Hey everyone, BigWhiskey here, just to let everyone know, along with writing blogs about the Chicago Bears, I will also be writing blogs about Boston College football.  Since the start of the college football season starts tonight, I figured I should get crackin’ and write up a preview of what you will see with the Eagles this season.

BC is coming off one of its best seasons ever last year.  The veteran laden team not only got to #2 in the rankings after starting the season unranked but finished off an 11-3 record with a 24-21 victory over Michigan State in the Champs Sports Bowl.  Jeff Jagodzinski is going into his second season as head coach with a lot of turnover in key positions. The biggest turnover happened on offense, so that is where I will start….

Offense

If you are a college football fan or an NFL fan, you probably have figured out the biggest hole to fill for Coach Jagz.  Matt Ryan, aka Matty Ice, is now projected to be the starting QB for the Atlanta Falcons, who drafted him with the #3 pick in this year’s draft. Senior Chris Crane is getting the opportunity to fill Ryan’s large shoes.  The 6-4, 239lb. Crane hasn’t had a whole lot of experience on the field being Ryan’s understudy for the past two seasons, but has a strong arm and good mobility.  Comparing stats, Ryan completed his career at BC with 807 completions for 9,313 yards and 54 TD’s.  Crane has completed 28 passes for 264 yards and 1 TD in his career at BC so far.  This may sound crazy, but Crane may be a better fit for BC’s spread type offense than Ryan for his better mobility alone. If Crane can’t do it, the QB position gets young in a hurry with Redshirt-Freshman Dominique Davis and Chris Johnson. Davis looks like the QB of the future for BC.  He is a good passer with great scrambling ability, definitely fitting the mold of what BC’s spread offense wants to be in the future.

Graduation, suspensions and injuries left the cupboard bare for BC going into Spring Practice. The RB tandem of Andre Callander and LV Whitworth graduated this past may,  AJ Brooks was suspended from the team indefinitely before the ACC title game last year.  It looks like BC will run with a RB by committee with Fr. Josh Haden, Jr. Jeff Smith, Fr. Montel Jordan and converted CB, Jr. Razzie Smith all in the mix for ball carrying duties. Josh Haden looks to be the starter at this point, although the other RB’s will all get their opportunities. So, James McCluskey, Fr. Jerry Kelly and sophomore and converted QB Codi Boek are the full backs on the depth chart.

Good news for such a young offense is that 5 of the top receivers on last years team are returning, led by Jr. Rich Gunnell and Sr. Brandon Robinson. Both had breakout years last season with Gunnell showing he has big play ability.  Clarence Megwa and Justin Jarvis round out a very solid receiving corp.  They aren’t going to burn defenses with speed or athletic ability but they are all solid catching the ball and good route runners.

NFL prospect TE Ryan Purvis may be the best receiver on the team.  The 1^st team All-ACC team member looks to increase on his numbers as he has done each year he has been at BC. RS-Fr. Lars Anderson is another of the Tight Ends that BC will utilize in the offense.  He has wide receiver type hands and athleticism and is the heir apparent to Purvis.

The offensive line lost two of its seniors from last year to the NFL.  Gosdar Cherilus and Ryan Poles are playing for the Lions and Bears respectively.  While there is no top star of the line this year as in past years, BC will again have another solid and talented unit.  While the loss of Cherilus and Poles may hurt the line should be even more comfortable with the zone blocking scheme that Logan and Jagodzinski installed last season.  The left side of the line should be brutal for defenses with So tackle Anthony Castonzo, Sr G Clif Ramsey and Jr. C Matte Tennant.  The right side should be solid as well with the two behemoths So. G Thomas Clairborne (6’ 3”, 323lb.) and So. T Rich Lapham (6’8” 322lb.).

Overall, I think that BC will have another very good offense.  There are going to be some learning curves with such a young backfield but the experience and talent in the receiving game should take some heat off the running game.  Another year and another very good offensive line will also help the running game and give new QB Chris Crane time to throw the ball.  Is Crane going to be Matt Ryan, no, but that is unfair to compare the two.  It’s going to be a wait and see game with Crane since he hasn’t had a lot of opportunity to play.  If fans are looking for another year where BC 50+ times a game, I think they are going to have to look elsewhere, from what I gather, the Eagles should be a little more balanced in their spread offense this year, although, I have no doubt it will be a high powered one.

The defensive side of the ball is where things get good.  The Eagles had one of the best defenses in college football last year.  The front 7 led the way for stifling run defense which ended up being #2 in the country only allowing 75.5 yards a game and #19 overall.  LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar, CB Dejuan Tribble (SD Chargers), Taji Morris and Safety Jamie Silva are gone but BC gets two very talented players back who were not around last season.  DT BJ Raji was under academic suspension and brings even more talent to an already great defensive line.  5^th year senior, Brian Toal was a medical red-shirt last year recovering from neck and surgically repaired shoulder issues.  Toal is one of the most talented college linebackers in the game and his presence will no doubt fill the void with Dunbar gone.

Look for Raji and Sr. Ron Brace to clog up holes in the middle.  The two DT’s weigh 325lbs. each.  The DT position has good amount of depth with 6 players able to fill in and play very well. The DE position is a little thin. Jim Ramella and Alex Albright are the DE’s for the line.  Both are solid and athletic.  Project starting RE Brady Smith was kicked off the team after being charged with an on-campus rape – good riddance. Jr. Brendan Meska, So. Brad Newman, Jr. Autsin Giles and Fr. Max Halloway are going to have to step up to make sure the lack of depth won’t be a big problem.

The linebacking corp is as solid as they come and there is a good amount of depth between the first and second units.  Again, with Toal coming back to the WLB spot, the unit gets even tougher. Jr’s Mike McLaughlin and Mark Herzlich round out the starting squad.  Herzlich led the LBs with 97 tackles last year. 

The secondary is going to be looking for playmaking replacements for Tribble and Silva.  So. DeLeon Gause has the duty to replace Tribble.  He came onto the scene last year as a freshman and flashed a lot of skill at the corner position. Roderick Rollins will getting the starting nod on the other side.  He has good size and is a great athlete, so I am excited to see how he does in a starting role. Jr. Wes Davis is filling Silva’s role.  Silva was a bonecrusher and Davis has the ability to lay receivers out too.  Look for another big hitter in Marcellus Bowman to get playing time at this position.  Sr. Paul Anderson rounds out the secondary at the strong safety spot.  He is a great tackler and against the run although his covering ability has been suspect at times.

Overall, I am very excited about the defense again this year.  The secondary is a little unproven but there is a lot of talent and ability there.  The front seven should be even better than last year with Davis and Toal back.  I’m getting fired up just thinking about it.  I can’t wait until Saturday (Aug. 30^th) when they play the first game against Kent State.

I’m going to leave the special teams alone for now.  At this point, I am not sure who has won the position battles for Punting and Kicking duties.  I will update this when I watch the game on Saturday.  Look for a preview of the BC vs. Kent State game on August 30^th tomorrow.

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