Spaz back to coaching and BC still with openings

Former BC head coach Frank Spaziani is returning to the sidelines. He accepted a job as New Mexico State's Defensive Coordinator. The job reunites him with his final BC OC Doug Martin.  I plan to write about ageism and coaching after the full staff is in place, but I am surprised Spaz was hired. He will be 69 in April and is the same age Gary Tranquill was when he came out of retirement to coach at BC. It will be interesting to see how he does. The New Mexico State job really requires a miracle worker. I don't know all the details of BC's settlement with Spaz, but him taking this job probably confirms that he is no longer receiving any payments from BC. (Most of the buyouts have provisions when a coach takes a new job.)

The Iowa media looked into the Seth Wallace gossip and don't have any new news (and don't think there is much to it). We won't know more until Addazio fills his final two spots. Neither of the major coaching coaching sites have any rumor or gossip about who Addazio is considering for his openings.

Lesson from the 2010 New Jersey recruits

NJ.com posted a look back on the state's top recruits from the Class of 2010. The focus of the article was Rutgers, but there is some BC stuff to learn too.

Three of the Top 20 guys enrolled at BC (Shakim Phillips, Steele DiVitto and Jarrett Darmstatter). They were part of Spaz's first full recruiting class. At the time it was encouraging to get three guys out of New Jersey but there was also a "what if" to the Garden State recruiting since we also missed on a few guys at friendly programs (Don Bosco). But with hindsight, it shows this whole group of New Jersey guys was relatively disappointing. Phillips multiple moves kept him from ever reaching the potential of his recruiting ratings. Darmstatter never became a big factor. Of BC's commitments, DiVitto clearly had the best career.

But looking back, not many of the guys in the New Jersey Top 20 exceeded or even met the expectations that came with their rankings. New Jersey is such a critical state for so many programs, so a weak recruiting year can impact teams all over the Northeast.

Overall this is a reminder that recruiting is not always as simple as "get all the best guys" in one area. Successful programs are the ones who are better at identifying talent than the recruiting services. They are also the ones that bring in good class after good class and have multiple regions where they find talent. That way one group that disappoints does not hamper the program long term.

My thoughts on all the BC names floated for the UMass job

No one is asking me, but since the media is leaking a whole bunch of guys with BC-ties to the UMass job, I thought I would weigh in on the opening. The most surprising to me is Blauds promoting Spaz for the job. He mentioned "sources" saying Spaz is interested. My guess on his source is Spaz himself. Spaz even thinking about the UMass job was shocking. Retirement must be miserable if he wants to get back into the coaching game in Amherst. But that doesn't really matter. UMass is not hiring him for a variety of reasons. His age and his record at BC are the biggest factors. But with Spaz a non-factor, who should UMass hire?

A competitive UMass team is good for BC. Added interest in college football in the region is a good thing. Better high school development is a good thing. And a respectable, yet consistently beatable opponent on BC's schedule is always a good thing. I want them to make a good hire. If only so we don't have to keep reading why college football cannot work in Massachusetts.

Mark Whipple and Don Brown are both being mentioned too. I don't know enough about the UMass politics and history to know if they would rehire one of their old coaches. Both seem relatively safe hires and have proven themselves away from UMass. Despite the stats, I would hate to lose Brown now as we would probably have to scrap his system and rebuild one side of the ball again. I don't know where Brown stands, but if he wanted to be the head coach at UMass, would he have ever left years ago?

I have yet to read Jags' name for the job. Once again, I don't know the politics, but doubt UMass would want someone BC fired. I think Jags could do well there. He's never led a true rebuilding project, but I think he could get enough talent out of the northeast and midwest to win in the MAC. I also think he'd build a decent staff (just like he did at BC).

Of all the names, Jack Bicknell Jr. makes the most sense. He had college head coaching experience. He has multiple ties to the region. He now has solid NFL experience to sell to recruits. I know he interviewed there years ago and didn't get the job. They probably should have hired him then and should hire him now. He's a safe hire, can handle the job and doesn't come with any of the baggage that some of the other candidates have.

Bill McGovern interviewed with UMass in the past. He lacks the head coaching experience, but is probably the best recruiter of this bunch. Because of his success as a recruiter, he would probably leave UMass in a better place. However, I doubt he'll get serious interest this time around.

