Know Your Enemies 9 (Atlantic)- Boston College

Boston College Preview

In 2008, Boston College had an inconsistent, mediocre running game and an erratic, turnover prone quarterback. In other words, they were your typical, frustratingly uninteresting 94^th ranked ACC offense.

At this point in the summer though, it doesn’t look like the Eagles will be flying higher (no lie) on offense in 2009.

First of all, they will be breaking in a new QB in Dave Shinskie. And by breaking in, I don’t mean—breaking in like you would do with a new pair of tennis shoes, fresh out of the Foot Locker box. I mean—finding an old pair of Chuck Taylor Converse All-Stars behind the wood tennis rackets in your garage, dusting them off, clearing out the spider webs, leaving them out to dry, and then squeezing your feet back into them.

Shinskie has not thrown a pass in a football game in 6 years, so the transition to facing feisty ACC defenses could be filled with bumps and blisters for Boston College. (New offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill calls this the most inexperienced QB group he’s had in 46 years of coaching).

Fortunately for the Eagles, the minor league pitcher turned QB will have a lot of experienced receivers to throw strikes to. Rich Gunnell, Justin Jarvis, Clarence Megwa, and Ifeanyi Momah all have made some big plays for the Eagles at wide receiver. At tight end, Lars Anderson should be another serviceable pass-catcher for the new pitcher in town.

Why else won’t the Eagles offense fly high in 2009?

Because sophomore tailbacks Montel Harris and Josh Haden—whose 106.0 yards per game on the ground in 2008 ranked them 2^nd in the nation among true freshman RB duos—should be the most dangerous threats on the offense. They’ll be pounding the turf behind an offensive line that returns 4 starters—including 2^nd team all-ACC tackle Anthony Costanzo.

Experience on the offensive line is a good predictor of success, so if big boys up front play well and Shinskie can deliver like a Penske, BC might get enough Winskis to match the accomplishments of Jeff Jagodzinski.  Take that, Walt Whitman.

Realistically, I think this offense will finish about 90^th or so in the country. The run game will be strong, but the lack of an aerial threat will keep defenses in the box.

Even if BC wins an ACC title and has an amazing offense, will anyone in Boston care? Probably not.  How on Earth can Dave Shinskie compete with Tom Brady, David Ortiz, and Kevin Garnett?

How little do Bostonians care about BC football? They won’t even let Eagles fans tailgate after night home games. Why? Because celebrating fans might wake up the neighbors.

QB- Dave Shinskie (3 star prospect, class of 2003; rated as the #37 pro-style QB in that class by Rivals.com)

After Spring Practice, BC quarterback Dominique Davis decided to transfer from the university, leaving a gaping hole for the Eagles at the most important position on the field. Coach Frank Spaziani, unimpressed with the spring performances of QB contenders Codi Boek and Justin Tuggle, discovered Dave Shinskie, a former double-A minor league baseball player, in June. Shinskie is a talented prospect, no question. Coming out of high school, he was a 4^th round pick of the Minnesota Twins and he received offers to play QB at Iowa, Indiana, and other FBS schools. The problem? That was six years ago. Since then, Shinskie has thrown as many collegiate passes as Brent Musburger. At 25 years old, Shinskie will be a steady presence at the position for the Eagles, and his high school coach insists that Shinskie is “a steal” in the “streamline” physical condition expected of a collegiate athlete.  In my opinion though, Shinskie has a low ceiling. At best, he will be the second coming of Chris Crane—as tall and athletic as he is inexperienced and inconsistent. If he can just keep from turning the ball over (unlike Crane), Shinskie will be a solid pickup for Spaziani and the Eagles.

QB- Justin Tuggle (3 star QB, Class of 2008)

Tuggle struggled in the Spring, finishing the Spring Game 1-4 with just 17 yards.

