After those first three recruits things have quieted down a bit, but in regards to those three Rivals has released its next set of rankings. Boisture slid a little bit but still has 4 stars and cracks the Rival 100 @ 90. He's the fourth rated pro-style and since many of the Dual threat QBs are listed as Athletes right now that actually makes him the 4th QB overall, not too shabby. KPL slid in as the # 32 OLB but thats such a popular position I think thats pretty darn good. It also looks like we might be in the running for his cross-town rival Khairi Fortt a strong candidate for a 5th start @ OLB. Betancourt was only given 3* and slid in as the # 30 OT, but I would like to remind everyone that Castonzo was an unheralded recruit when he came in and look where he is now. I think Betancourt could be something great on this O-line.
I spent that day looking around team websites to see how our boys are doing @ mini-camps. Ron and BJ are doing great and Ron could be starting next year since the Pats seem to be at a stalemate with Wilfork. I couldn't find much news on Robinson but the Eagles website is well run and theres a number of pictures of him during drills. The fans don't seem to have much hope of him catching on though. Down in Tampa Ryan Purvis is listed as a TE but was given the number 46 which is a runningback (FB) jersey. Theres already two very good FBs there so I don't think you'll see Purvis blocking for Dunn or Graham but its not exactly good news for Purvis right now. I couldn't find much news on Francois and Toal seems to have disappeared since not getting an offer after a strong Jets camp. Theres not much news for Crane either but there are some pictures of him slinging the ball around. Only other Eagle Alum in the news is Josh Beekman who started 16 games for the Bears last year but apparently is losing his position as starting LG because of the shuffling on the O-Line following the O. Pace signing.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Transfer Rumor
Missed this before the last post but there have been reports that Pitt is getting two transfers, one from BC, supposedly a WR from PA. Eagle Access already has this covered noting that the only WR from PA is an incoming freshman. It seems that Chris Hayden-Martin is the player departing, Eagle Access cited a facebook report.
If this is the case I think H-M will be missed. He was a decent recruit and had the athletic skills that BC players generally lack. He hurt his knee again (tore his ACL in 07, I think he had a similar injury) so theres some question about his future. I did however see Chris around campus a fair amount and he was a very charismatic guy.
If this is the case I think H-M will be missed. He was a decent recruit and had the athletic skills that BC players generally lack. He hurt his knee again (tore his ACL in 07, I think he had a similar injury) so theres some question about his future. I did however see Chris around campus a fair amount and he was a very charismatic guy.
Not much News
There has not been a whole lot going on, just some more articles on Herzlich and the generic filler that you find in this limbo period between practices.
I walked by the practice field on campus the other day and saw what looked to be a player-run scrimmage. It was interesting because it looked to be about 30 of the major players just running plays without pads. Every play I saw was a running play with Josh Haden as the halfback and I'm fairly sure it was DD handing off the ball.
Heather Dinich has made remarks about needed McLaughlin back and has projected a 5-7 finish for Spaz's first year coaching. The one good comment she seemed to make was the recognition of Bowman and Davis in the defensive backfield as they project to be the starting safeties in a talented secondary.
I can't figure out where I found the info but I'm fairly sure that Joe Boisture will be going to the Elite 11 camp @ the University of Oregon on June 13 so stay tuned for that.
I walked by the practice field on campus the other day and saw what looked to be a player-run scrimmage. It was interesting because it looked to be about 30 of the major players just running plays without pads. Every play I saw was a running play with Josh Haden as the halfback and I'm fairly sure it was DD handing off the ball.
Heather Dinich has made remarks about needed McLaughlin back and has projected a 5-7 finish for Spaz's first year coaching. The one good comment she seemed to make was the recognition of Bowman and Davis in the defensive backfield as they project to be the starting safeties in a talented secondary.
I can't figure out where I found the info but I'm fairly sure that Joe Boisture will be going to the Elite 11 camp @ the University of Oregon on June 13 so stay tuned for that.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Herzlich and the need for Leadership
I have to admit that I expected a bit of a media blackout on the Herzlich situation after the family publicly asked for privacy, but leave it to Herzlich to give Cancer the middle finger.
He spoke with ESPN's College Football Live on the way back from the treatment center to let everyone know what was going on. I heard the one thing that I really wanted to when he said that it definitely had yet to metastasesed (or however you spell the past tense of metastases) which dramatically raises the survivability. When asked about his playing future Mark spoke in depth about life after football though so instead of guessing I'll just leave it at that.
Heather Dinich, the ESPN ACC blogger, wrote a short article babout BC's need for leadership now without Herzlich. She pointed to Ramella, McLaughlin and Tennant. On offense I wouldn't be surprised to see Anthony Castonzo step up as a leader from the Left Tackle position. I also like the call of McLaughlin as a leader but I really feel like you won't see him on the field in the fall. That likely leaves Ramella but I also think that you could see a lot of leadership out of Wes Davis from the Free Safety position.
