Our countdown of the Pac-10's top 25 players continues.

No. 14. Jurrell Casey, DT, USC

2009 numbers: The 6-foot-1, 295-pound true junior ranked fifth on the Trojans -- and first among defensive linemen -- with 59 tackles, including nine for a loss. He also had 4.5 sacks, three QB hurries, three fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles.

Most recent ranking: Casey wasn't ranked in our final Pac-10 top 30 list last year.

Making the case for Casey: Although this ranking of players isn't about NFL prospects, it's hard to ignore Casey's. He could be a first-round NFL draft pick next spring, and it's likely he'll advance from honorable mention All-Pac-10 in 2009 to the first team this fall. While new Trojans coach Lane Kiffin spent much of spring practices talking about what his team lacked, he lauded the D-line, and Casey is a leader there. Casey is quick and powerful and obviously opportunistic -- see his involvement in six fumbles. The next step is being consistently dominant, even vs. double-teams. If that happens, he'll follow Mike Patterson and Sedrick Ellis into All-America honors.

No. 15. Cameron Jordan, DE, California

No. 16. Nick Foles, QB, Arizona

No. 17. Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona State

No. 18: Colin Baxter, C, Arizona

No. 19: Chase Beeler, C, Stanford

No. 20. Lawrence Guy, DT, Arizona State

No. 21. Matt Barkley, QB, USC

No. 22. Owen Marecic, LB/FB, Stanford

No. 23. Kristofer O'Dowd, C, USC

No. 24: Casey Matthews, LB, Oregon

No. 25 Kai Forbath, K, UCLA