QB- Codi Boek (backup fullback in 2008)

Boek went 7-9 for 128 yards and 2 TD in the Spring Game, but apparently still did not impress Coach Spaziani—who signed Shinskie just 6 weeks later.

RB- Harris (900 yards, 5 TD, 5.0 ypc; 160 yards receiving, TD)

Coming out of high school, Harris didn’t exactly wow scouts with his size or strength; he was a 2-star prospect in the class of 2008 whose only other major offers were from Duke and Ball State. Last fall though, he proved to be one of the toughest, most productive freshman running backs in the country. He finished with 5 100 yard performances, including 121 yards in Tallahassee against one of the toughest run defenses in the nation. Behind an experienced offensive line, Harris should hit the 1,000 yard mark this fall.

RB- Haden (479, TD, 4.0 ypc)

Haden received a lot more recruiting hype than Harris, but he was less powerful and productive as a runner last fall. He had some strong showings (77 yards @ Wake Forest, 71 yards and a TD vs. Clemson)last fall, but will probably still be the #2 tailback this fall. Haden has pretty solid receiving skills, so I expect him to have 200-300 yards through the air this year.

WR- Gunnell  (551 yards, 4 TD; 931 yards and 7 TD in 2007)

Gunnell started the 2008 campaign off very slowly, with just 37 receiving yards over his first four games. However, he picked his game up for the rest of the season, averaging 51 yards per outing, including a 123 yard performance at NCSU and a 114 yard game against VT in the ACC Championship. Gunnell has seen it all in 3 seasons with the Eagles, but unless Shinskie develops into a solid ACC quarterback, he will struggle to put up 700 yards this fall as the Eagles #1 wideout.

If everyone covered Gunnell like this, he’d be ACC player of the year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12lk87HcY5U

WR- Justin Jarvis (274 yards, 3 TD)

Jarvis brings a ton of experience to the WR position. He hasn’t exactly lit up scoreboards in his three years at BC (5 career TD), but he’s seen a lot of snaps, and like Momah, he is tall (6’5”) and a major threat in the land of plenty.

WR- Ifeanyi Momah (149 yards, 3 TD)

Momah had just 149 yards, but 3 of his 11 catches were red zone TDs. At 6’6” 225 lbs., Momah makes for a massive target down close to the goal-line. If only the Eagles could get there more often…

WR- Clarence Megwa (66 yards, 0 TD)

Megwa had 353 yards and 2 TD in 2007, but his production decreased big time in 2008. He suffered an ugly leg injury against Clemson, and might not be ready for the start of the 2009 season.

*Other WRS who could see time: WR-Colin Larmond Jr. (5 catches in 2008; 55 yard TD in the Music City Bowl loss to Vandy); WR- Clyde Lee (4 catches 72 yards, TD in Spring Game)

TE- Lars Anderson (9 catches 84 yards)

Anderson played in all 14 BC games last fall as a backup to 2^nd team all-ACC TE Ryan Purvis.

*Other TEs: TE Chris Pantale (5 catches 45 yards in Spring Game)

Offensive Line

Anthony Costanzo (T) Rich Lapham(T) Nick Rossi (G) Thomas Claiborne (G) Matt Tennant (C )

This is a giant line—at tackle, Costanzo is 6’7 and Lapham is 6’8—with giant experience. The only starter gone from last year is First-team All-ACC guard Cliff Ramsey. Tennant and Costanzo will both contend for All-ACC honors. Like many other ACC teams, BC struggles to win games without success on the ground, so these guys must improve for BC to separate from the pack in the ACC Atlantic Division.

Defense

BC had an exceptional defense in 2008. They tied with Florida for most interceptions (26) and finished the year with the 5^th best defense in the nation, surrendering just 268 yards per game.

However, D-coordinator Bill McGovern will not field a defense anywhere near that good in 2009.

The Eagles might lose more talent in the front-7 than any team in the country. At defensive tackle, they lose two All-ACC performers in 1^st round pick BJ Raji and 2^nd round selection Ron Brace. Those two hosses combined for 24 TFL and 10 sacks last year. No matter who steps in to replace them, they will not be able to equal that kind of production.