The most intriguing name associated with the search so far is John DeFilippo. To UMass fans he's just a young up and coming coach. To BC fans he'll always be the son of Coach Flip. I've heard that John is a good coach. But I will also never get past all the stuff I also heard about the two Flips assessing and gossiping about the different coaches and position coaches that BC interviewed over the years. It's all second hand information (and probably unfair of me) but I would never want him anywhere near the BC job. UMass can have him.

An appreciation for Doug Martin

The obvious storyline to Saturday's game is BC facing its former Offensive Coordinator and now current New Mexico State Head Coach Doug Martin. As much as last season was painful and there are many things the previous staff did that set BC back, I really hold no animosity towards Martin. In fact his short stay was one of the few positives of last year.

There is a mercenary aspect to big time coaching. Few jobs have stability and you go where you are wanted and where there is a healthy pay check. All the guys who joined Spaz's final staff knew that. They all took the job for various professional reasons but I think all knew to rent rather than buy (figuratively). Because of that mentality and because the season went south early on, you heard stories and watched as the coaches started checking out on the season and BC. I never heard that about Martin. In fact, I heard just the opposite.

The offense wasn't much better while Martin was calling the plays, but I think we can fairly say that most of the problems were systemic. The offense was never good under Spaz because of how he managed his staff, his roster and his practices. I think under a different regime and different circumstances Martin might have been a guy who thrived at BC. 

Martin went from one unstable situation to another when he was thrust into the Head Coaching job at New Mexico State. It seems destined for failure. Other than this weekend, I wish him luck in turning it around.

Thaddius Smith commits and other links

Pennsylvania athlete Thaddius Smith committed to BC early this Monday afternoon. He is expected to play WR. While his offers are mostly FCS level, I love that Addazio targeted and closed him early.

Although still enrolled at BC, Luke Kuechly is working out in Charlotte the next two weeks.

Donahue is recruiting his former Cornell player Errick Peck hard. He has one year left and can transfer immediately  Although he is only 6'6, he could give us some depth on the front line. I am all in favor of picking up guys for depth who won't impact our long-term scholarship balance. BC is also after some big men for the 2014 recruiting class.

Spaz is spending some time helping Doug Martin at New Mexico State. I would worry about them preparing for BC, but our schemes will be so different from theirs, that it won't be much of an advantage.

Lessons from the Dillon Quinn departure

Dillon Quinn left the team and left BC for "personal reasons." While Spaz deserves his fair share of blame for problems with the team, Dillon Quinn's disappointing career is not one of them. In my opinion Quinn represents a different issue facing our fanbase and fanbases around college football: the expectations created by the recruiting ratings.

I am not opposed to the recruiting sites. I worked for one in the past and know good people at Rivals, Scout and 247. I do think there is some predictive value to the rankings. In football "bigger, stronger, faster" remains important and if you bring in multiple highly-recruited players, you are likely to succeed. But like any forecasting system, these things are not fool proof. Collectively the rankings work, but individual teams, individual recruiting classes and individual players can all be rise above or fall below expectations. There are outliers in any statistical model, but even more in college football where the volume of data and recruits cannot be captured by the ratings sites. That volume also forces shortcuts that lead to misjudgement and that is what happened with Quinn.

Dillon Quinn should never have been a four star recruit. He wasn't on many radars until he showed up at a Rivals camp with a friend of his prior to his senior season. The friend was the invitee. But upon seeing him, the Rivals Camp Directors invited him too. Quinn was a massive specimen and Rivals knows their customers. His strength and speed also impressed and a buzz started. Rivals slapped four stars on him and let the meteoric rise begin. What Rivals didn't account for in their ranking is why Quinn arrived on the scene so late and why his workouts were so impressive. I obviously have no proof, but even in the early days there were whispers and allegations about Quinn's use of performance enhancers. No one seemed to care about his lack of four star productivity prior to his "growth spurt" or his technique. But given his abilities, if he were truly four star, he should have been dominating his league. As a reference point Alex Amidon played in the same league and was even better, but no one ever considered giving him four stars.

Once Quinn arrived at BC and the whispers continued. Outside of the gossip, he also wasn't ready to be a ACC DT. He needed to learn more and get better. He played with mixed results in his second year on campus. From my perspective his efforts seemed mixed and he was never a special players. Certainly not four star. Now his career is over and BC has another player to add to the "four star" bust list. But at this point we should really be making a list of four star guys who were misjudged by the systems.

