Time to move on in our preseason countdown of the top 25 players in the Big East.
If you need a quick refresher, I am projecting the best of the best in the league for this upcoming season, and I am including freshmen and transfers as well.
No. 12 Montel Harris, RB, Temple
Making the case: You could argue that Harris deserves to be even higher on this list. His stats speak for themselves. While at Boston College, Harris racked up more career yards than any other ACC junior in history, with 3,735. That is tops among all active FBS running backs. He was 867 yards away from the ACC rushing mark of 4,602 yards when he got hurt last season, and subsequently decided to transfer after spring ball.
There are two question marks surrounding Harris. First -- will he be the same running back coming off a knee injury that hobbled him for over a year? Temple says he is 100 percent, so that is the good news. Second -- how much does the state of the Temple offensive line impact the way he performs this year? Temple has four new starters up front, and the Owls are currently working to build depth. While Harris will get his opportunities, this is a spread offense and he will not be the lone focal point. Boston College fed him the ball constantly.
Despite some of those questions, Harris should be among the league leaders based on his past history. I am looking forward to watching him play in the Big East.
The countdown
No. 13 DeDe Lattimore, LB, USF
No. 14 Sio Moore, LB, UConn
No. 15 Walter Stewart, DE, Cincinnati
No. 16 Duron Harmon, S, Rutgers
No. 17 Mario Benavides, C, Louisville
No. 18 Jarred Holley, S, Pitt
No. 19 Scott Vallone, NT, Rutgers
No. 20 Ryan Griffin, TE, UConn
No. 21 Adrian Bushell, CB, Louisville
No. 22 Alec Lemon, WR, Syracuse
No. 23 Steve Beauharnais, LB, Rutgers
No. 24 Blidi Wreh-Wilson, CB, UConn
No. 25 Ryan Nassib, QB, Syracuse
