Practice officially begins and other links

Renovations to the locker room are complete and the #BCEagles are here. The 2015 @BCFootballNews season has started! pic.twitter.com/kHnY4d0H9s

— BC Athletics (@BCSportsNews) August 9, 2015

The team, coaches (and fans) all seem excited about the start of practices. The guys have been working together all summer, but now the coaches can get involved. We all know the priorities: OLine, QB and getting the young guys ready.

The school also unveiled the renovated locker room.

New Eagle Jake Burt got attention form his hometown paper.

Olivier Hanlan signed with with Lithuanian team Zalgiris. After a very disappointing Summer League, this seemed inevitable. Let's hope he developes in Europe and didn't waste his final year of eligibility.

The realities of the new season

BC began practice Monday. I am excited and it seems like the players and coaches are. I am also optimistic, however, that optimism is tempered by BC's key issues: depth and experience. The biggest news related to depth is the departure of James Walsh. He was hardly the linchpin of the season, but his transfer means BC enters the season with just three scholarship QBs in Murphy, Wade and Flutie. Walsh never showed that he could lead a ACC winning team, but I hoped that he would stick around and alleviate the need for Wade to play this year. Now any chance of Wade redshirting is gone. Flutie also had the chance to contribute as a WR. Now he probably needs to focused solely on QB. The team will live or die with Murphy, so pray that he stays healthy.

BC's own twitter recap captured how many new faces are around. Like Addazio, I am not worried about the new faces. While not experienced overall, we do have plenty of experience on the Offensive Line. Those guys can cover a lot of mistakes and issues and get BC through our rough games. The area where lack of depth and experience is most glaring is WR. But once again, Addazio feels good about those guys. They might not be fast or proven, but at least they will be big.

The Coach admitted that you can't learn much from this sort of opener. It is all about gradual improvement. BC will hold some scrimmages in the coming weeks as they prepare for UMass.

The reality for all of us is that we don't know what to expect. For so long we were a predictable program. Now we're not and considering it is only the first day of Year 2, I don't think that is a problem.

2nd scrimmage gets Addazio talking

BC held their second scrimmage of the summer. The school did not release any stats about the practice. Instead they grabbed a series of quotes from Addazio. This is actually very useful since it gives us a perspective on where the team is and what Addazio is trying to do. Here are the topics he addressed and my thoughts.

1st teamers and depth
Addazio was happy with his starters and wanted to use this scrimmage to test the backups. If there is something keeping our new coach up at night it is the lack of talent on the roster and how he can work around it. The new staff feels there is enough talent to win games, but the dropoff from the starters to the backups is huge. To use old "cupboard" analogy: Spaz didn't leave the cupboard bare but there is only about a day's worth of food. Hopefully the scrimmage does allow someone to shine in game-like conditions. I also expect the staff to coach up a guy or two. One of the best things about a coaching change is new perspective on the roster. It is a second chance for some kids and a new approach helps some buried players reach their potential. When we had full staff changes (like Henning to TOB and TOB to Jags) a few players fans had written off became starters.

Who is going to catch the ball?
We know Rettig can get it to Amidon. So does Addazio and the rest of the ACC. Now is the time to find new targets. Addazio dropped Harrison Jackson and Marcus Grant's names. On paper they both seem like solid second options.

Getting ready for the season
There is one more scrimmage until Villanova prep begins. I know it fits with how we usually approach things, but this summer session seems especially short. Maybe it is lack of real news out of practice that makes things seem a bit rushed. I would never want to take any opponent lightly but starting the year with an FCS team makes is a blessing this year. They get to gameprep next week, play a game that they should win and then get ready for Wake in a short week. The schedule should make the transition from summer to games smooth.

What to make of Herzy's foot injury

More info came out today regarding Mark Herzlich's foot injury. He officially has a broken bone in his right foot (his tumor was in his left left). Originally rumored to be a stress fracture, we still don't know the exact diagnosis of the break nor which bone is broken. Mark claims to be pain free and ready to play. Most of us are asking the same questions: will he play and when?

I am really not worried about any of this. There are a few ways this could play out.


1. It is a minor fracture and will heal before Weber State.
2. It is a minor fracture that will take longer to heal but still in time to take on Virginia Tech.
3. It never really heals and Mark plays through it all season while resting during the week.

Regardless, Mark will play this season.

If this injury is nagging and Mark never reaches his full potential, it will be sad and frustrating but not a reason to doubt this team's upside. We are deep at LB and can shuffle the depth chart if Mark is limited. Also remember that Matt Ryan played most of 2006 on a broken foot. Now the demands and mobility of a QB ad LB are entirely different, but Matt showed that once the adrenaline gets pumping you can play through the pain.

I feel for Mark, but don't blame BC for dragging their feet. If this leads to a 100% healthy Herzy then it will all be worth it. We obviously know that Mark is tough and a survivor. He showed great faith and intelligence during this whole process. Now let's hope that the patience pays off.

