2008 Boston College Eagles Preview

In his first season at Boston College, coach Jeff Jagodzinski came close to delivering on his pledge to take the Eagles “to the next level,” meaning a Bowl Championship Series berth. BC captured the ACC’s Atlantic Division title, made its first-ever appearance in the ACC Championship Game, and capped an 11-win season (only the second in school history) with a 24–21 victory over Michigan State in the Champs Sports Bowl, extending the nation’s longest active bowl winning streak to eight games.

Two Minute Drill

A Quick Look at the Eagles

Chris Crane, the heir apparent to Matt Ryan, says he is feeling confident about himself these days. The senior quarterback is seeing the field with a pair of wide-open eyes, and he feels like he has a greater command of Steve Logan’s offense after watching Ryan operate it like a maestro last season. These are all good signs that bode well for the Eagles if they intend to remain in the upper echelon of the ACC. It will be imperative for Crane, who has no proven backup, to remain healthy and carry the offense while a young backfield gets up to speed. BC must survive a tough November stretch in which the Eagles play five consecutive weekends, including four against Atlantic Division rivals: Clemson, at Florida State, at Wake Forest, and Maryland. Defensively, the Eagles should be strong up front. The front seven should be fortified by the return of linebacker Brian Toal and defensive tackle B.J. Raji, but deficiencies in the secondary could be a lingering problem. If those concerns can be addressed, and Crane can stay on his feet through to November, the Eagles could be headed South for another warm-weathered bowl destination.

But all that was due, in large part, to the efforts of Matt Ryan, the ACC’s offensive leader who was the first quarterback selected in the 2008 NFL Draft. Now that he’s gone, can the Eagles, who flirted with a No. 1 ranking last fall, sustain, and even duplicate, that level of success?

“No question about it,” says none other than Ryan himself. “They’ve got a great coaching staff, a good deal of talent coming in, and a lot of good players coming back.”

But none are named Matt Ryan. Senior quarterback Chris Crane will finally take the controls of Steve Logan’s offense after serving as an understudy the last four years. Although the offensive line and the backfield will have to be retooled, Crane will be surrounded by six returning offensive starters, most notably senior wide receiver Brandon Robinson (who sat out the spring rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery) and senior tight end Ryan Purvis, an All-ACC first-team selection.

Defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani welcomes the return of linebacker Brian Toal and defensive tackle B.J. Raji to a defense that lost seven starters from a squad that led the league (and was second nationally) in rushing defense. Although both sat out last season — Toal because of shoulder surgery rehab; Raji because of academic ineligibility — their experience as starters in ’06 should bolster BC’s defense, which ranked 19th in the nation overall last year.

Quarterbacks

It’s not likely he’ll make many people forget about Ryan, but Crane’s physical presence in the pocket should help the 6'4", 236-pounder fill the huge void left by Ryan’s departure. “I feel really confident in myself, just getting all the extra reps,” Crane says. “I’m seeing the field tremendously, and I’ve had more than a year in our offense now. It’s really starting to click in my mind.” One huge area of concern: Crane’s backup. If Crane goes down, the Eagles will be forced to look to either redshirt freshman Dominique Davis or junior college transfer Codi Boek. Aside from Crane, who completed 2-of-4 passes for 28 yards last season, the only other returning player who attempted a pass last year was sophomore wide receiver Billy Flutie. And he was 0-of-1.

Running backs

Sophomore James McCluskey, a linebacker who was converted to fullback last season, returns as BC’s leading rusher (8 carries, 14 yards, 3 TDs), which says something about the dearth of experience in the backfield after the departure of Andre Callender and L.V. Whitworth. Freshman running back Josh Haden, rated the nation’s No. 3 all-purpose back, enrolled early to participate in spring drills and get a leg up on the competition at tailback. How did the Eagles wind up in such dire straits? Speedster Jeff Smith’s football career was truncated by a head injury, relegating him to the track team, while the disappointing A.J. Brooks was jettisoned for disciplinary reasons. Given the scarcity of depth at the position, Haden might wind up getting more than a cursory look. Barring any unforeseen setbacks, he should be the Eagles’ primary ball-carrier for the forseeable future.

