The Big East and Notre Dame lost nine players to the draft last season, and most hurt was Cincinnati, which lost two interior defensive linemen. Somewhat frighteningly, Rutgers, the conference's top defense last season, lost no one to the draft.
Below are the replacement players looking to make similar impacts as the guys they were typically backing up last season:
Syracuse: Brandon Sharpe (Sr.) and Marquis Spruill (Jr.)
With DE Chandler Jones gone to New England (21st pick of the draft), both Spruill and Sharpe will have to pick up the slack defensively. The good news for the Orange is that Jones' injury gave some other guys a chance rushing off the edge, and Sharpe finished the season with 2.5 sacks. Spruill, meanwhile, contributed 8.5 tackles for a loss, while the super-sized Eric Crume (6-0, 332 pounds) will plug up the middle at nose tackle.
Notre Dame: Lo Wood (Jr.) and Ishaq Williams (So.)
The Irish defense was hit relatively hard, but still returns seven starters from a season ago. Harrison Smith (Minnesota, 29th pick), a four-year starter for the Irish, may be difficult to replace in Notre Dame's defensive backfield. Another defensive back, Robert Blanton (Minnesota Vikings, 139th pick), was also drafted, as was linebacker Darius Fleming (San Francisco 49ers, 165th pick). Williams, along with senior LB Carlo Calabrese, should be more than capable of replacing Fleming. And Wood, who appeared in 10 games as a sophomore, should figure to contribute more in his junior campaign.
Cincinnati: Walter Stewart (Sr.) and Brandon Miills (Sr.)
Both Derek Wolfe (Denver Broncos, 36th pick) and John Hughes (Cleveland Browns, 87th pick) -- two departed interior defensive linemen for Cincinnati last season -- have left for the NFL and taken 13 sacks abd 27 tackles for loss with them. Stewart and Mills will now try to take over for the loss, and to their credit they combined for nine sacks a season ago. Still, a tall order awaits them in Cincinnati.
Connecticut: Trevardo Williams (Sr.)
This may not be fair to Kendall Reyes (San Diego Chargers, 49th pick), but the Huskies may not be losing much. Though Reyes was first team All Big East in 2011, Williams led the conference in sacks last season. With help from linebacker Sio Moore, the tandem will likely provide more than enough to fill the void left by Reyes.
Temple: Ahkeem Smith (Sr.)
Not only did the Owls lose Tahir Whitehead (Detroit Lions, 138th pick) to the NFL, but they also lost their top four tacklers from 2011. However, Temple will look to replace those tackles with a former running back in Smith, who made the transition last season and made 43 stops.
Louisville: Marcus Smith (Jr.)
DE Greg Scruggs (Seattle Seahawks, 232nd pick) and fellow senior Dexter Heyman were the undisputed leaders of a Cardinals defense that was second-best in the Big East. However, their leading sack-getter was a converted quarterback that made only five starts. Smith, however, figures to be the man this season, with safety Hakeem Smith adding some extra run support in the secondary.
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