The professional people who actually know what they are talking about have posted their guide to next years Defensive Tackles and now its my turn to disagree, except I don't really disagree.
Surefire starter:
Damike ScafeR-Senior
my expectations for Scafe last year were relatively high. He was a guy that played alongside both Raji and Brace when the other got tuckered out (when you weigh 350 lbs it happens) and not only that he held his own. Excitement gathered after a strong spring showing only to be hampered by a nagging neck injury that really kept him at less than 100%. I see Scafe as the DT equivalent of Albright, he was set for a big year and was held back by injury. This year, barring injury, should hopefully see Scafe bounce back and really elevate his play.
Likely to play:
Kaleb Ramsey R-Junior
apparently Ramsey was dominating before he got hurt towards the end of Summer practice last year. After he got hurt he was less than a stellar force but still saw some good playing time last year. He's a pretty good pass rusher with his athleticism but even at 280 he seems a little small for a big guy.
Conor O'Neal Soph
I expect O'Neal to be the next Scafe. While Ramsey and Scafe may not be Raji and Brace O'Neal will be the third man in the rotation. The philosophy on Redshirting under Spaz was that if you could help the team you would play. Thats why Finch and Kuechly saw playing time last year. What a lot of people didn't realize is that Wetzel and O'Neal were also true freshman in the two deep (or 3ish deep). This year with Giles gone O'Neal should step in to take a spot. He had some pretty good plays last year and it seems that the coaching staff likes this guy.
Battle for the last spot on the two deep:
Bryan Murray R-Soph
he saw some playing time last year and made some really nice moves when he was on the field but there is little else in way of information on him. He was hampered by turf toe for a lot of the spring and has the potential to really explode this year.
Dillon Quinn R-Fresh
He was redshirted last year so he was either something of a disappointment or O'Neal was a surprise. Either way it still doesn't sound like the coaching staff is as high on this guy as the recruiting gurus were. On the plus size his arms are about the size of my head and each of his legs is about the same size as my body so he has the physical tools to dominate. My expectation is that he will steadily improve leading up to the season and will at least be in the two deep and could be a run-stopping specialist.
Rivals things Brad Newman might move inside as well but I think theres a 10% chance of this happening. While Newman might not be a stunning DE the only way I see him moving inside is if one of the young guys really step up at DE and we have injuries at DT. Speaking of DE though we're getting one more addition in CJ Parsons, a Northeastern Husky who was disappointed when the program was cut. I know if FBS guys move to FCS they don't have to sit for a year so I presume it works the same way in reverse and who knows how good this guy might be. We're also getting another QB in the form of walk-on Shane Cranmore. Shane was getting some looks after his junior year before he snapped his ACL and saw his recruiting go down the drain. While I don't expect him to compete for a starting spot but it never hurts to have depth.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The Spring previews begin: DE
Rivals has started their Spring position preview and I guess that mean's its about time I start mind and I might as well start where they did, defensive end. Definitely not our strongest position last year my personal football philosophy is that pressure comes number for any great defense. If you go back to our ridiculous defenses (namely 06, 07, 08) you'll notice something. Of the three 06 was only "pretty good" but we had Albright, Raji, Brace, Larkin. 07 had Albright beasting as a pass rusher and then 08 saw the rise of Raji. This does not take away from Silva, Dunbar, Tribble, Toal Herzlich or any of the other guys, its just my opinion that especially with our Big Ten style of recruitment we better be getting power out of our lines because its not likely we'll burn anyone with speed. So on to this year.
Your sure-fire starter: Alex Albright
I always thought he played strong side but apparently he always lines up wherever there appears to be the least protection (read, where the TE isn't). Rivals suggested that teams focused on blocking him but I feel like injuries played more of a role in his less than stellar season(1 sack?). He had been producing a lot of pressure early in the season even though he was still somewhat hobbled and we had Christian Ponder confused and afraid of Albright during the first half of the FSU game (the same FSU which is supposed to have the most ridiculous OL imaginable this year, something which I take offense to we all know BC always has the best line). Then Albright gets hurt, we lose pressure and we almost lose the game.
Your likely starters: Max Holloway and Brad Newman
Unless one of the younger guys has a great spring (always likely) I think these are the names you'll be seeing more of. The depth chart will read Newman first but the reality is that these two will be in and out of the game constantly. From scrimmages Holloway seems to be something of a phenom but there seems to be concern that his size might make him a liability in run coverage. Newman meanwhile is not exactly a flashy guy but the coaches love him because he knows his job and he does his job. Period.
