Monday, December 14, 2015

First 5th Year is a kicker/punter

Former Old Dominion kicker/punter Satchel Ziffer announced his commitment to Boston College Monday night. I am encouraged that we are adding an experienced 5th year talent. I just wasn't expecting it to be a Special Teams guy.

Ziffer is certainly welcome, as BC will need a punter next year and he has the potential to kick as well.

News on other 5th years should be rolling in shortly. Presumably the guys want to join the team in January, so they would have to commit now. Also, many are wrapping up their bachelors degree this semester. Once completed they can play immediately.

There has been plenty of gossip about 5th year OLinemen and WRs coming in, but no real leads on any potential QBs.

27 comments:

JBQ said...

I wonder: Christian Suntrup will complete his degree in May. He has one more year of eligibility. Could he go elsewhere? BJK said that he is on a medical scholarship. I think that is a cover. He still has a target on his back. Here in St. Louis, his daddy is a multi millionaire car dealer (Suntrup Toyota). He went to Chaminade Prep which is a local prep power in many sports. The number one basketball prep player in the country is Jayson Tatum of Chaminade Prep. He declared for Duke. If BC had their act together, they could be in the hunt for such players. Actually, the recruiting genesis went South to Atlanta with Jeff Jagondinski. Spaz had all of the personality of a Grizzly bear. Daz is even worse. You recruit the mothers. You do not recruit the player. Feminine intuition has thrown out BC for a number of years. Jags had cats jumping out of trees. His wife and 5 kids said a lot more than Spaz and Daz could ever say. BC is on the edge of a cliff. The cliff is on the edge of relevancy. A recent survey names BC as the school with the greatest percentage loss of applications. BC needs to do a lot of soul searching. The football and basketball woes are the tip of the iceberg. How come Jerry York and Ed Kelly can be successful and Addazio and Christian cannot?

dixieagle said...

"A recent survey names BC as the school with the greatest percentage loss of applications." Seems we've discussed this before; BC purposely added a supplementary essay to weed out less serious applicants: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/03/02/applications-rise-harvard-mit-and-but-celebrates-its-decline/eiqMdormeGrPr7oS2HnJoN/story.html

Paragraphs are your friends.

mod34b said...

Kid had 61 punts last year with an average of 40 yards

So he should be at least a safe and decent punter. No booms. Still a good pick up

eagleboston said...

JBQ, you think it is a cover, or you know it is a cover? It makes sense that he is not playing due to a medical issue. If he could play, and was qualified, why would BC make up an injury as cover? It is not in Addazio's self-interest to bench a great quarterback that he could ride to victory after victory.

CT said...

The 9:11 post. Gold medal for lack of self-awareness.

I love it.

Unknown said...

40 yd punting average merits a scholarship? Wish I'd known.

mod10aeagle said...

If Christian Suntrup could play, he'd be playing. Somewhere. Much more likely that he'll be selling Toyotas next year.

mod34b said...

KY - BC'd avg punt last year was 41.7 yds. So 40 yards is close. Maybe a little more training can get an extra yard or2,

JBQ -Just Bloody Quackers on Suntrup. Try Just Be Quiet!! On Suntrup.

Hoib said...

hallelujah! Now get to work on finding a 4 year answer at kicker for 17. Satch gets my vote for best name on the team. Best since Spiffy.

BarraCuda said...

Well he'll certainly get plenty of work.

Unknown said...

Mod - point taken. I was never a big Howell fan. Average was serviceable but he rarely flipped the field or pinned an opponent inside the 20. Hopefully this won't be as essential with next year's offense.

Napolean Bonaparte said...

Hey dixie eagle - I agree with your point - it was probably the essay. However, do you know if BC's yield rate on applications went up significantly since they changed the application and required an essay? The yield rate is the percentage of accepted students who chose to attend BC. If the yield rate didn't increase much or, much worse, went down - then there might be something to be concerned about. Will probably need several years of data to understand this.

Guido said...

I just looked at the punting statistics for Old Dominion for the 2015 football season. They punted 65 times for an average kick of 39.28 yards. At the risk of sounding a little negative , that average is lackluster in my humble opinion. This is an honest question - With probably 90 young athletic men on scholarship , is it unreasonable to think that one of these young men (excluding linemen)could be coached in the off season by a former college/ NFL kicker to develop this skill. I am serious in this query !!! Is there someone on line that might shed some light on this subject ??? Maybe some of our current or incoming recruits punted in high school and with "proper tutelage" in the offseason , could be very proficient punters. Thanks for any input on my serious question.

Guido said...

Just a follow - up -Alex Howell had an average punt of 42.5 yards in 2014, but dropped to an average punt of 41.7 in 2015. However, Alex was hobbled all year with hamstring issues. Considering his medical issues last year , Alex performed admirably. This important area does not appear to have been improved unless the incoming transfer hones his skill in the off season.

mod34b said...

