Report: more football staff changes

Within hours of Steve Addazio's press conference, news broke that there was another staff change in the works. According to Pete Thamel, OLine Coach Justin Frye is leaving BC for UCLA and being replaced by Phil Trautwein.

Timing can never be perfect, but it does seem odd for Addazio to not announce this change in line with the others. If he had Trautwein lined up, he obviously knew it was coming.

While I think Frye did a good job overall at BC, I am not worried about the future of the Oline. The area is Addazio's baby and whomever is coaching the unit is going to get extra help from Addazio. Trautwein fits a similar mold in that he played under Addazio and has served as a GA under him as well. I am sure he will use the same sort of techniques and drills that Frye has been using.

Trautwein is currently at Yale and is from New Jersey, so I don't know if he has recruited the Midwest like Frye did. Perhaps recruiting territories and assignments will shift again.

Last time it took BC over a week to confirm the rumored staff changes. It will be interesting to see how long they wait this time.

What to expect out of the OLine

The Herald's article on Chris Lindstrom got me thinking about the Offensive Line.  Even with all the talent upgrade and the new tempo offense, ultimately the success of this team is very dependent on the offensive line. It needs to be better than last year and needs to be elite if BC is going to be anything more than a seven win team.

As the Herald reported, Lindstrom has moved and is penciled in at RT. We know Baker is still at Center. Transfer Marcell Lazard, played Tackle at West Virginia, but is seems with Lindstrom at RT and presumably Montiero at LT, he would be inside. The other guard might be Schmall. On paper, that is a lot of questions marks. There is also plenty of talent and potential. That is where coaching comes into play.

One of the reasons we had great success at OLine, is we had great OL coaches. They knew what they wanted and could mold players accordingly. Things started to fall apart under Spaz when he had poor OLine coaches. Based on his first two years, I thought Addazio and his OL coach Justin Frye were perfect. They had the guys ready. Then it all fell apart. Last year was a little better, but still not elite. Now with more depth and experience on the line, this should be a great season. The coaches and the players should be on the same page.

A great OL can hide a lot of mistakes. BC needs a great OL to be great. My expectations are improvement. I will hope that they make a big lead and become the ACC's best again. That is when you will know BC has turned the corner.

Grantland dives deep on OLine with Addazio

The Addazio offseason media tour continues as he is the main subject in this Grantland article on building an offensive line. There are plenty of good nuggets in there, but the most interesting to me was the drill he has the lineman run in the offseason conditioning:

At Boston College, winter conditioning includes a borderline-sadistic drill in which one player contorts himself into a chairlike position, back against a wall, and balances weights on his knees. At the same time, another player pushes a 45-pound plate around the room as fast as he can. The longer it takes the second player to finish the course, the longer his teammate has to support the weights on his knees; if the player against the wall drops the plates, his teammate has to go back to the starting line. Addazio’s description of this regimen alone will turn the listener’s thighs to jelly.

“We’re trying to create accountability with each other,” Addazio says. “Don’t let your partner down. Don’t let your teammate down. You work on these skill sets.”

While Addazio has a plan for building an Oline, I still think it can be as simple as coaching. As mush as we hated Tranquill or thought Spaz was inept, what really undermined his teams was the OLine coaching. Jags showed that a head coach who appreciates OL play combined with a very good position coach can come in and make an Oline thrive. Addazio did the same thing in his first two years. I don't love the turnover at the OLine this year, but I have full confidence in Addazio and Justin Frye to make these guys competent by our opener.

BC proudly calls itself OLine U and I hope we always do. We need that mentality to compete. It is an area where we've shown we can recruit and develop and it covers so many potential weaknesses.

I hope Addazio has a long and successful tenure and I also hope that whoever replaces him has an Oline background. That works for BC.

2014 Preview Questions: How good is the Offensive Line?

Given BC's history with OLine play, it is surprising that it took until last year for an offensive coach to say "forget skill players, maybe we should just put out eight offensive lineman." The jumbo packages combined with the spread proved to be a good wrinkle. It played to our strengths and depth. I am sure this year we will see new wrinkles, but I don't think teams will be as surprised or that we have the same depth to pull it off. The big question is how good can this Oline be? Their success as a unit will impact BC's season more than any other.

During the decline under Spaz, the most obvious weakness was offensive line play. Mistakes, confusion and sloppy technique were evident. One of the reasons for last season's turn around was simply better position coaching. Which shouldn't have been a surprise since Addazio was a former OLine coach. You assumed that he would put an emphasis on the unit and find a good position coach (which he did in Justin Frye). In Year 2 -- with another year of good coaching -- things should be better. But it is not always that simple.

The middle of the line returns. Vardaro, Gallik and Williams should all probably be in the same position as last year. But those three were also the most inconsistent of our starters last season. Vardaro and Gallik would play really well some games and struggle in others. With Gallik receiving a series of preseason accolades, I assume the coaches are expecting a big season season from him.

But who replaces the Tackles? It is assumed that it will be another Florida transfer Ian Silberman and Seth Betancourt. But the coaches could easily move Vardaro and Williams wide and use Silberman and Betancourt on the interior. It really depends on what Frye thinks is most important, position familiarity or putting you best talent at Tackle.

I also don't know if and how often we will go big. Opponents have had a whole offseason to prepare. Without the surprise will the big packages be as effective? Also, do we have the depth? Are the guys on the bench able to come in and play? Are we better off with multiple Tight Ends? Unlike our questions at WR, I have more confidence that the Oline will come together. The talent and coaching is too good for it not to come together. And if it doesn't come together...we're screwed.

Frye, McGovern confirmed by BC

The two most often rumored staff members became official when BC announced that Addazio hired Justin Frye as Offensive Line coach and former Defensive Coordinator Bill McGovern will transition back to Linebackers coach. Frye is a bit green to get such a critical position for BC, but I think he will benefit from working under Addazio (himself a former OL coach). As one of the younger members of the staff, you have to assume that Fyre will be a key recruiter.

Bill McGovern staying on is more complicated. Addazio will be the fifth BC coach McGovern has worked under and that should carry some weight. McGovern is beloved by former players and many went to bat for him this go around. He's obviously well liked and is now a BC parent, so I respect his relationships and ties to the school. It is important to have people like that around the program. However, McGovern is the embodiment of many of the issues of the last ten years. We need new ones and going 2-10 confirms that. Once a valuable recruiter, McGovern has been sidelined a bit as Spaz's DC. Is he ready to hit the road again and become our man in New Jersey? Can he work with Don Brown after serving as DC last year? How will he adjust to the demotion? These are all big factors. I am happy for McGovern that his professional life didn't disrupt his personnel life too much. He doesn't have to uproot. But I hope he buys in to his new role. It will be critical for Addazio's success.