1. Ryan Quigley. Quigley has been a solid punter from Day 1, so it may be hard to call him a surprise, but this year he took it to a new level. He was fourth in the nation in punts inside the 20...many of which were pinned inside the 10. Quigley was consistent and also did very nice job with our kickoffs. There were many times that I felt Spaz went too conservative and was too quick to punt, but Quigley always bailed him out. Many things went wrong this year, but anything related to Quigley did not. I wish he didn't punt so often, but it was a pleasure watching his work.
2. Dominic Appiah. When Spaz's defenses are at their best, it usually starts upfront. For the past three seasons we haven't really had a game changer up there. We expected guys like O'Neal or Quinn to step up or maybe get some big contributions from Ricci, but Appiah was the one who really progressed as the season wore on. As a DT, his job is to push the line and clog the middle. One of the reasons our defense got better towards the end of the season was because Appiah finally gave us a difference maker at DT. As we used more three-man fronts, Appiah was often the lone DT out there and played well. Plus I like his hustle. The defensive line has been an issue for a few years, but I think next year it will be a strength.
3. Manny Asprilla. Asprilla's rise was very similar to Appiah's. Other young DBs were supposed to make an impact this year. Not much was expected of Asprilla. Yet as the season wore on, he was getting more and more snaps. He was the one making tackles. Our corners are expected to cover and make plenty of tackles. Asprilla showed a toughness and instinct that should serve him well going forward. I also liked his quickness on corner blitzes. If his freshman year was any indication, Asprilla has a chance to be special.
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Quigs is an excellent positional punter. Seemed to have lost some distance this year. He will be missed.
Appiah. Yes. Good player. Nice surprise. Quinn also seemed to turn a corner and now is pretty solid. If Ramsey comes back, the DT position will be a strength.
Duggan is another good surprise.
BC really has a lot more quality players than its record suggests. Now if we could just get a coach to get the players ready to play when the season starts.
I am curious about the OL, ATL. Who do you see as the positive surprises there.? The OL improved quite a bit as the season progressed. Is the graduation of Spinney going to hurt the OL a lot?
That squirrel running across the field during the Wake game was a fun surprise.
Better effort: The squirrel, or the guy who ran on the field to high-five Kuechly and get leveled by the NC State lineman?
(pretty sad that these are the season highlights)
If BC should lose players to transfer, when is the deadline for such? This could have a significant impact on the Spaziani regime. Is this a possible hurricane or just a breezy wind on a small pond? The obvious answer to the entire mess is for Spaziani to retire and hand the reins to a young and aggressive coach such as Fitzgerald of NW. Tim Russert lives!
what is this "tim russert lives" business? what is the implication?
it will be interesting to see the transfers, as there were "anonymous internet message board postings" this fall about a rash of imminent transfers if spaz did not go. perhaps the 2-2 finish and spaz being the best coach in the last 15 years prompted them to change their minds?
NW to BC would be a lateral move at best.
Can we find out about our medical redshirts now, with out season over, or does the NCAA wait until all College Football is done?
Related note, at a bar last Saturday which I was too old to be at, the DJ started playing 'This is How We Do It' between sets from the cover band and I realized that we're not close to ready for Montel Harris to drift off into the sunset.
Erik -
Apparently Momah is the only only we're applying for a 6th year for. ACC approved hardship waivers for him, Montel, CJ Jones, Ramsey, & Wujciak today...
Tim Russert was a well respected Catholic Irish-American journalist who raised 4 children. His son Luke graduated from BC in 2008 and shortly thereafter, after an audience with Benedict XVI, he came back to host "Meet the Press" and died. According to Wikipedia, Russert would end "Meet the Press" with BC athletic updates.
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