The forgotten man of the 2010 Pitt football season was without a doubt Greg Romeus. Injured early on, he never got back on track during the season.
Still, he'll get the opportunity to play on Sundays.
Romeus, of course, is disappointed with the way things worked out this season:
The 2009 Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year suffered a back injury at Utah in the first game of the season, an injury that kept him out until the Connecticut game in early November. Then, on the night of his much-anticipated return, Romeus tore his ACL and was officially declared out for the remainder of the season.
"It definitely wasn’t like I planned it," Romeus said. "But things happen, and it was a year that I learned a lot, matured and went through a lot. I believe everything happens for a reason."
He had a rough year for sure. Co-Big East defensive player of the year, All-American aspirations, Big East title hopes...and maybe more. Still, the fact that he's leaving with a pretty good shot at playing in the NFL is a pretty nice consolation prize.
But when it comes to the NFL Draft, he doesn't know what it will hold:
"I’ve heard a lot of different things," Romeus said of his draft stock. "Everyone has their own opinions so we’ll just have to wait and see."
Romeus is listed as the 14th best defensive end on ESPN.com, but considering that Mel Kiper has seven DEs in his first round mock draft (must be Insider to view), Romeus could end up being taken pretty high. There's no doubt that coming back to school then being injured for most of the year hurt his draft stock. Still, he's got a pretty bright future.