He spoke with ESPN's College Football Live on the way back from the treatment center to let everyone know what was going on. I heard the one thing that I really wanted to when he said that it definitely had yet to metastasesed (or however you spell the past tense of metastases) which dramatically raises the survivability. When asked about his playing future Mark spoke in depth about life after football though so instead of guessing I'll just leave it at that.
Heather Dinich, the ESPN ACC blogger, wrote a short article babout BC's need for leadership now without Herzlich. She pointed to Ramella, McLaughlin and Tennant. On offense I wouldn't be surprised to see Anthony Castonzo step up as a leader from the Left Tackle position. I also like the call of McLaughlin as a leader but I really feel like you won't see him on the field in the fall. That likely leaves Ramella but I also think that you could see a lot of leadership out of Wes Davis from the Free Safety position.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Stunned
I stayed late on Campus for my own reasons but was off-campus with some friends for most of the day. One of them got the news from ESPN's text service and I just kind of stopped. Ferocious athletes like Herzlich don't get sick, they don't go to the hospital, they send people to the hospital. Then you realize that Cancer doesn't care if your young old, a beast or a mouse. One thing I am sure about is that Herzlich's attitude won't prevent him beating this. I have a lot of theories about his football future and how it might play out, but since he's not commenting on it I won't either. At this point everyone should be getting behind Mark and showing support. Head over to BCEagles.com and leave him a get-well message on the board there. Showing how many people he has in his corner can only help him.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Disrespect and Character Issues in the ACC
Atleagle, BCInterruption and Couplebeers have all touched on JP Giglio's preview of the Atlantic Division and how he loves NC State. In all honesty I can't say I disagree with his logic or at least how I percieved it, here's my take on what he's saying.
Anyone can win the Atlantic, go down the list and honestly tell me why one team is better as a whole than the next. So next you go to the gamechangers, players who can make the difference. Clemson and FSU could have some (particularly the skill players @ Clemson) but I would still consider them impact players and not true gamechangers. That leaves Russel Wilson and Mark Herzlich and while these two are like the unstoppable force and the immovable object coming together I have to give the nod to Wilson. True, defense wins championships but last year when we played NC State we needed to drop a whole lot of points on them, the fact of the matter is that I don't think we can count on that again this year. So NCState gets my nod as the team that will get trounced by VTech in the ACC Championship game. Remember that this is subject to change if our offense starts clicking in the summer.
Couplebeers just posted about character issues down @ FSU which got me thinking about BC's recruiting in general. FSU had 6 major issues, Miami is notorious for issues, though the program does seem to be cleaning up under Shannon. UNC seems to be taking a similar path. I haven't heard much about Clemson so I can't make a complete conclusion here but one thing all of these teams have in common is incredible recruiting, constantly bringing in Blue Chippers. Now I look to our program where we have seen one issue (the Tribble/Cherilus barfight last year doesn't count because in all honesty it looks like they were helping the owner take out some human trash) the issue with Brady Smith, for which he was ultimately given a slap on the wrist because he was really only found to have made a stupid drunken decision. The program still immediately removed him despite the upcoming need for defensivelineman. The point is that BC seems to bring in a lot of good character guys. We also seem to be on the verge of becoming a major player in the league everyyear. If we can make some waves this year and continue the current recruiting trend the team could have a bright future under Spaz. So the question becomes, do we lower standards for the better athletes (more so than we do now). I remember looking back @ Toal's Senior HS info and he had a low GPA but he made the cut for BC. Should we start doing that for all the blue-chips coming in? What about character issues? BJ had some but still played out well on the field.
My feeling is that we should not abandon our routes. BC is a Jesuit institution, held to higher standards than others. As the interest from the big players starts to come in, do the research, not just on game tape but with their communities. If the guys have some question marks but play well let the know that that stuff won't be tolerated. Work it out so they room with high-character teammates and help them make good decisions. If the player is the #1 recruit in the country and hearing that will make him sign elsewhere, then thats his problem. If he's the #1 recruit in the country and shows significant character flaws, then he isn't a BC guy. Ultimately these players are coming to school to be formed for the next part of their lives I don't want to be ashamed of any of our alumni, especially those in the spotlight like NFL players (say a particular QB from VaTech).
Anyone can win the Atlantic, go down the list and honestly tell me why one team is better as a whole than the next. So next you go to the gamechangers, players who can make the difference. Clemson and FSU could have some (particularly the skill players @ Clemson) but I would still consider them impact players and not true gamechangers. That leaves Russel Wilson and Mark Herzlich and while these two are like the unstoppable force and the immovable object coming together I have to give the nod to Wilson. True, defense wins championships but last year when we played NC State we needed to drop a whole lot of points on them, the fact of the matter is that I don't think we can count on that again this year. So NCState gets my nod as the team that will get trounced by VTech in the ACC Championship game. Remember that this is subject to change if our offense starts clicking in the summer.
