Top 5 Big East Players for 2009

1. George Selvie - USF - Defensive End - Normally I like to focus on the top offensive players in my conference previews, but with George Selvie this is a different case. Selvie would have been about a first round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, but he decided to stay in college another year and he will reap the benefits. He is a 2 time All American and he will make the University of South Florida defense much better in the 2009 season.

2. Matt Grothe - USF - Quarterback - On the other side of the ball, we have Matt Grothe. Grothe hasn't had a season where he threw for under 2,500 yards, and he started as a freshman at USF. He almost threw for 3,000 yards last season and he threw for 18 touchdowns. These numbers are sure to increase from last year. With Grothe becoming a senior, there is no way his numbers will fall from his last 3 years and is sure to be at least an All Conference selection.

3. Noel Devine - West Virginia - Running Back - His name has been famous since his junior year in high school. He was a youtube.com star with his high school clips. Now, he will finally get the national recognition he deserves though. He has only had one year as the featured back at West Virginia, but this year neither Pat White nor Steve Slaton will be there and there is nobody in Noel Devine's way from being the star at West Virginia.

4. Andrew Robinson - Syracuse - Quarterback - Even with the arrival of Greg Paulus, Andrew Robinson should still be the starting quarterback for Syracuse. With Syracuse's star wide receiver, Mike Williams, coming back fresh from his year long suspension, Andrew Robinson should have no problem being one of the best quarterbacks in the Big East conference this season.

5. Vidal Hazelton - Cincinnati - Wide Receiver - After taking a year off because of his transfer out of USC, Hazelton should be the leader of Cincinnati's offense next season. Not too many people have heard of Vidal Hazelton, but that is because he was overshadowed in USC's powerful offense. This former #1 Wide Receiver of the 2006 recruiting class according to Scout.com should be ready to take over as one of the nation's best receivers this season. He just needs to prove it on the field now.

All statistics and information used in this article were obtained from ESPN.com and Scout.com.