Tuesday, October 02, 2012

What is Spaz leaving in the cupboard?

We won't know Spaz's fate until the new AD is in place, but I think most can agree Spaz will not be coaching BC five years from now. That prediction is not based on wins and losses. It is simply about age. Spaz must know this too. That's why I am glad he is still keeping some of our current true freshman on the sidelines, preserving their fifth year of eligibility. Obviously under pressure, Spaz could play everyone with the hope that one of the guys might make a difference. But he doesn't seem to be in a full "win now" mode yet.

Last year's recruiting class consisted of 17 players. Eight have yet to play and look like they are headed towards redshirts. Those eight are Jim Cashman,  George Craan, Win Homer, Malachi Moore, Mike Strizak, Frank Taylor, Nigel Matthews, and Joel Karim Zoungrana. Now preserving their eligibility is not Spaz simply looking out for their best interests or wanting to help his successor. Spaz may have good intentions, but most of the redshirts are lineman who are physically not developed enough to play the positions for which they were recruited. Others like Craan have been battling injury and some like Matthews and Strizak would break the depth chart at their positions.

Eight players might not mean much and it is unlikely that all will hang around for five years. But at least it is one less excuse for the 2015 and 2016 seasons (of course Spaz used the excuse for himself when talking to Avidon). The key for BC's future success is to get back to redshirting the majority of the class. I know that concept is becoming dated as players arrive on campus more mature and developed, but that added time can still be advantageous to a program like BC. A fifth year, 23-year-old marginal recruit is always going to be more valuable than he was as a true freshman. We just need a head coach who sees himself at BC long enough to invest in their and BC's future.

5 comments:

EL MIZ said...

for what it's worth, Taylor and Homer were the highest rated recruits we had last year according to ESPN. Taylor (from PA) chose BC over Miami, Michigan State, Pitt, Purdue, West Virginia, and others. Homer (from VA) chose BC over VA, VA Tech, and NC State. hopefully they can contribute in years to come.

agree 100% about the redshirting -- that was a calling card of TOB and something that contributed to our teams always playing hard, not making too many mistakes, and playing smart. MOST of his classes were redshirted if i'm not mistaken, and it was the exception that a freshman would play instead of the rule that it seems to be in today's CFB. given BC's place in the CFB recruiting world, the next coach should has to get back to that mentality.

NEDofSavinHill said...

While Rettig and the offense seem vastly improved they seem to struggle in the 4th quarter. Very few drives have resulted in late game TDs. Hopefully this trend will change and the team can score throughout the game. We don't need the QB to be another Q. Porter i.e. play just well enough to lose. 2. Should the D implement a different tactic when playing mobile dual threat QBs? Use the standard defense against running teams( Army and GT) and coventional QBs ( NC ST. Maryland) but against the others ( FSU, VT and ND ) move some safeties to LB and provide better persuit and coverage. Would prefer to see Duggan, KPL and either Sylvia or Keyes at LB. Possibly an upgrade? 3. Did anyone note the different approach the Big East took to ND's departure than to BC's? The BE was so sweet, generous and thankful to ND. A slightly changed tactic from the accusatory, vitriolic and defamatory approach the took to BC.For years after BC left clowns like Boeheim and Calhoun were still denouncing BC. For years ESPN was deriding the ACC. Now they are all praise. If you looked up Hypocrite in the dictionary one would see a picture of the BE and ESPN.

mod34b said...

is this a typo??

We won't know Spaz's fate until the new AD is in place, but I think most can agree Spaz will not be coaching BC five years from now

5 MONTHS from now, Spaz is gone, gone, gone (with a mighty fat pile of $$$...) not 5 years

But seriously, Spaz is a bad coach, but he does have a good heart. I think he wants to do the right thing. And that is probably why he is doing the right thing for his players. He knows he is gone soon -- probably glad of it, too -- and has no reason (such as ambition for a new job) to push kids too hard.

Walter said...

Don't know if this is old news, but the ACC posted the basketball rivalries. If I read it right, we'll be having a home and away with Notre Dame and Syracuse every year. That's a good win for us. I figured we'd get Syracuse, and hopefully the ND presence energizes the student body for at least another game.

eagleboston said...

I was out of town and missed the uniform thread. Perhaps because I am middle-aged, I prefer the Flutie-era uniforms. The gold pants with the maroon and white stripes and the all gold helmets were classic. I also like the current gold pants with maroon shirts. I think in TOB's day, we wore maroon pants with white shirt that was really cool.