difference in practice and preparation and getting ready for game day is that when you show up on game day,” he said, “the crowd’s a little bit different.”

It’s that attitude, and his long connections in the northeast that make Susan “perfect for the job,” Schiano said.

Now all Schiano has to do is find someone perfect for Susan’s old job.

Another survivor was pulled from the rubble in Haiti yesterday, two weeks after the Earthquake… That Tim Tebow spot for Focus on the Family that’s going to air during the Super Bowl cost a pretty penny… The good, the bad and the ugly on the Apple tablet…

The QB who committed to Cincinnati last spring is visiting Notre Dame this weekend; his high school coach said it’s not a case of Brian Kelly stealing recruits. (South Bend Tribune)

Tony Pike and Mardy Gilyard are impressing scouts at the Senior Bowl. (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Two Bearcats are on the Texas vs. Nation all-star game. (News Record)

Is UConn up for a jumpr in ticket sales? Where does Randy Edsall rank among college coaches? The answers and many more in this mailbag. (Hartford Courant)

Ohio’s Division II Player of the Year, who committed to Cincinnati, is visiting Louisville. (Louisville Courier-Journal)

Jim Caldwell readies Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne this week. Twenty-five years ago, it was the Louisville defensive backs. (Louisville Courier-Journal)

Pitt strength and conditioning coach Buddy Morris could be headed to the Redskins. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Pitt’s top incoming recruit tore the meniscus in his right knee while playing basketball. (Pitt Blather)

You want an inside look at Rutgers’ Junior Day? Hurry up and click on this before the link gets taken down. (Bleed Scarlet)

Devin McCourty could be making a push fo the first round. (Bleacher Report)

A thorough update on Rutgers’ recruiting. (Bleed Scarlet)

That helicopter Greg Schiano uses still impresses. (Press of Atlantic City)

The list of coaches who applied for USF’s top job is pretty impressive – and vast. (Tampa Tribune)

Checking in with the USF assistants Skip Holtz didn’t keep. (Tampa Tribune)

Jim Leavitt’s at the Senior Bowl, job hunting. (St. Petersburg Times)

West Virginia students make knucklehead fans. (The Smoking Musket)

Yet another person thinks Jarrett Brown is the most gifted QB at the Senior Bowl. Over Tim Tebow. (National Football Post)