This conference features the remnants of the old Big East football members that didn’t join the ACC, as well as some former C-USA members trying to step up in prominence. There are quite a few draft prospects from across the AAC, yet no school really has enough to merit a full write-up of its own.

These players are listed in how I ranked them in my final big board, which will be released Friday, April 24.

Breshad Perriman, WR, Central Florida--a couple of months ago Mel Kiper Jr. trumpeted the super-speedy Perriman as a potential top-15 pick. Most folks scoffed, as they tend to reflexively do whenever Mel stirs the pot. It turns out the most notorious draftnik was fed good information, because Perriman could very well be a top-10 pick when the draft unfolds.

That’s rich for my blood, but I see the allure. The son of former Lions receiver Brett Perriman has great size at 6’2” and 212 pounds, but his calling card is speed. Here’s what Gil Brandt, the Godfather of the NFL Draft, had to say after Perriman’s pro day:

Perriman (6-foot-1 3/4, 212 pounds) was clocked between 4.19 and 4.27 seconds in the 40, but the official times being forwarded along to teams are 4.24 and 4.27. He had a 36 1/2-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot-7 broad jump. He did 18 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. Perriman -- who has 32-inch arms and 9 5/8-inch hands -- caught the ball better than expected during his positional workout. Some people thought that he didn't have very good hands, but you didn't see that today in his workout. He also showed very good change-of-direction skills.

He’s a major vertical field-stretcher, which he showed at UCF by averaging over 20 yards per catch and showing the ability to get both above and behind just about any coverage. There is real burst off the line and out of cuts, and nobody is catching him in the open field. Perriman can make the tough catches on the sidelines and isn’t afraid to cross the field on drags and slants in traffic.

Brandt alluded to the hands, and count me in the skeptical category. It’s odd that the son of a pretty good NFL wideout looks so unnatural catching a football, but that’s Breshad Perriman. I like to say the primary function of a wide receiver is to catch the ball, and that’s been an ongoing struggle for him. Many that he does come down with are trapped against his shoulder or double-clutched after bouncing from one hand to the other. He also doesn’t run his routes with consistency, which makes throwing to him more difficult than it needs to be. On a 12-yard out, sometimes he runs 11 and slants deeper, others he drifts outside before breaking and winds up getting to the spot too early.

These are coachable flaws, but there is no guarantee it ever clicks. His grade for me is very team-specific. With a QB like Alex Smith or Nick Foles checking down as a primary option, Perriman is not worth more than a 3rd round pick and will be wasted, like driving a Ferrari and being stuck behind a Prius that just will not get out of the damn left lane. For a gunslinger like Ben Roethlisberger or Philip Rivers, Perriman should carry top-20 overall value and could have the impact of a faster Demaryius Thomas. Really.

Current projection: Top 15 pick

Jeff Luc, ILB, Cincinnati--Luc is one of the most undervalued players in the draft, though it’s hard to blame folks for being so down on his stock. A former prized recruit at Florida State, Luc never really showed much NFL potential until his senior season. He was too bulky, too stiff, too easy to block.

That changed in 2014. While he’s still a very beefy 5’11” and 260 pounds, Luc worked hard at improving his agility and avoiding blocks. He’ll always have tight hips but he got better at being on his toes and keeping his feet clean. Moving inside full-time also played to his strengths, namely his devastating strength. Luc is a big-time thumper, an absolute cannonball of a tackler between the tackles. He’s also great at attacking the football while making the tackle.

The Senior Bowl is where Luc really sold himself to me. He was organically the leader of the defense and wore it comfortably. On reps he wasn’t in, he was calling out the plays and helping align the secondary from the sideline. Oh yeah, he won the weigh in with his rocked-up frame too. If you want more expansive thoughts on Luc, I did a scouting report on him over at Detroit Lions Draft. He’s in my top 75 overall, though he’s not going to be drafted in the top 150. He’s a perfect fit for Green Bay or San Francisco. Some team is getting a great value late.

Current projection: 5th-6th round

Byron Jones, CB, Connecticut--anytime someone sets a world record at anything, it warrants attention. Be it the longest moustache, or the fastest to swim 100 meters or even the most beers consumed on a cross-country flight, doing something better than the rest of humanity is something to hang your hat upon.

So when Byron Jones broke the world record in the broad jump at the Combine in February, you’d better believe the NFL paid attention. He paired that unprecedented leap of 12’3” with a 44.5” vertical, 6.78 3-cone drill and was the only player to break 11 seconds in the 60-yard agility drill.