At middle linebacker, last year’s ACC defensive player of the year Mark Herzlich was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and will likely never play football again. Herzlich led the nation in interceptions for a linebacker with 6; his 110 tackles, 11 TFL, and immeasurable leadership skills will also be sorely missed. Mike McLaughlin, who finished 2^nd on the Eagles in tackles last year with 89 (and 10.5 TFL), ruptured his Achilles tendon during spring conditioning. It’s uncertain whether he will return this year. At the third linebacker spot, starter Robert Francois graduated after piling up 82 tackles and 7 TFL in 2008.

Fortunately, the Eagles will still have an excellent secondary. They lose safety Paul Anderson (43 tackles, 6 INT), but they return the other three starters, all of whom have proved themselves as strong ACC defensive backs.

The secondary must deliver lots of turnovers again for this defense to be good in 2009. Without last year’s pass rush, we’ll find out quickly how well these defensive backs can really cover.

This could be a top 40 defense, but with all the talent lost down the middle of the lineup, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Eagles drop 60 spots to 65^th—or worse—in total defense this fall.

Defensive Line

DE- Jim Ramella (35 tackles, 6 TFL, 4 sacks)

Ramella is probably the best defensive lineman on the team. He showed his potential with 3 TFL, a sack, and a forced fumble in the ACC Championship game. He will face a lot more double teams this year after the departures of Brace and Raji.

DE- Alex Albright (2007- 38 tackles, 10 TFL)

Albright was a force at Defensive End for the Eagles in 2007 before missing most of last year with injury issues. He could struggle to put up big numbers again like he did in 2007 because he will be facing a lot more double teams. Not only did Brace and Raji live in offensive backfields, they also freed up defensive ends—like Albright—to make plays against single teams.

DT- Damik Scafe (13 tackles, TFL)

Scafe is unproven. He didn’t see a lot of playing time in 2008 for obvious reasons. I’m not sure Warren Sapp would have seen a lot of PT with Brace and Raji on the same roster.

DT- Kaleb Ramsey (6 tackles, TFL)

Ramsey is small for a DT at just 256 pounds. Expect opponents to run right at him until he proves that he has the strength to shed blocks and disrupt plays.

Linebacker

LB- Will Thompson (12 tackles)

Thompson has very little experience.

LB- Dominick LeGrande (9 tackles)

Domenick LeGrande spent part of 2008 in the secondary, so he could be another Eagles weapon on pass defense. However, he’s just 200 lbs, and I expect teams to take advantage of that by running right at him.

LB- Darius Bagan (0 tackles) or LB- Mike Morrissey (3 tackles)

Morrissey is just 210 lbs. If he and LeGrande are in the lineup, BC will have the smallest group of linebackers in the ACC. Uh oh.

Secondary

CB- DeLeon Gause (22 tackles, INT)

Gause started the first 10 games of the season for BC before injuring his ankle. He was a major contributor to BC’s 7^th ranked pass efficiency defense.

CB- Roderick Rollins (43 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 2 INT)

Rollins is the best cornerback on the roster. He showed off his talents in a 7 tackle, sack performance against VT in the ACC title game.

CB- Donnie Fletcher (36 tackles, .5 TFL, 3 INT)

Fletcher saw an increase in playing time after the ankle injury to Gause, and he took advantage of it, earning the starting job over Gause this spring.

S- Marcellus Bowman (31 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 3 INT)

Bowman saw time at both safety positions last fall, which could come in handy in case of injury. Against FSU, he had 4 tackles, a sack, and an INT return for TD. He could produce Paul Anderson-esque numbers this fall.

S- Wes Davis (60 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 INT)

Davis started alongside last year’s team INT leader Paul Anderson. Davis has shown effective run support and pass defending skills.