Pitt finally had something good to talk about as Jabaal Sheard was named the conference's defensive player of the  year.

Even though Sheard lost out on the Hendricks Award, given to the nation's best defensive end, the Big East award helps make up for it. 

Pitt has now won the award three times in a row (2008 Scott McKillop, 2009 Greg Romeus/Mick Williams).

Sheard had nine sacks and 12 1/2 tackles for loss. With Brandon Lindsey playing most of the year in place of Greg Romeus, he helped form one of the nation's top pass rushing combos.

I've said this before, but I think Sheard went from a late-round draft pick to an early round one. Don't know if he'll jump into the first round, but his ability to get to the quarterback in situations when he was double-teamed will be extremely attractive to scouts.

Assuming all goes well at the combine, Sheard could have played himself into a first-day selection.