Who has the best Oline? and other links

Why is everyone so excited about Florida State's offensive line? I don't think their talent is that much better than ours and they were just as inconsistent as BC last year. Hopefully our guys will use this sort of stuff for motivation. The anchor of the line -- Anthony Castonzo -- will have a unique fall as he prepares for the Rhodes interviews. I know this might seem silly to some but I think he should skip the interviews if it conflicts with the UVA game. Not that we can't win without him, but he is set to break the total starts and consecutive starts record at BC. That is a big deal in the football sense.

BC lost out on Ohio Lineman Chase Hounshell. BC target Darius Jennings seems set on visiting a lot of targets. Jack Tabb is still looking at BC but talking up other schools.

One of Montel's fans in Jacksonville asked SI why Harris doesn't get more publicity.

With the Saints in town to take on the Patriots, JoLonn Dunbar and Matt Tennant were able to stop by practice. Herzlich still could not practice.

Bookmark this link for College Football Sports References. It has deep links for player and teams.

Even among ESPN's rankings, we are in the "others" category.

What to make of the scrimmage schedule

While the team continues to practice, they have curtailed scrimmages. Jags hopes to use the extra time to prep for Week 2 opponent Georgia Tech's unique offense.

A few fans are fretting that this team and its new QB need more scrimmages. Crane himself has said he hasn't been in enough "live" situations. I am not that concerned. Team practices include enough full contact, 11-on-11 drills to get the team ready. Plus Jags 2008 scrimmage timeline is not that different from recent seasons.

2007
Final Scrimmage: August 19
First Game: September 1

2006
Final Scrimmage: August 21
First Game: August 31

2005
Final Scrimmage: August 24
First Game: September 3

2004
Final Scrimmage: August 24
First Game: September 2

Akins adjusting and other links

No story from the Globe or Herald. Thankfully bceagles.com and ESPN filed practice reports. Akins seems to be adjusting to corner without issue.

BC decommit Arthur Fontaine commited to Georgia. Call it sour grapes, but I am not too concerned about Fontaine.

Here's an article on the development of Claiborne and Flutie.

This article on Will Blackmon really bugged me. He was afraid of punt returning during his time at BC!! Why didn't the coaches do something about that? Glad to see he is adjusting now. Will's a good guy.

The Islanders named BC Guy Scott Gordon head coach.

Musical Chairs at Running Back and other links

The notes section in this Herald article updated the ever-changing running back situation. Razzie Smith's move to Running Back looks more permanent, Mulrooney is nursing a bad back and Codi Boek has been moved to Running Back. Smith is not a surprise. The Boek move has more implications. It means that Dominique Davis is likely successor to Crane next year at QB and that the true freshmen running backs might not be ready. Our once barren backfield is now crowded with Jeff Smith, Razzie Smith, Boek, Haden, Mulrooney, Harris and Kelly. Haden is playing for sure. Jeff Smith will play if he stays healthy. But with the new depth, there is less of a need to use Harris and Kelly. It should be interesting to see how this plays out.

Here is another practice update from BC that includes pictures.

Jamie Silva is fighting for a roster spot in Indy.

The Globe didn't have any football news Thursday, but they did have a nice feature on BC soccer player Steve Hepburn

Big issues as practice begins

Practice officially begins Monday. The staff has a million things they want to accomplish before the Kent State game. Here are three big issues that are on my mind.

Determine which freshmen can play this year.
Depth is an issue this year. At least six true freshmen should play, 10 are probably needed and you could see as many as 14 used depending on how they adjust and what injuries the team encounters. New punter and potential kicker Quigley is a definite. Haden is lock to play too. You’ll probably see four defensive backs play. At least one other running back will be needed…but all three true freshmen running backs could play. Defensive Line will also have some opportunity for the young guys.

Getting the offense to click.
Although the team installed a new offense, lacked a running game and was learning a new style of blocking, the 2007 offense clicked from the opener. Now they know the offense, but are replacing many critical pieces. As a group they looked decent in the Spring Game, but that wasn’t the finished product. Crane needs to mirror Ryan’s ability to hit the short routes and mix in the deep threat. Someone needs to step up in the running game to relieve pressure on Crane. And finally, the right side of the line will be untested. If they don’t step in successfully, it will not matter what Crane and the running backs do.

Deciding who’s who on special teams.
Ok, so Quigley is the punter…we think. Flutie was listed on the depth chart. Bennett and Aponavicius are the kickers...unless Quigley can do that too. Jeff Smith is the kick returner if he stays healthy. Who else will be back there with him? Gunnell? Robinson? Mulrooney? Haden? Who is returning punts? Mulrooney practiced the role last year. I assume he’ll be in the mix. Robinson will probably get a shot. They could use one of the young guys looking to prove himself (Lindsey? Fox? Gause?). Or maybe Smith could return punts too. Jags and Yanowsky will be busy guys the next four weeks.