Guido - The stats from CFB say Satch punted 61 times for an avg of 40.16. BC's punter averaged 41.7. So the difference is 1.5 yards per kick. See CFB STATS

40.16 is ok. Would put in in the middle of the ACC pack for punting.

The thing I like is that this new kid has handled 61 punts and will presumably be reliable in handling the ball and getting the kick off. We do not want a guy with no game time experience punting (given how many times we will punt)

He can be coached up to gain another 1-2 yards per punt.

mod34b said...

we also were #2 in the FBS with 92 punts. in contrast in 2014, we had 66 punts. our failed drives in 2015 went up by almost 50%

Spaz's high mark for punts was 80.

Anyone seeing a problem with the O? any one see a problem with coaching? strategy?

Nah.. it is all good.. Daz needs more time..... yeah that's it ha!

Big Jack Krack said...

2016 will be a pressure year for Addazio.

He is on the hot seat from the opening kickoff.

Hoib said...

The net yds matter too. Can he kick directionally to help coverage? How good are inside 20 #'s? Hang time? it's not just about average yds per kick. I'm most excited about the PK ability. He's got to be better than what we have there.

mod34b said...

Hoob aka potty mouth - see my link. He appears to have 1 PK and 5 PAT. Looks to be only a punter

mod34b said...

BJK - Daz is already #3 on the Coaches Hot seat. Coaches Hot Seat

Guido said...

Mod 34 - I suppose you may be correct . I guess I may be a little disappointed about the need to rush in a transfer (use a scholarship) to handle just punting !!!! It just seems that we are scrambling to fill many needs for next year. Do we feel confident about our field goal kicking situation ??? Whatever !!!!

Big Jack Krack said...

With all due respect to Satchel, it seems as though we already have guys who can match his numbers.

JBQ said...

@mod34b: If it quacks like a duck, then it's a duck. While coming back from New York last year, I sat next to the sister of Sundrup's high school tight end. The brother was playing at a MAC school. She told me that "the duck" wanted to play and would try to play after graduation. If you notice, BJK is saying nothing. BTW, Chaminade has seen David Lee and Bradley Beal both go there and played one year at Florida. Jayson Tatum is now the number one recruit in the country and going to Duke. I visited campus this year and asked about a redshirt linebacker who was on the roster last year from Chaminade. At first, I was told that he was never there. When I was insistent, "Affton" told me that he was "no longer on the roster". The point is that it would appear that Addazio is very vindictive when a player does not work out. The three that left this year had "more on their plate" than just rejection. I would say that he "turned on" Outlow, Gowins, and Alston. It is very plain that rightfully or wrongfully that they took it as racial animosity. Where did Bobby Swigert go? Why did the big tight end walk away from the team? Why are all of these players leaving? Rich Gunnell would have been a great addition to the coaching staff. He was a grad assistant. What happened to that? Spaz had some great players and recruited well. He just couldn't coach. The recruiting by Addazio is well beyond useless. His coaching is horrid. He is on the verge of destroying the entire program. Chet Gladchuk was a great AD and at last call was at Navy. De Fillipo destructed the program by firing Jags (who wanted to be fired after 2 years of baby sitting to get the big payday). He then elevated Spaz who was a great d.c. but horrid in the top seat. Brad Bates invited me to visit campus. When I showed up, he was "at the dentist". If you believe that one, then the Brooklyn Bridge is for sale. @eagleboston: As for riding a great quarterback to victory after victory, the treatment of Flutie was horrid. After mistakes by Wade and Smith, Addazio would put his arm around the young men and say that was okay. When it was Flutie, he would chew him out and "show him his butt". With Flutie, it was always run, run, pass. I don't know if Flutie could develop. However, we will never know. The bottom line is that Addazio is "running around like a chicken with his head cut off". Bates is out there partying instead of running the ship. Basically, "Jill" runs the office and Bates just phones it in. How about BJK for A.D.? At least the BS would stop. Addazio is a joke and resurrecting Spaziani from the mausoleum of irrelevance.

mod34b said...

@JBQ Agree Daz is a joke! A bad joke. A phony. Seems abusive too. I wish ATL would do some BC football journalism - he's got sources for sure - but he seems content to Just Be Quiet on Daz.

As for Daz's future departure, I'd say Jesuits Be Quick

mod34b said...

Guido. I look at as Daz seems now to have a decent safe punter. BC will never win by punting, but now maybe won't lose by disasterous punting

Daz has many other problems. He solved one problem with this transfer - we hope

Boston said...

JBQ, just a question, but why did Bates invite you to campus? Maybe some background would help support your allegations regarding Suntrup.

Guido said...

mod34b - this transaction with the punter did not bother me as much as it was indicative of a system that has gone AWRY !!! There is a real problem in this program. I hope that the Administration is somewhat cognizant of this situation.