The Best of the Rest:
Ifeanyi Momah
I've known about Momah's workout at the DE position for awhile now but the people I heard it from told me to keep it quiet so I didn't say much but now Rivals seems to be reporting it as well. I don't particularly like the idea of Momah as a DE, he had a TE body but ended up at receiver even though he really had TE speed as well. With Jarvis gone I really wanted to see the long-armed 6-6 Momah come back but this is meant more for WR not DE. The fact is that since Momah came back from the knee injury he's worked out @ DE and he is big and athletic, I just question his power. Maybe I'm being too negative though, so for a more exciting spin try this: Momah might be a receiver now but he was recruited by most teams as a TE so he must have some hidden power and Jagz/Logan must have felt he had some speed so maybe his blend of power and athleticism is just what we need @ DE.
Dan Williams
Rivals is reporting he moved to DE, I have it on good authority that hes been there for a while. To be honest I think this is more a move to develop depth since we haven't been all that successful at recruiting DE (come to think of it the Momah stunt might be along the same lines considering the wealth developing at receiver).
Kasim Edebali
A true dark horse, really nothing known about his playing ability but he's the only other guy who was actually recruited to play DE. Even though he was supposedly something of an athletic freak coming in he apparently spent the whole Redshirt year in the gym and is only familiarizing himself with the playbook now so there might be some work-ethic issues. He is however my choice as a dark horse candidate, especially since no one else seems to be giving him any love.
Your sure-fire starter: Alex Albright
I always thought he played strong side but apparently he always lines up wherever there appears to be the least protection (read, where the TE isn't). Rivals suggested that teams focused on blocking him but I feel like injuries played more of a role in his less than stellar season(1 sack?). He had been producing a lot of pressure early in the season even though he was still somewhat hobbled and we had Christian Ponder confused and afraid of Albright during the first half of the FSU game (the same FSU which is supposed to have the most ridiculous OL imaginable this year, something which I take offense to we all know BC always has the best line). Then Albright gets hurt, we lose pressure and we almost lose the game.
Your likely starters: Max Holloway and Brad Newman
Unless one of the younger guys has a great spring (always likely) I think these are the names you'll be seeing more of. The depth chart will read Newman first but the reality is that these two will be in and out of the game constantly. From scrimmages Holloway seems to be something of a phenom but there seems to be concern that his size might make him a liability in run coverage. Newman meanwhile is not exactly a flashy guy but the coaches love him because he knows his job and he does his job. Period.
The Best of the Rest:
Ifeanyi Momah
I've known about Momah's workout at the DE position for awhile now but the people I heard it from told me to keep it quiet so I didn't say much but now Rivals seems to be reporting it as well. I don't particularly like the idea of Momah as a DE, he had a TE body but ended up at receiver even though he really had TE speed as well. With Jarvis gone I really wanted to see the long-armed 6-6 Momah come back but this is meant more for WR not DE. The fact is that since Momah came back from the knee injury he's worked out @ DE and he is big and athletic, I just question his power. Maybe I'm being too negative though, so for a more exciting spin try this: Momah might be a receiver now but he was recruited by most teams as a TE so he must have some hidden power and Jagz/Logan must have felt he had some speed so maybe his blend of power and athleticism is just what we need @ DE.
Dan Williams
Rivals is reporting he moved to DE, I have it on good authority that hes been there for a while. To be honest I think this is more a move to develop depth since we haven't been all that successful at recruiting DE (come to think of it the Momah stunt might be along the same lines considering the wealth developing at receiver).
Kasim Edebali
A true dark horse, really nothing known about his playing ability but he's the only other guy who was actually recruited to play DE. Even though he was supposedly something of an athletic freak coming in he apparently spent the whole Redshirt year in the gym and is only familiarizing himself with the playbook now so there might be some work-ethic issues. He is however my choice as a dark horse candidate, especially since no one else seems to be giving him any love.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
QBs? yeah we got some QBs
Alright so here's my plan for the QBs, we start Rettig under center and put Shinskie @ TE with Bordner and Marscovetra @ wideout and just run trick plays every down... they'll never know who's really going to throw the ball.
But realistically the QB situation is as convoluted as it was at this time last year, a possible front runner with a few others gunning for his spot.
Assuming the role of DD this year is Uncle Dave Shinskie. Shinskie is the clear frontrunner as he showed flashes of ability last year. While I wouldn't say that the position is his to lose he is the only player with experience and I think there might be a good QB in there somewhere. Here's the issue, if he doesn't progress this year he might find himself quickly replaced. Shinskie spent most of last season locking on to receivers and throwing off his back foot. He didn't show a great ability to read coverages and it didn't seem to improve throughout the year. Maybe there's a lack of commitment, I don't know, but if Shinskie doesn't show some coachability I think you might see someone else starting very soon.
Assuming the role of Justin Tuggle this year will be Marscovetra. He's got the experience now and seems to have some physical tools as he actually beat Tuggle for the backup spot before Tuggle transferred. He wasn't a big name coming in but since then he seems to have developed quite a bit of respect in the program.
