With the new semester upon us, it is time to take a look at some of the early enrollees around the Big East.
West Virginia, USF and Cincinnati have released their new additions. I will have the rest of the early enrollees in the league once they are official. Pitt is the only Big East school that will have no players enrolled early for spring 2012.
Cincinnati:
Kevin Brown, S, Indianapolis, three stars
Deionte Buckley, RB, Indianapolis, three stars
Errol Clarke, LB, Miami
Bennie Coney, QB, Plant City, Fla., three stars
DeShawn Dowdy, TE, Akron, three stars
Marcus Foster, DB, Troy, Ohio, four stars
Jonathan Hayden, DL, Indianapolis
Keeno Hollins, LB, Cincinnati* walk-on
Trenton Norvell, QB, Daytona Beach, three stars
Josh Posley, DL, Indianapolis, three stars
Notes: Foster is the highest rated recruit the Bearcats have on their board, and ESPN rates him the No. 19 player at his position in the country. Once a position of weakness, this one could be a position of strength headed into 2012 with three starters returning and plenty of others providing quality depth. Foster is just another solid player to add into the mix; we will see how he handles spring practice and how much of a factor he will be this upcoming season. It's also good to see both Coney and Norvell enrolled early. That gives the Bearcats some added depth at the position, with starter Zach Collaros gone.
USF
Chris Bivins, DB Gainesville, Fla., four star
James Hamilton, DL, Orlando, Fla., four star
Eric Lee, DL, Daphne, Ala., three star
Notes: All three of these positions definitely need players who can add depth, so it is good to see early enrollees who could make an immediate impact here. You can bet these three players will not only benefit from being around for spring practice, they also will benefit from having extra time in the strength and conditioning program. Bivins, for one, is listed at 5-foot-11, 166 pounds out of high school. Also, wide receiver Alex Mut will be with the team after greyshirting in the fall. Mut injured his knee toward the end of his high school career.
West Virginia
Imarjaye Albury, DT, Miami, Fla., two star
Ford Childress, QB, Houston, four star
Karl Joseph, S, Orlando, Fla, three star
Jordan Thompson, WR, Katy, Texas
Sean Walters, S, Hallandale Beach, Fla., three star
Notes: Childress is the lone ESPNU 150 player the Mountaineers have so far, and it is huge to have him on campus to begin learning from Dana Holgorsen and Geno Smith. West Virginia does have backup Paul Millard returning, but depth has been a problem here. It is expected for Childress to be the quarterback of the future when Smith leaves. If he is able to redshirt in 2012, he could have four years with the Mountaineers.