Couplebeers just posted about character issues down @ FSU which got me thinking about BC's recruiting in general. FSU had 6 major issues, Miami is notorious for issues, though the program does seem to be cleaning up under Shannon. UNC seems to be taking a similar path. I haven't heard much about Clemson so I can't make a complete conclusion here but one thing all of these teams have in common is incredible recruiting, constantly bringing in Blue Chippers. Now I look to our program where we have seen one issue (the Tribble/Cherilus barfight last year doesn't count because in all honesty it looks like they were helping the owner take out some human trash) the issue with Brady Smith, for which he was ultimately given a slap on the wrist because he was really only found to have made a stupid drunken decision. The program still immediately removed him despite the upcoming need for defensivelineman. The point is that BC seems to bring in a lot of good character guys. We also seem to be on the verge of becoming a major player in the league everyyear. If we can make some waves this year and continue the current recruiting trend the team could have a bright future under Spaz. So the question becomes, do we lower standards for the better athletes (more so than we do now). I remember looking back @ Toal's Senior HS info and he had a low GPA but he made the cut for BC. Should we start doing that for all the blue-chips coming in? What about character issues? BJ had some but still played out well on the field.
My feeling is that we should not abandon our routes. BC is a Jesuit institution, held to higher standards than others. As the interest from the big players starts to come in, do the research, not just on game tape but with their communities. If the guys have some question marks but play well let the know that that stuff won't be tolerated. Work it out so they room with high-character teammates and help them make good decisions. If the player is the #1 recruit in the country and hearing that will make him sign elsewhere, then thats his problem. If he's the #1 recruit in the country and shows significant character flaws, then he isn't a BC guy. Ultimately these players are coming to school to be formed for the next part of their lives I don't want to be ashamed of any of our alumni, especially those in the spotlight like NFL players (say a particular QB from VaTech).
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Grass is always greener...
What makes USC the perennial team to beat, why is Florida always playing in the national championship and why are both stadiums always full? (the fact that they are always in the Championship hunt may have something to do with it but I digress) my theory is that it is due in large part to local talent. I know we've always scored well with bringing in the big guys from our area (SI runs the same story every year) but if you look at it I still think we need to do a better job. This year there are only 4 ESPN watchlisters in New England but theres no reason that we shouldn't be getting the majority of the great New England players. We have one in Pierre-Louis but we already lost out on his teammate Silas Redd and it doesn't look good for cross-town rival Fortt so we have to go after Blake Barker and not miss out on any big time recruits in our own backyard (Andre Lawrence anyone?) At the same time we still need to fill our needs and I love the job Spaz is doing this year bringing in some real blue-chippers for the first time in years (I know the numbers are worthless but I would love to see one BC prospect crack 80 on ESPN's evaluations). Even with those guys coming in we're still going to have some leftover scholarships, so give them to the local stars.
Heres my theory, football may not be huge in the area but each team usually has it's great players every few years. So give those quarterbacks or halfbacks a chance. I'm not a fan of hoarding scholarships for the next year so bring them on, to be honest even the worst have a chance of cracking the depth chart. Take this for instance: if Billy Flutie hadn't gotten bored and Ross Applegate (not a local I know but the basic concept is applicable) hadn't transferred due to Logan's scheme then we could have had a real QB battle this year. No matter who you are three years under the tutelage of any College QB coach (or in this case multiple QB coaches) and your gonna improve your game. All those people that loved Billy @ Natick would be making the trip for the Northeastern Game to see Billy scramble around in the pocket like he did in Natick. I'm not saying he'll be Matt Ryan but sometimes the local heroes can contribute on the field, and in the ticket office.
Still it wouldn't hurt to have USC's recruiting grounds, there are nearly 50 4* or better recruits in their vicinity and they could get whoever they wanted. Meanwhile New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine have 3 prospects Combined (actually NH has all 3, VT and ME have 0 legit prospects at the moment and RI has 4). So while USC and UCLA fight over the Matt Barkeleys of the HS world BC and UConn can slug it out to see who gets Griffin Murphy and Tom Uszakiewicz
Heres my theory, football may not be huge in the area but each team usually has it's great players every few years. So give those quarterbacks or halfbacks a chance. I'm not a fan of hoarding scholarships for the next year so bring them on, to be honest even the worst have a chance of cracking the depth chart. Take this for instance: if Billy Flutie hadn't gotten bored and Ross Applegate (not a local I know but the basic concept is applicable) hadn't transferred due to Logan's scheme then we could have had a real QB battle this year. No matter who you are three years under the tutelage of any College QB coach (or in this case multiple QB coaches) and your gonna improve your game. All those people that loved Billy @ Natick would be making the trip for the Northeastern Game to see Billy scramble around in the pocket like he did in Natick. I'm not saying he'll be Matt Ryan but sometimes the local heroes can contribute on the field, and in the ticket office.