This year's Dave Shinskie is Chase Rettig. The big solution to our QB situation Rettig is the biggest name QB to come into BC since recruitment became an online industry. It will be interesting to see if the recruiters are on to something or if they're full of hot air. We know he has a live arm but it will be interesting to see what else he has. I can't wait to see if he lives up to the hype.
This years Marscovetra: Josh Bordner. I'll be honest I put more stock than I should in the recruiting sites so I had pretty much written Bordner off. However Bordner only started playing QB and he's played pretty well. The news out of most seem to suggest that he throws a pretty ball but he's just very raw. After the Crab Bowl (All-MD All-Star Game) Rivals bumped Bordner up to a 3* prospect which actually is the same as Rettig (they are 1* and 4* respectively on ESPN, which only goes to show how much of a crapshoot these things can be.) I feel like Bordner could be a complete wild card.
I'm not even going to try to predict what will happen. However the similarities to Davis' problems last year suggest that Shinskie might improve enough to lock down the starting position (only to decide he doesn't want to go to class and eventually transfer to ECU...) Rettig and Bordner both enrolled early and Marscovetra could bring something to the table so instead of predicting our QBs I'll predict the three early enrollees #s
Chase Rettig will wear #11, it was his number in HS its what he wore at the UA game and with Megwa leaving the number will be available.
I have nothing on Bordner he wore #12 in HS which I'm pretty sure won't be available. traditional QB #s that will be available next year(assuming the school doesn't start allowing offensive/defensive same #s) are 6 7 8 11 18. I'm feeling like Bordner might take 18 so long as Gunnell is cool with it.
KPL wore 24 in HS and that won't be available. LBs can wear pretty much every number so its even harder to predict but the guys a beast so I'll say he rocks #99 (or maybe he'll take over # 7 from the spirit of Akins)
But realistically the QB situation is as convoluted as it was at this time last year, a possible front runner with a few others gunning for his spot.
Assuming the role of DD this year is Uncle Dave Shinskie. Shinskie is the clear frontrunner as he showed flashes of ability last year. While I wouldn't say that the position is his to lose he is the only player with experience and I think there might be a good QB in there somewhere. Here's the issue, if he doesn't progress this year he might find himself quickly replaced. Shinskie spent most of last season locking on to receivers and throwing off his back foot. He didn't show a great ability to read coverages and it didn't seem to improve throughout the year. Maybe there's a lack of commitment, I don't know, but if Shinskie doesn't show some coachability I think you might see someone else starting very soon.
Assuming the role of Justin Tuggle this year will be Marscovetra. He's got the experience now and seems to have some physical tools as he actually beat Tuggle for the backup spot before Tuggle transferred. He wasn't a big name coming in but since then he seems to have developed quite a bit of respect in the program.
This year's Dave Shinskie is Chase Rettig. The big solution to our QB situation Rettig is the biggest name QB to come into BC since recruitment became an online industry. It will be interesting to see if the recruiters are on to something or if they're full of hot air. We know he has a live arm but it will be interesting to see what else he has. I can't wait to see if he lives up to the hype.
This years Marscovetra: Josh Bordner. I'll be honest I put more stock than I should in the recruiting sites so I had pretty much written Bordner off. However Bordner only started playing QB and he's played pretty well. The news out of most seem to suggest that he throws a pretty ball but he's just very raw. After the Crab Bowl (All-MD All-Star Game) Rivals bumped Bordner up to a 3* prospect which actually is the same as Rettig (they are 1* and 4* respectively on ESPN, which only goes to show how much of a crapshoot these things can be.) I feel like Bordner could be a complete wild card.
I'm not even going to try to predict what will happen. However the similarities to Davis' problems last year suggest that Shinskie might improve enough to lock down the starting position (only to decide he doesn't want to go to class and eventually transfer to ECU...) Rettig and Bordner both enrolled early and Marscovetra could bring something to the table so instead of predicting our QBs I'll predict the three early enrollees #s
Chase Rettig will wear #11, it was his number in HS its what he wore at the UA game and with Megwa leaving the number will be available.
I have nothing on Bordner he wore #12 in HS which I'm pretty sure won't be available. traditional QB #s that will be available next year(assuming the school doesn't start allowing offensive/defensive same #s) are 6 7 8 11 18. I'm feeling like Bordner might take 18 so long as Gunnell is cool with it.