Looking great in underwear is fantastic. I should know. But performing in something other than underwear means a whole lot more. In that regard, Jones isn’t so impressive. The explosiveness is definitely there when the ball is in the air, and he’s got timing and the ability to use his length to disrupt throwing angles quite well. But on the field Jones just doesn’t seem natural. You can almost see him thinking about what he’s doing. The word “robotic” comes to mind, like he’s waiting for some guy with a controller to hit a button to make him do something. It’s worth noting that he didn’t often cover the opponent’s top receiver, be it Justin Hardy this year or DeVante Parker last year. That’s a sign his own coaches knew his limitations, and that should be a siren for NFL scouts.

He’s adept at reacting quickly and he does play to his help smartly, and that largely worked for him in college. But in the NFL that help is going to have greater responsibilities and Jones will need to be more decisive and authoritative. He can absolutely develop that part of his game, as he’s a converted safety with limited time playing outside at corner. His issues with losing his footing should be mitigatd with more experience as well. Jones holds real athletic promise, but he’s going to disappoint anyone expecting his workout extravaganza to immediately translate to NFL greatness. I gave him a 3rd round grade with the arrow pointing up.

Current projection: Will not last beyond Dallas picking at #27, could go top 20.

Justin Hardy, WR, East Carolina--sometimes it’s easy to see the role a player will fill. Justin Hardy is one such player. He’s going to be a slot receiver playing inside and underneath an outside vertical threat, and he’s going to be very good at that. Hardy is smooth, shifty and slippery as both a receiver and a runner after the catch. There is no wasted motion, no superfluous steps. The Pirates used him on a ton of quick-hitting slants, bubble screens, outs and crosses, getting him isolated in space and taking advantage of his litheness and surprising strength for a 5’11” receiver. Hardy is very adept at flashing himself as a target, or finding the soft spot in a zone quickly. One real plus to his game is that Hardy attacks the football in the air like he’s much bigger than he is, which is important for a player typically making catches in tight quarters. He’s not a lid-lifting vertical threat and he won’t wow anyone with his athleticism, but he’s going to catch a lot of passes for a lot of first downs for a lot of years. That’s what he did in Greenville, and he’ll do it in Charlotte or Atlanta or Chicago, all teams which could sorely use his services as early as the third round. His blocking and mental toughness are plusses.

Current projection: late 3rd-early 5th round

Joey Mbu, DT, Houston--if your team needs an immovable object in the middle of the defense, Mbu is one of the best options in this draft class. He’s 6’3”, 320-ish pounds and is built like a mechanized infantry vehicle. Mbu markedly improved as a senior thanks in part to losing around 25 pounds and working hard at using his hands more effectively. He performed well enough to earn a Senior Bowl berth, where he held his own despite having almost no pass rush ability. He only had one career unassisted sack. Mbu is a 0- or 1-technique specially designed to complement an attack dog tackle or 5-technique. He can control the A gap and has enough range and ability to stack and shed to plug the B gap too. Don’t ask him to stunt with the end, or drop in a zone blitz, or really do much of anything other than erase ball carriers between the tackles. At that one thing, he’s very useful for 30-40 snaps per game. That’s worth a 4th round pick for me, as he does have some upside.

Current projection: 5th-6th round

Deontay Greenberry, WR, Houston--I was a senior in high school when The Simpsons debuted on TV. I rushed out and bought an iconic shirt of Bart Simpson aiming a slingshot and proclaiming “Underachiever and proud of it”. Deontay Greenberry embraces that mantra some (gulp!) 25 years later.

Greenberry is a physical monster at 215 pounds and a muscular 6’1”, giving him the appearance and presence of a much bigger receiver. The Fresno native ran a 4.5 40 at his pro day which definitely holds true on the field. He’s made some truly spectacular catches, including one (of his three) touchdown against Rutgers in 2013 where he made a one-handed stab reaching over the defensive back’s head and shoulders.

Unfortunately, the highlight film has a whole lot of empty game reels. He often seemed disinterested in being great, dropping far too many passes and getting lazy with his shorter routes. His blocking effort was sporadic as well. There are some built-in and valid excuses--terrible QB regression from ’13 to ’14, a coaching change, his father was killed in the offseason--that do lend hope he can rip that old Bart Simpson t-shirt to shreds. The potential is certainly there. It’s worth a 5th-round gamble for me, down from a top 50 preseason ranking. He could also not make it out of preseason and it wouldn’t shock me.

