Celtic Pride > Your favorite movie.
The point of this exercise - in addition to killing time until Aug. 31, natch - is to pick the five Big East football players you think would have the most positive impact if magically transferred to our roster.
We're looking for guys who would help our team, not make their team less intimidating, so taking players like Pat White or LeSean McCoy for the sole purpose of keeping them off of someone else's roster is unacceptable.
With that, here's the Card Chronicle five:
1. Mike Mickens, CB, Cincinnati
Considering the fact that "Louisville secondary bad" became a staple of the '07 college football lexicon, I think corner is probably a safe place to start.
My non-Cardinal man crush on Mickens has been well documented for the past year and-a-half or so, and now it seems the rest of America is starting to come around. A Football Writers Association All-American as a junior, he's already started his final collegiate season off in style by being named to the prestigious Playboy Magazine (Google search hits!) All-America preseason team.
There is no one in college football who turns his hips without breaking stride better than Mickens, who is the only player in the country to rank in the top 20 in passes defended in each of the past three seasons. With the heralded South Florida duo of Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams now being paid for their services, Mickens stands as the Big East's undisputed top cover man.
2. Scott McKillop, LB, Pittsburgh
Louisville lost its top four linebackers - including leading tackler (by, like, a lot) Lamar Myles - from a team that allowed nearly four and-half-yards per carry in 2007, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that we look for significant help with our second pick.
That help comes in the form of Scott McKillop, the "Mike" linebacker for Pitt who led the nation in tackles per game (12.58) in his first season as a starter. Replacing the much heralded H.B. Blades, McKillop led the Panthers to a final ranking of fifth in total defense (297.7 ypg), and garnered All-America nods from The Associated Press, Sports Illustrated and Scout.com, among others.
He would start for us.
3. Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers
Much is expected of senior Hunter Cantwell in his first and only season as U of L's signal caller, but there won't be much he can do if he can't find reliable guys to throw the ball to, and that's a definite concern with a widely unproven receiving corps returning. While people like Scott Long and Chris Vaughn are certainly more than capable of stepping up and becoming quality No. 1's, it's just too much of a question mark to not take a proven big-time wideout with our third pick.
Cardinal fans got more time to admire Britt's game than they would have cared for on Nov. 29 when the sophomore lit up the Louisville secondary to the tune of 12 catches for 173 yards and a pair of scores. While teammate Tiquan Underwood actually finished the year with more receptions and only one fewer touchdown, much of that should be credited to the amount of attention that the 6-4, 210-pound Britt demands.
As physically gifted as any player in the league, don't be surprised if Britt's third season scarlet and white ends up being his last.
4. Tyrone McKenzie, LB, South Florida
Connecticut has like 75 talented young linebackers, so I wouldn't have felt bad about snatching one from Storrs, but in the end it was too hard to pass on McKenzie, a guy who figures to become one of the premier names in the league with Ben Moffitt now ignoring his wife and child in the NFL.
McKenzie led the Bulls in tackles (121) in 2007, and figures to be in the mix to do so again as he makes the move from outside to middle linebacker. He's strong, he's fast, and he's not going to be coming out on passing downs and nickel formations this year which means he has a shot to put up some truly outrageous numbers as a senior. I just he was doing it for us.
5. George Selvie, DE, South Florida
Louisville has a nice core of returning players on its defensive line, but it would be completely irresponsible to take a pass on someone as good as this.
Everyone's preseason All-American at defensive end, Selvie is without a doubt the top NFL defensive prospect in the league. In his sophomore season, he set the single-season school record for tackles for a loss, was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year, and won the Bill Willis Award for the nation's top defensive lineman.
He might demand a double team or two in '08.
Also Considered:
Derek Kinder, WR, Pittsburgh
Scott Lutrus, LB, Connecticut
Darius Butler, CB, Connecticut
Reed Williams, LB, West Virginia
LeSean McCoy, RB, Pittsburgh
Pat White, QB, West Virginia
Courtney Greene, S, Rutgers
Feel free to share your five or virtually stab me in the stomach in the comments section.