As for this season, Quinn's departure doesn't mean much. The positive aspect of the outcome is that it frees up one more scholarship for our new coach

Why don't you just watch the games from the booth, Spaz

Until the Sandusky news broke Spaz was always quick to remind people of his connection to Penn State and Joe Paterno. His loyalty to the school is one of the reasons BC hasn't poached any Penn State recruit (despite having plenty of potential scholarships). So now as we near the end, I hope Spaz follows his former role model into the coaches booth this season. Do we really need him on the sidelines managing games? He never uses his timeouts. He seems to hate the obligatory halftime interview. The players seem to check out any time he gives a "rah rah" peptalk. I have more faith in Doug Martin and Bill McGovern winning games with Spaz removed from the situation than I do with Spaz involved.

Spaz's protector is gone and he's probably next. I am sure the man has pride and wants to go out on top, but I am not sure he can be a positive influence. I would prefer if like JoePa's final seasons, he was head coach in name only. This works for everyone. Spaz keeps his paycheck and title and yet doesn't put up with the stress or grind of the job.

This season hasn't begun and we are already off to a weird start. Why not go full tilt boogie and go without a head coach? In my mind, it's a win-win that might lead to a few more wins.

Finch injured, Oline struggles and I am still not worried

Eric Hoffses wrote a good recap of the second scrimmage. Rettig looked decent, but the big news was Duece Finch hurting his leg. (It is way too early to blame the recent spat of leg injuries on the new turf. but we will have to watch for a trend.) Hoffses also mentioned how much the OL struggled. The defensive line backups were even getting penetration.

Even as the players keep dropping, I am not worried about the latest impact. Finch is good, but I have a feeling we will pass more this season. If the carries are fewer, Williams and Kimble can fill the void.

I am frustrated by the offensive line, but not truly worried. If BC does pick up the tempo and Rettig matures, they can cover mistakes up front.

Every team suffers injuries. BC has yet to lose one player that cannot be replaced. We have decent depth all around and I think this season will not be about Finch or Pantale. It will be about Rettig and Spaz.

We only have a few weeks before kickoff. I don't care if by then half the roster is gone, things will still be better than we are now. Bad BC football is still better than no BC football.

Ignoring the first scrimmage

BC held its first scrimmage of the preseason Saturday. The offense looked shaky at first, some key players sat out and some random players stepped up. In other words, it was the same first scrimmage we've been having since forever. At this point I won't worry. If the offense looks as bad by the fourth scrimmage, then I will worry.  Meter, Blauds and the Herald all provided coverage.

Pantale news puts damper on Media Day

Media Day is about fluff, a happy outlook and getting to know the players a bit better. Things didn't go according to plan though as BC announced that Senior Captain Chris Pantale broke a bone in his foot and will miss significant time. That's a tough loss out of the gate as Pantale has real potential and was hoping for a breakout season. Supposedly with Martin's scheme, BC can use more WRs in place of TEs, so I don't think it will derail the offense. It is also a chance for Naples to step up.

Spaz later explained that Ramsey and Miller were both dealing with injuries too.

The good news was that the media turned out in force. The Globe even sent someone!

Spaz was in a light-hearted mood and asked for pitches right down the middle.



BC Sports Information Department did a great job tweeting comments, taking pictures and shooting video.

There should be even more news tomorrow. And for those fans going to the open practice, be sure to take pictures and send them along.

Phil Steele talks ACC and other links

Here is Phil Steele previewing the Big East and the ACC.

Former Eagle Tim Bulman signed with New England.His teammate Ricky Brown is hanging on too and is now with the Ravens.

Did anyone else hear this comment from Spaz?

"We've tied Chase's hands behind his back his first two years. He's at the point now where he's ready to cross the line."

I know this sort of thing is off the cuff, but why is he saying that he's held a QB back? Am I the only one who gets frustrated by this stuff?

VCU hired BC grad Ed McLaughlin as their new AD. If and when Gene retires McLaughlin will be one of top targets to replace him.

This is from earlier in the week, but I am glad Kimble is confident. I think he could have a big season.

Emmett Cleary provides some insights into how the offense will change.

ACC Media roundup and other links

The ACC Media voted BC 5th overall in the Atlantic Division. That's not particularly surprising since the majority of the reporters are from Carolina and still view us as a secondary program. Although I teased him on twitter, even Meter avoided his usual "BC: 1st" vote.