Current projection: 5th-7th round

Jacoby Glenn, CB, Central Florida--Glenn is the pickup basketball point guard who relentlessly tries to steal the ball from everyone, chest into the back, quick hands challenging every dribble or step. The in-your-shorts aggression is a necessity because he lacks the overall court vision and strength to play any other way. Much like that gym annoyance whom good ballhandlers and smart pickers will exploit, Glenn is pretty one-dimensional. He’s a flyweight corner at 6’ and just 178 pounds, lacking both long speed and lateral agility. That relegates him to zone coverage, but that’s what he played for the Knights and he has the run support skills and quick recognition on short routes to make that work. Some have talked of moving him to safety, but that would require him adding at least 10 pounds of functional bulk. The redshirt sophomore should have stayed in school as this is a deep, middle-heavy CB class and he’s at the bottom of that middle.

Current projection: 5th-6th round

Martin Ifedi, DE, Memphis--if you’ve heard of Ifedi, it’s probably from the Tigers’ bowl game against BYU where he was at the epicenter of one of the nastiest brawls college football has seen in some time. More astute fans might recall him from the Shrine Game, where he stood out in practice sessions with his powerful edge presence.

There is a deeper history with the 6’3”, 275 pound end. Ifedi is Memphis’ all-time sack champion, and he accomplished this despite missing four games his senior year with a knee injury that clearly inhibited him in a few others. He’s a former defensive tackle who leaned out a bit and found a home as a high-motor, high-IQ (both on and off the field) edge rusher. Yet in the NFL, he projects as more of an edge anchor than a guy striking fear in opposing QBs. He’s only an average athlete and showed below-average strength with just 17 bench press reps at his pro day, up one from the Combine. Position drills were not his strong suit either…

 

The Houston native looks a lot better on the field than in workouts, but there are limitations due to his lacking athleticism. His best-case outcome is Wallace Gilberry, a very effective third DE who plays the run well on the way to rushing the passer. Ifedi could even bust out with an 8-sack, 3 forced fumble campaign once in the right situation. He’s a lower-ceiling, higher-floor prospect who won’t move the meter for fans but will be the kind of player who sticks around a good 4-3 defense for years. I like his game more than most do.

Current projection: 6th round

Bobby McCain, CB, Memphis--small (5’9”) but twitchy and blessed with a real nose for the ball, McCain adds to his value as a potentially electrifying return man. My scouting report on him reads almost exactly as it did for Bill Bentley a few years ago: a feisty, confident agitator ready-made to play in the slot, good tackler for his size, too small and slight to handle bigger targets inside and too impatient to hang in zone coverage. He was up-and-down during Shrine Game practices, where once again patience was not his virtue. I love the idea of pairing him inside a cagey, calm veteran corner like a Corey Graham or Vontae Davis. As with others here, he’s a specialized role player but could thrive in that role in the NFL. His return skills bump him up a round for me to the 5th.

Current projection: 5th-6th round

Terry Williams, DT, East Carolina--one of the most agile nose tackles in this draft, Williams moves well for a 350-pound behemoth. He can anchor versus the run but what makes him more valuable is that Williams can shed the block and get a heavy paw on the runner too. He has active eyes and a good sense for how the blocking is going to attack him. There are major off-field flags, as he was suspended for at least one game in each of the last three college seasons, including 8 games in 2013 and his collegiate finale in ’14. Still, teams are hungry for his kind of active beef inside, and he dominated Virginia Tech last fall. Pinch your nose and take “Swamp Monster” in the 4th round, though it wouldn’t surprise to see him fall a lot farther than that.

Current projection: 5th-7th round depending on how well teams trust him

Clayton Geathers, S, Central Florida--sometimes I like to give prospects theme songs which epitomize their games. For Geathers, that song is Megadeth’s “Take No Prisoners”. Much like that classic off Rust in Peace, the hulking safety bursts right out with aggression and hard-hitting power. Geathers is a big-time hitter with great short-area burst and a desire to decleat the enemy. He’s very good at filling the A and B gaps against the run, and he can handle shallow zone cover assignments well enough. Beyond that, he’s clunky ranging to the sidelines or deep down the field in coverage. His lateral agility is subpar, and he often overruns the play because he can’t harness his speed once he gets going. Geathers also proved a bit streaky; he looked fantastic against Penn State and pretty strong against Houston, but he was largely ineffective against Louisville in ’13 and Missouri last fall. He reminds me some of James Ihedigbo, a limited safety but one who can be effective in that limited role and a force on special teams.