KPL wore 24 in HS and that won't be available. LBs can wear pretty much every number so its even harder to predict but the guys a beast so I'll say he rocks #99 (or maybe he'll take over # 7 from the spirit of Akins)
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The Big Mac Attack
Mac is making something of a name for himself down at the East-West Shrine game. The immediate word out of the camp was that McLaughlin is a team leader but kept getting burnt on coverage because of his limited physical ability and I'd like to speak on that limit from two points. One is that I felt that Mac looked a step slow and not quite as beastly coming off his achilles injury but I think that time and training will bring it back. I don't think he really started at 100% and even a month off is just not enough to come back up to full speed after a full season where you didn't start at 100%. Secondly, everyone said the same thing about Dunbar and he's been a very reliable backup for the Saints since day 1.
But on to some more buzz about Mac from the Shrine game practices:
I haven't seen Rettig or Bordner on campus (I don't really know if I'd recognize Bordner) but I've seen KPL a few times. Can't wait for the spring game
But on to some more buzz about Mac from the Shrine game practices:
We'll take McLaughlin any timeThat is from yesterday's practice blog by scouts inc who continued to talk about Mac's intensity today stating that he ran full speed into an O-lineman on purpose. Yeah, that's Mac.
Boston College LB Mike McLaughlin is a bad ass. He can play on our team any time, any day in whatever we're playing. It's been only a practice and a half, but he's clearly the emotional leader of the East defense.
I haven't seen Rettig or Bordner on campus (I don't really know if I'd recognize Bordner) but I've seen KPL a few times. Can't wait for the spring game
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Really Billy?
Apparently former BC rejected Billy Bennet has committed to kick for NC State as part of their 2010 class. I'm not going to even try to figure out what the eligibility situation might be with that. I'm cool with Mr. Freeze or even Quigley though.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Respect for GDF and LeGrande has a run in with the Law
It's been confirmed that the Dominick LeGrande arrested for DUI is in fact the Dominick LeGrande who goes to BC. There hasn't been any news as to what BC will do. BC tends to be fairly strict (relative to say Tennessee or Florida State). While this is relatively minor compared to things like FSU I still think you'll see a strong stance from the school because they have a couple options. I personally feel like the best course of action would be to serve LeGrande with a full year suspension but let him practice. It'll be a good PR move, serves as a serious example to players, and ends any ideas LeGrande might have had about leaving after three years. Yet on the football side LeGrande could serve the suspension without losing any eligibility (he didn't redshirt) and probably wouldn't see much playing time anyways (Herzlich and Kuechly have the OLB spots locked up).
In other news the big story yesterday was Lane Kiffin peacing from Rocky Top after one year. This is exactly why I was completely behind DeFillipo when he canned Jags. The fact is that a culture has developed around college football where the coach has become more important than the program. This culture translates to coaches ducking contracts and ruining programs. because of GDF I don't think we'll ever have a Lane Kiffin situation at BC again. Now if we can just get more ADs to man up then CFB might be able to get its act together.
In other news the big story yesterday was Lane Kiffin peacing from Rocky Top after one year. This is exactly why I was completely behind DeFillipo when he canned Jags. The fact is that a culture has developed around college football where the coach has become more important than the program. This culture translates to coaches ducking contracts and ruining programs. because of GDF I don't think we'll ever have a Lane Kiffin situation at BC again. Now if we can just get more ADs to man up then CFB might be able to get its act together.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Shakim doesn't play and Marcoux shows experts why they are wrong
I watched the US Army All-American Bowl this afternoon before the NFL games and was disappointed that there was zero mention, notice or recognition that Shakim was there. Obviously he didn't play but not only that there was no word on whether he was still hurt or if he just wasn't as good as the #1 receiver Kyle "Butterfingers" Prater.
To be fair if Shakim was hurt most of the week he probably did not get enough experience to learn the offense, but it still would have been nice to at least see a video with Shakim putting a BC hat on.
In other news the third QB for the East was an unheralded Dartmouth commit who earned his spot on the field by winning FSC's "the Ride," a reality TV show. This guy has had zero attention on the recruiting trail yet propelled the East to two scores and showed the best ability of any of the QBs to play the entire game, embarrassing HS recruiting experts everywhere.
Update: Apparently Shakim did see some playing time at the end of the day but was still battling the shoulder injury, I still would have liked to see a little more attention paid to the guys who didn't see a whole lot of the field.
To be fair if Shakim was hurt most of the week he probably did not get enough experience to learn the offense, but it still would have been nice to at least see a video with Shakim putting a BC hat on.
In other news the third QB for the East was an unheralded Dartmouth commit who earned his spot on the field by winning FSC's "the Ride," a reality TV show. This guy has had zero attention on the recruiting trail yet propelled the East to two scores and showed the best ability of any of the QBs to play the entire game, embarrassing HS recruiting experts everywhere.
Update: Apparently Shakim did see some playing time at the end of the day but was still battling the shoulder injury, I still would have liked to see a little more attention paid to the guys who didn't see a whole lot of the field.
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