Still it wouldn't hurt to have USC's recruiting grounds, there are nearly 50 4* or better recruits in their vicinity and they could get whoever they wanted. Meanwhile New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine have 3 prospects Combined (actually NH has all 3, VT and ME have 0 legit prospects at the moment and RI has 4). So while USC and UCLA fight over the Matt Barkeleys of the HS world BC and UConn can slug it out to see who gets Griffin Murphy and Tom Uszakiewicz
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Time to whine, again
So most of the rookie mini-camps have wrapped up so I can finally figure out who ended up where.
Francois is definitely in Minnesota, I haven't found any news but he signed right away and could make some waves there.
B-Rob is probably in Philly, I'm getting this news from couplebeers with some back-up but have heard minimal news about how hes doing and if he might crack the depth chart.
Purvis is definitely in TAMPA, again I jumped on the couplebeers bandwagon and thought Purvis was in Philly with B-Rob but ESPN broke the story of a Purvis-Jags reunion over the weekend, likely after the Bucs sent Alex Smith to the Pats.
Chris Crane got a contract with the Colts, yes Crane signed a contract. (to a team with Painter, Sorgi and Manning)
No news on Akins but Toal impressed at the Jets mini-camp so much in fact that people other than me were surprised when he didn't get signed. Tell me HOW do you impress in a mini-camp and then not get a chance to showcase your talents over Summer Practices. I mean come on the Jets signed guys that haven't played football in five years and they're not going to sign Toal? Maybe he'll get a shot with a team that hasn't had their camp yet, but my bet is Brian Toal UFL inaugural Defensive MVP.
Francois is definitely in Minnesota, I haven't found any news but he signed right away and could make some waves there.
B-Rob is probably in Philly, I'm getting this news from couplebeers with some back-up but have heard minimal news about how hes doing and if he might crack the depth chart.
Purvis is definitely in TAMPA, again I jumped on the couplebeers bandwagon and thought Purvis was in Philly with B-Rob but ESPN broke the story of a Purvis-Jags reunion over the weekend, likely after the Bucs sent Alex Smith to the Pats.
Chris Crane got a contract with the Colts, yes Crane signed a contract. (to a team with Painter, Sorgi and Manning)
No news on Akins but Toal impressed at the Jets mini-camp so much in fact that people other than me were surprised when he didn't get signed. Tell me HOW do you impress in a mini-camp and then not get a chance to showcase your talents over Summer Practices. I mean come on the Jets signed guys that haven't played football in five years and they're not going to sign Toal? Maybe he'll get a shot with a team that hasn't had their camp yet, but my bet is Brian Toal UFL inaugural Defensive MVP.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Toal, Betancourt and a look at Pro Eagles
First up, Toal finally got invited to a camp, the Jets camp to be precise where he will compete with former teammate Kevin Akins for a spot on the roster. Even better news is that Toal seems to have left an impression on First Year Head Coach Rex Ryan.
Moving along the pro road both Raji and Brace have started to settle into their surroundings and devouring the massive pro-play books. One year removed the class of 08 (07 season) is headline by Ryan but Jamie Silva has gotten some notice for his Special Team prowess and as of right now looks to have a future with the Colts. Jolonn Dunbar surprised the Saints working as an effective reserve in the two-deep. Cherilus has pretty much cemented a place at Right Tackle for the league-worst Lions while there has been little news on Tribble since he was sent to the Charger's practice squad.
And moving from past eagles to future eagles Seth Betancourt has officially committed to BC, the four star-ish recruit seems to have given us a "solid" verbal, suggesting that overtures from Notre Dame and Florida mean nothing to this BC-guy.
Moving along the pro road both Raji and Brace have started to settle into their surroundings and devouring the massive pro-play books. One year removed the class of 08 (07 season) is headline by Ryan but Jamie Silva has gotten some notice for his Special Team prowess and as of right now looks to have a future with the Colts. Jolonn Dunbar surprised the Saints working as an effective reserve in the two-deep. Cherilus has pretty much cemented a place at Right Tackle for the league-worst Lions while there has been little news on Tribble since he was sent to the Charger's practice squad.
And moving from past eagles to future eagles Seth Betancourt has officially committed to BC, the four star-ish recruit seems to have given us a "solid" verbal, suggesting that overtures from Notre Dame and Florida mean nothing to this BC-guy.
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