Receivers

The rap on BC’s receiving corps last year was that Ryan was surrounded by marginal talent. “Not true,” says Ryan, rising to the defense of his receivers who were just as responsible as he for BC’s league-leading passing offense that averaged 323.9 yards per game and ranked sixth nationally. “Someone had to make those catches.” Most of the same supporting cast is back. Robinson and Purvis will provide experience. Juniors Rich Gunnell, who was on the receiving end of Ryan’s winning 43-yard TD toss at Clemson, and Clarence Megwa combined to make 94 catches for 1,284 yards and nine TDs last season, giving Crane a pair of sure-handed targets capable of stretching the field.

Offensive linemen

An awful lot was thrown at this group last year. There was a new zone running scheme, different protection protocols to absorb, and a mid-spring switch in position coaches. Now the Eagles must retool the left side of the line after the loss of guard Ty Hall and tackle Gosder Cherilus, an All-ACC pick. Center Matt Tennant will anchor a group that allowed the fewest sacks per game in the league, while Clif Ramsey will likely move from right to left guard and Anthony Castonzo, who started 14 games as a true freshman last year at right tackle, will shift to left tackle. Sophomores Thomas Claiborne, a 6'3", 330-pound defensive tackle who was converted to guard in the spring, and Rich Lapham, a 6'8", 324-pound tackle, will look to fill the gaps on the right side. “They’re enormous people,” Crane says. “They’re going to be tremendous assets to us because they’re going to be able to push bodies around.” And keep them off of the quarterback.

Defensive linemen

Raji’s return will bolster a group that lost ends Brady Smith (who was dismissed from the team) and Nick Larkin but returns proven veterans in senior tackle Ron Brace and junior end Alex Albright, who had a team-high 8.5 sacks last season despite missing the last three games with a broken forearm. Jim Ramella steps into Smith’s spot. Add to the mix a talented group of reserves in Damik Scafe and Jerry Willette at tackle, along with Austin Giles and Brad Newman at end, and BC’s defensive front would appear to be on solid footing.

Linebackers

It would be hard to imagine how losing two-thirds of your linebacking corps could leave a team unaffected. In fact, it’d be harder still to imagine how the loss of co-captain Jo-Lonn Dunbar and Tyronne Pruitt would leave BC’s defense in anything but a precarious position. But it has not. This position remains a core strength of BC’s defense due in equal parts to the return of a healthy Toal, a 24-game starter with 180 career tackles, the dominating presence of junior Mark Herzlich, and the stalwart play of reserve Robert Francois, who will vie with Toal for time at weak-side linebacker, Mike McLaughlin, a hard-hitting heir apparent to Dunbar in the middle, and Kevin Akins, who last year emerged as something of a third-down pass rush specialist from the strong-side spot.

Defensive backs

This group, as talented and inexperienced as it is, could prove the ruination of BC’s defense. It very nearly was last season when the Eagles ranked at the bottom of the league in passing defense (253.9 ypg). And that was with three-year starter DeJuan Tribble at corner and All-America safety Jamie Silva, the team’s leader in tackles (125) and interceptions (8 for 147 yards). With both gone, it’ll be up to safety Paul Anderson, the lone returning starter in BC’s secondary, to bring along a group of players such as corners Roderick Rollins and DeLeon Gause, a three-game starter as a freshman last season. The new starters are talented but lack only game experience, which is a dilemma that’s likely to keep Spaziani up late at night.

Specialists

Punter Johnny Ayers will be missed next year about as much as Ryan. For four seasons, Ayers provided the Eagles with peace of mind as much as he did field position. This season, BC is not likely to enjoy either, unless someone comes out of the stands, as was the case with returning senior kicker Steve Aponavicius, and persuades BC’s coaching staff to give him the job. For now, though, it appears Flutie, who punted in high school, could have a leg up despite his suspect distance and leg strength. Junior Jack Geiser should provide some stability at long snapper.

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