Current projection: 5th or 6th round

Al Bond, OL, Memphis--there is very little flashy about Bond, but he’s one of the most physical and intimidating blockers in this draft. He’s a snowplow of a run blocker with nasty core power through his shoulders. Bond played both tackle and guard for Memphis but he’s likely destined to be strictly a guard in the NFL. He wears those cumbersome knee braces and looks like he’s straining their structural integrity whenever he has to make a big step or slide to his outside. Bears some stylistic and athletic resemblance to T.J. Lang, though he’s not quite that agile. He could be an effective starter for a team that values phone booth blocking inside.

Current projection: 6th-7th round

Lorenzo Doss, CB, Tulane--I wanted to like Doss more, but here’s the cold reality: he’s too small at 5’10”, 182 pounds and with 28.5” arms to play outside, and he’s not twitchy or agile laterally enough to play in the slot. He made a lot of plays on the ball (10 INTs, 18 PDs in his final two seasons) for the Green Wave and doesn’t lack confidence or aggression, showing a dose of Dre Bly “I can intercept every pass” disease. His route recognition skills are solid, and he will drop the shoulder and hit runners willingly. Doss has the trappings of a dime back and should get drafted. I put it 50/50 he actually does, but he’s got a decent chance to stick even if he’s undrafted.

Current projection: 7th round/UDFA

Andre Davis, WR, South Florida--Davis is nothing if not tough. He suffered a nasty sternum injury laying out to catch a ball and missed four games. Yet in his first game back, there he was being fearless across the middle with perhaps the worst QB situation in the BCS leading him to great peril. He lit up East Carolina for over 120 yards and a TD in that game, and my interest was certainly piqued.

Davis has impressive size at 6’1” and 205 pounds, but he looks bigger and longer than that thanks to long arms and legs. He’s very good at using his size to present himself as a wide target and make catches well away from his body. He sets up his moves adeptly and knows how to use a corner’s speed against him on hooks and combo routes. Davis stood out during Shrine Game practices, once again making tough catches from subpar QBs. He just might be cursed in that regard.

He’s also cursed with a decided lack of speed. He got open on vertical routes surprisingly well in college by being savvier than the man covering him, but his 4.6 pro day time is legit. There isn’t much wiggle or immediacy to him either. In the NFL he will be relegated to being a possession receiver, and he’ll need to fare better on contested passes in order to make that work. Special teams will be critical to his future. Worth a 7th rounder to me, but I doubt he gets his name called in the draft.

Current projection: 7th round/UDFA

Shane Carden, QB, East Carolina--the plucky Pirate quarterback has a lot of likeable traits. He’s accurate on short and intermediate routes, he reads coverages and processes information quickly and he can buy a little time with his feet in the pocket. Carden embraces being the field general and has natural charisma and leadership. He won a lot of games for ECU and managed a pretty talented, diverse receiving corps nicely.

Alas, his ceiling is low. The arm strength and velocity just isn’t up to snuff to run NFL offenses. This was readily evident during Senior Bowl practices, where Carden really struggled to beat future NFL CBs on out routes or deep throws. When he goes for extra torque to try and rifle a ball in, his accuracy really falls off. He’s somewhere on the spectrum between Kellen Moore and a less mobile Bruce Gradkowski, guys who have carved out niches as little-used reserves but valuable sounding boards for established starters and practice players. Carden is going to wind up being in the league for a decade, making $12 million and likely never throwing for more than 500 career yards. That’s not a bad fate.

Current projection: Potential Mr. Irrelevant 

Other players who will at least make it to a camp with a legit chance of sticking in the NFL:

Geremy Davis, WR, Connecticut

Cam Worthy, WR, East Carolina, a nice wide-bodied sleeper if he keeps his wits about him

Fritz Etienne, S, Memphis, a supersized physical presence at safety with upside but very raw football skills

Eric Lefeld, OT, Cincinnati

Marvin Kloss, K, South Florida, though he was not great during Shrine Game week

Terrell Hartsfield, DE, Cincinnati

Gavin Stansbury, DE, Houston, a former Texas AM starter

Chris Dunkley, RS, South Florida

Stephon Sanders, LB, SMU