Haden speaks and other links

Josh Haden did the media rounds yesterday to explain his decision to transfer. He had nothing bad to say about BC, just that he felt it wasn't the right fit. I hope he finds what he is looking for at his next stop.

Huge win for the women's soccer team. They went to Penalty Kicks in the quarterfinal game.

Rich Gunnell also got some media attention Wednesday. First with this ESPNBoston piece and then with this feature on Pete Mitchell visiting Rich in practice. Gunnell is nearing Mitchell's yardage record.

Although it is an off week, Bob Ryan felt it was time to give Spaz a little attention.

BC came in at 59 in this preseason basketball ranking.

Departures, a day later

The article in the Herald sort of confirmed what has been floating out there: Tuggle's decision was completely amicable and Haden's was less so. Tuggle came to play for a different staff with a different depth chart. He got a chance but future opportunities at QB were unlikely.

Haden's situation is a little more complicated for a variety of reasons. First he is much more high profile recruit. Second, regardless of his health or his stats, there was still hope among those around the program that he would contribute and blossom. But ultimately he was unhappy. When a player is unhappy you can go a few different directions. You can appease him with more playing time. Try to give him extra attention. Talk to his parents. Or let him decide if he wants to be part of the team. The risk in the tough love approach though is that it sends a message to the whole team. It says that you are all in or all out. Spaz even referenced the all in or all out mentality in one of his answers to the Herald -- "If they don’t want to be here, they don’t want to be here."

Spaz isn't the first coach to do this. The difference though in sending tough love to a Billy Bennett type vs a Josh Haden, is that Haden was not as expendable and was popular. Forcing his hand gets rid of a grumpy and potentially negative influence, but it can also snowball if the team doesn't rally behind Spaz.

But how the transfers were handled has more importance in the long term because players will always be our biggest recruiting tool. The staff and the sales pitch gets the guys on campus for a visit, but how a recruit feels among his new potential teammates often makes or breaks the recruiting. There is a lot of self selection involved in the process. The guys think "would I fit in? Do the players seem happy? Do I like the vibe?" After something like this the players left behind will definitely give off a new vibe. They will either buy into Spaz and give that endorsement to recruits or they will send off a message that don't know what to make of their coach.

Transfers happen after coaching changes. More will probably come. Let's hope though that Spaz and Co use this to rally the team and find more guys who want to play at BC.

Haden (and his tattoo) and Tuggle gone

This has been floating out there for a few days, but ESPN's Joe Schad finally went public with the news that Justin Tuggle and Josh Haden are both leaving BC. This is not really a surprise since both probably saw the writing on the wall. As much as we hope and encourage guys to pick BC based on the experience and education, the reality is that depth charts and coaching have a huge impact on their decisions. Both came to play for Jags and work in Logan's offense. Now things are different and my guess is that they will look to find better situations for themselves. I wish them the best of luck.

As for Haden's tattoo...ugh. As the past guest blogger Reverend Mike asked "does anyone know of a good tattooo removal place in Chestnut Hill" or maybe Gainesville, Florida?

Preseason breakdown: Running Backs

Part II of the previews. This time I turn my attention to the running backs.

Consensus heading into the season
BC’s backfield is talented and diverse, but lacking depth. Most expect opposing Defensive Coordinators to loaded up the box to slow BC’s running game. This will put that much more pressure on Haden and Harris.

Roster Reminders
Returning Starters
-- Josh Haden
-- James McCluskey
-- Montel Harris*
Backups and Hopefuls
-- Jeff Smith
-- Sterlin Phifer
-- Rolandan Finch
-- Brendan Deska

*Practically a starter

If we are hit with a rash of injuries, these are some the names that you might see floated as possible RBs: Boek, Mulrooney, Fox.

Chatter

Considering the hype that surrounded his signing, Josh Haden’s freshman year was a bit of a disappointment. He had a series of nagging injuries that slowed his explosiveness. The chatter is that Haden had a good offseason and is ready to take the next step. When healthy, he should be a big play threat.

The Real Question
What will Spaz do with the true freshmen? TOB’s preference was to redshirt whenever he could. Jags felt that if a guy was good enough and ready, that he should be on the field. Spaz has yet to tip his hand on his philosophy. If Haden and Harris stay healthy, there might not be a need to play Phifer or Finch. My guess is that one will play and the other will redshirt.

My bold prediction
None of the RBs will have more than 20 receptions. Haden, Harris and McCluskey all made big plays in the passing game last year. While they may still get the occasional pass thrown their way, Tranquill’s track record at his last stop indicates that throwing to guys coming out of the backfield is not a priority. The most catches for a running back in any of Tranq’s years at UNC was 15. In comparison McCluskey had 19 catches in an abbreviated season last year. Even if Tranq opens it up, no one is going to approach Andre Callendar’s mark of 76 catches in 2007.

What keeps me up at night
Lack of a big back. McCluskey’s lingering injury and Jerry Kelly’s decision to transfer led to the Deska shuffle to offense. Can Deska –- in McCluskey’s absence -- open up holes for the tailbacks? Who will be our goal line solution? With a new QB it would have been nice to have an experienced, big running back as a security blanket.

Outlook
As the season approaches my optimism grows. A major part of that optimism is due to Montel Harris. I didn’t spend much time in this preview writing about Harris but believe he is just what this team needs. Our new No. 2 is a grinder who can make something out of nothing and move the pile. As he matures things should only get better. We may have an issue with the altered running scheme, but I expect Harris to adapt. If Haden stays healthy or Jeff Smith finally “gets it” then we can really surprise people. Anything we get from the freshmen is gravy.

Last year at this time we didn’t know what to expect from our running backs and they proved to be very good. This year –- now that they are known commodities -– let’s hope they exceed expectations again.

Two takes on ACC expansion and a Haden link

It has been five years since the ACC expanded, and two different papers featured articles on the move.

The Washington Post takes a more anti-ACC angle and repeatedly compares the ACC with the supposedly revitalized Big East. Making the comparison is natural. It's part of the narrative that everyone wants: "the big bully ACC has egg on its face and the Big East is better than ever." Unfortunately for writers across the country, that take is not true. The ACC's move hasn't been a home run in terms of revenue or on field success, but it hasn't been a failure either. Revenue has increased and many teams have been successful. Perception is just misplaced because the teams that have succeeded include Wake, BC and VT, and not Miami or FSU. And as people want to focus on the positive, the Big East is still fledgling. Revenue is down and the conference faces real challenges with a 16-team basketball conference.

This article is more even-handed. It just mentions the revenue and also labels BC as one of the big winners. I'll have my own look back on BC's move to the ACC in the coming weeks.

The Haden brothers showed greatness at an early age.

Haden getting notice and other links

SI mentions Josh Haden as one of the early enrollees who should make an impact next fall.

Two of our opponents are expected to be Top 25 teams next fall.

The ACC-affiliated Congressional Bowl in Washington D.C. received NCAA approval.

Here is an early fantasy football read on Matt Ryan.

The Lions confirmed they will use Cherilus at Right Tackle.