The big winner from the Big East on draft day?
Rutgers in a landslide.
The Scarlet Knights had a school-record seven players selected over the three-day draft, breaking the previous high of five set in 2009. New England drafted three Rutgers players -- cornerback Logan Ryan (third round), safety Duron Harmon (third round) and linebacker Steve Beauharnais (seventh round) -- the most by any NFL team in one NFL draft.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick is quite familiar with Rutgers, as his son, Stephen, was a long snapper on the team. Belichick and former coach Greg Schiano have had a great relationship going back many years and it paid off in a big way in 2013. Of the seven players who were drafted, two were underclassmen who declared early -- Ryan and running back Jawan Jamison.
Many questioned Jamison's decision to turn pro after one singular 1,000-yard season, and he ended up going in the seventh round by Washington. Jamison told Redskins beat writers on a conference call he made the decision to turn pro to help pay his mother's medical bills as she undergoes breast cancer treatment.
UConn was next with five players selected, further proof the team underachieved on the field the past several seasons. Three of those players went in a span of seven picks in the third round -- Dwayne Gratz to Jacksonville, Sio Moore to Oakland and Blidi Wreh-Wilson to Tennessee.
In all, the Big East had 19 players selected. That includes Syracuse, which is headed to the ACC for next season. Three Orange players were taken -- Justin Pugh in the first round to the Giants, Ryan Nassib in the fourth round to the Giants, and Shamarko Thomas in the fourth round to Pittsburgh.
Here is a look at where players on current or future Big East teams went:
First round
No. 12 Houston CB D.J. Hayden, Oakland
Second round
No. 51 SMU DE Margus Hunt, Cincinnati
Third round
No. 63 Cincinnati TE Travis Kelce, Kansas City
No. 64 UConn CB Dwayne Gratz, Jacksonville
No. 66 UConn LB Sio Moore, Oakland
No. 70 UConn CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson, Tennessee
No. 83 Rutgers CB Logan Ryan, New England
No. 90 USF CB Kayvon Webster, Denver
No. 91 Rutgers S Duron Harmon, New England
Fourth round
No. 117 Rutgers LB Khaseem Greene, Chicago
No. 124 UConn DE Trevardo Williams, Houston
Sixth round
No. 181 UCF RB Latavius Murray, Oakland
No. 201 UConn TE Ryan Griffin, Houston
Seventh round
No. 219 Rutgers TE D.C. Jefferson, Arizona
No. 228 Rutgers RB Jawan Jamison, Washington
No. 232 USF LB Sam Barrington, Green Bay
No. 235 Rutgers LB Steve Beauharnais, New England
No. 237 USF QB B.J. Daniels, San Francisco
No. 243 UCF S Kemal Ishmael, Atlanta
No. 252 Rutgers CB Marcus Cooper, San Francisco
Here is a look at some of the notable free-agent signings:
Cincinnati: RB George Winn (Houston); DE Dan Giordano (Arizona); WR Kenbrell Thompkins (New England); LB Maalik Bomar (Jacksonville).
Louisville: C Mario Benavides (Kansas City); OT Alex Kupper (Houston); CB Adrian Bushell (Oakland).
Temple: RB Montel Harris (Tampa Bay); DE John Youboty (Denver); P/K Brandon McManus (Indianapolis); OL Martin Wallace (Cleveland).