NFL Draft raises questions about USF

The NFL draft furthered fueled ammunition by critics of former USF head football coach Jim Leavitt, who questioned his ability to get the most of out of his team.

The Bulls led the Big East Conference with five picks in the NFL draft, including first rounder Jason Pierre-Paul, the defensive end selected 15th overall.

Rutgers and Cincinnati with three picks apiece were tied for second, but three of the first five Big East players in the draft belonged to the Bulls with safety Nate Allen (2nd round) and cornerback Jerome Murphy (3d round).

Rutgers had two first rounders in offensive lineman Anthony Davis and cornerback Devin McCourty while Big East champion Cincinnati’s first pick didn’t come until the fourth round when receiver Mardy Gilyard was chosen. The Bearcats other picks were quarterback Tony Pike in the 6th round and defensive end Ricardo Matthews in the seventh and final round.

Four of the USF players chosen played defense with defensive end George Selvie (7th round) joining the other three. The only offensive player selected was wide receiver Carlton Mitchell.

Six of the 18 Big East players selected were chosen in the final round and nine were selected in the final two rounds. Pittsburgh, which finished second in the Big East, had two picks, one in each of the last two rounds.

It makes you wonder! ___In Big East games only, USF was a less than a mediocre fifth in total defense and fifth in total offense in the eight team league.

It’s a reason the Bulls finished with an unimpressive 3-4 league record with two of their wins coming off lowly Syracuse and Louisville, the Big East cellar dwellers. More disturbing is that they lost to Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Rutgers by a combined 106-31.