The recurring question for Spaz was regarding Kuechly. He handles it well and points to Ramsey as the type of player who can fill the void. Not too many asked Spaz about the "Hot Seat." (I didn't embed that video due to the auto play issues.)

It will be interesting to see if BC benefits from the looming exodus at Penn State. We are positioned well since we have scholarship space and recruited many of their kids. But I wonder if Spaz will have any hesitation in taking advantage of his alma mater.

Virginia Athlete Atem Ntantang committed to BC.

 The ACC Digital Network is running a countdown of great moments. Of course they included BC comeback against Virginia Tech. It doesn't have Chris Fowler yelling "Lane Stadium goes silent" but it does have Meter losing it.

BC is one of the schools to leverage the transfer up phenomenon in college football.

 

New recruits and other links

The recruiting action continued this week as two more prospects committed to Spaz. This isn't surprising. Word is Spaz is focused on filling out the class this summer instead of waiting until Fall. He took a similar approach last year, so that the staff could focus on game prep once the games begin. At this point, I am fine with this strategy as it will either pay off with a better record or provide a new coach a large base to lock in as opposed to finding a bunch of new recruits.

The first new commitment came from Ohio Defensive Line prospect Joel Rich. Rich is an under the radar type but impressed at BC's recent camp. He's also friends with Bobby Swiggert, so he's very familiar with life as a student athlete at BC.

BC also picked up another player from Eastern Ohio in WR Dan Monteroso. He picked BC over offers from Iowa.

Former Heights writer Kevin Armstrong wrote a great article on Tom Coughlin's relationship with Jay McGillis.

On the women's basketball scene, Karima Gabriel's long-rumor transfer became official. She played at Depaul last season.

Phil Steele likes BC more than most

Phil Steele made his name by publishing the most thorough, analytical and detailed college preview annually. He boasts that he's right when everyone else is wrong. In his latest edition, one of the teams Phil thinks will surprise is BC.

Phil's not behind BC for just some random reasons. He's always put an emphasis on returning starters and BC's rates high in that department. Steele also likes that BC faces most of its toughest opponents at home. BC's close losses from last season are also factored in (Steele think luck tends to revert to a mean -- so BC will do better in close games this year). Steele also predicts improvement from Rettig (due to Martin and maturity) and thinks our offensive line will be better than it has been in years.

Although he touts BC as a +3.5 on his new Stock Market metric, Steele's not predicting greatness for our Eagles. The magazine has us 4th in the division and playing Army in the Military Bowl. Still, that is relatively high praise when most magazines expect us to have another losing season.

I understand where Steele is coming from. All his factors give me some optimism. We should be better on offense. The defense does have some good returning talent. I like Doug Martin and what he represents. Yet I don't think it is that simple. Steele believes that some of the bad losses will even out this year. I'm not there ready to take that leap. Many of the reasons we've been in so many close games under Spaz is because he manages the games that way. He doesn't put teams away and doesn't go for broke when we trail. Is that suddenly going to change this year?

I want BC to win. I want to make a bowl game. I may not care for Spaz, but I love BC and watching winning football is fun. I hope Steele is right, but I still think this year will be as frustrating as last year.

Spaz adds kicker to recruiting class

The busy recruiting week continued as word leaked that kicker Michael Geiger committed to BC. Private kicking coach Chris Sailer made the announcement via Twitter. Geiger is from Toledo and considered one of the better kicking prospects in the nation.

Below are some of Geiger's highlights. Welcome to BC and congrats to Spaz for keeping up the momentum.

Spaz talking about the season and other links

Spaz made a rare offseason media appearance and talked continuity as a key to success.

Kelli Stack was named named the 2012 Bob Allen Women's Player of the Year by USA Hockey.

Tony Barnhart has a plan for fixing the ACC.

Former Eagle Dan Koppen is ready to make an impact in the NFL again.

Spring Game: a day of missed opportunities

We've learned not to read too much into the Spring Game. However, there are themes to the most public football event of the spring. This year I sensed an overriding feeling of missed opportunities. It started with the lousy weather and continued to the QBs making mistakes despite a depleted secondary.

The weather couldn't be helped. Moving the schedule forward necessitated the Spring Game in March. In Boston that's always dicey. Because of the unpredictable weather BC cancelled "Family Fun Day" and had smallish crowds. I hope we return to our normal Spring schedule next year. It might not make an impact on the field, but I think ending the Spring on a nice day creates a sense of optimism among the fans.

For those of us who watched online, the day started ignominiously. The feed was timing out and we couldn't see the first 20 minutes. Later the game came in.

As for seeing Doug Martin's new stlye, it wasn't drastic change. The formations were all pretty standard. The play was inconsistent and all the QB struggled at times. I don't know if that's attributed to the new scheme, the weather or talent issues. Rettig's rough numbers left some people wondering about the QB position battle. Spaz quelled that after the game by reinforcing that Rettig will be the starter next year. I remain in the Rettig fan club. This was just a glorified scrimmage. We've seen Chase execute against ACC defenses. How he does in an empty Alumni in March means very little.

There's nothing to read into the defense. Injuries and roster depth forced Spaz to put all sorts of raw or random guys on the field as the game progressed.

The Heights took lots of pictures. Check out their shots. You'll notice lots of empty seats.

Ultimately the Spring Game is about getting ready for next year. I hope BC's marketing arm use next year's Spring Game to see how they can grow the fanbase. Leaving the game to die in March doesn't do much for anyone.

Women's hoops sent packing and other links

The Women's basketball season ended yesterday with another blowout loss. They wrapped up their season with a 7-23 record. The difference between their rough season and the men's team or even Cathy Inglese's terrible record in 1995, is that this is Sylvia Crawley's 4th year and things are trending downward. This should be when things start improving. The roster is young in part because of heavy turnover. Gene is under enough of a microscope now that I don't think he will make a move on her, but you have to question where this program is headed.

Earlier in the week SI.com posted a ACC Spring preview.

Spaz holds the No. 1 spot on Athlon's hot seat list.

This article reviews how Stanford became a recruiting power without compromising who they are. I hope we look to some in the Harbaugh tree the next time we have an opening for a head coach.

What to read into our newest signee

The biggest football news of the weekend was Spaz adding Concord-Carlisle running back George Craan to his recruiting class. Craaan's story has all the elements you want in a prospect: he was local, has a good family structure behind him, and wanted to play at BC. But the question needs to be asked: if Craan someone BC wanted, why did we wait until three weeks after Signing Day? I don't want to demean Craan. He's a great story and I hope a great success. I fear though that his signing speaks more to issues with how Spaz is managing recruiting.

The fact that BC even has more scholarships at this point goes back to my criticism of banking. Just in the past week we've seen Momah lose his eligibility and a few other players get taken off the official roster. That had us below 85. That's problem No. 1.

The second issue is that we didn't recruit a running back last year nor in this year's class. For a team that wants to run, that is a short-sighted strategy. When Montel hurt himself again, it was a reminder of how thin our RB depth is. Finding a new running back makes sense. But you are not going to find an elite guy after Signing Day. You are going to have to find a player well, well below the radar.

Craan kicked butt this past season. I hope he adds some depth and proves to be another flyer who becomes a star at BC. But the approach to his signing is all wrong. We need to start thinking beyond Spaz and question what sort of talent he is leaving for the next BC coach.

Themes for Spring Practice

With the start of Spring Practice, I thought it was important to address the issues Spaz and the team will face over the next few weeks.

1. QB competition.
Based on all his interviews, Doug Martin wants QB competition this Spring. It is assumed that Rettig will win the job, but it must be encouraging to the other guys that they have a shot. The biggest beneficiary of the competition will be Josh Bordner. Last season he saw action, but in a limited function. Now he gets a chance to prove he can do more than run. Spring is also a chance for Shinskie or Marscovetra to move back up the depth chart. Finally, Suntrup can prove he is the QB of the future.

2. Installing a new offense.
The good news is that these players are used to starting over on offense. Martin also installed a new offense at New Mexico State last season, so he knows what works and what doesn't. Aside from the QB play, the key is the offensive line. The players need to understand what to do on each play and BC needs to build a solid foundation up front.

3. Replacing Luke Kuechly
You don't really replace a player like Kuechly. What we should all hope that someone shows the potential to be the starting Middle LB. Different players will get turns at the spot. The key will be who shows the ability to cover space and direct the defense. I don't think anything will be decided this spring, but it is a chance to make an impression.

4. Which reserve steps up.
This subplot often sparks a summer of hype on the BC message boards. Inevitably someone will look good, rumors will get out and we'll all watch with bated breath during the Spring Game. Sometimes the spring hero becomes an impact player when the games count. Other times it doesn't carry over. Regardless, fans never get tired of the speculation.