We know about Wade, but who will catch his passes?

Each Darius Wade interview confirms that he's going to be the starting QB this season and probably have a long leash. If there was still uncertainty or if the other guys were breathing down his neck, BC wouldn't have him making the media rounds. That's good news. Locking in a QB is critical. Technically the OLine is a question mark, but we can trust the coaching there. The backfield is proven, so the only real unknown is the pass catchers.

Let's start with the obvious: it is unlikely any of the blocking Tight Ends will become big pass catchers. So that means Louie Addazio and Michael Giacone are not suddenly going to become threats to score or move the ball through the air. Drew Barksdale...hasn't gotten on the field much in two years. Probably more of the same this year. Wolford is a nice change of pace, but won't be a primary target. Harrison Jackson is returning from injury and was a secondary option prior to sitting out.

We could group Swigert with Jackson as an unknown after injury but when he has been healthy, he's been very good. Even if he doesn't have his previous speed, I still trust him to get open and make plays. I think Callinan can get some of the passes that went to Bordner last year. Dudeck always proves useful and has good hands, so I expect him to be good for a catch a game.

Alston and Outlow will be big parts of the passing attack. That is easy to predict. They are both proven. They both have huge upside and can make plays. And both will be on the field a lot. In most situations they will be easy passes for Wade to complete. If anyone has a big jump in production, it will be these guys.

Dixon, Smith and McClary [edited: he's now officially a DB] are all young and didn't get much attention last season. One of them will increase his role.

If there is one newcomer who might make an immediate impact, it could be Nolan Borgersen. He's got size, speed and a head start on the offense.

Even with a new QB and new OC, I don't expect us to turn into a Mike Leach offense. But we will throw it more. Let's just hope these guys can catch.

2011 Position Previews: Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

New season. New format. Instead of a digestible combo of factoids and opinions, I am going to write in a more narrative, free style post. As always, feedback is appreciated.

If you've read this blog long enough, you know that at times the little things can piss me off. But you know what moment still lingers with me a year later? Matt Millen disparaging our Wide Receivers during the Notre Dame game. I don't have his direct quote, but the gist was that we didn't have FBS talent at the position. While we aren't sending out a bunch of Jerry Rices, the guys played hard and have potential. The reason no one noticed had more to do with the rest of the offense and not them. I think that will start to change this season.

The reason I remain so optimistic about our WR talent is that I've seen plenty of mediocre pass catchers at BC over the years. A guy can look servicable in an offense if the offense finds the right playes. Plays that work. Plays that build off of one another. Think of some of the catches we saw Swigert and Amidon make last year. Were they flukes? Of course not. But we didn't get them the ball enough because the patterns didn't allow them to get space, the QBs didn't have time and the play calling was suspect. That has to change this year. Not only are the players more mature, but we should have some offensive competency. I'd argue that there were multiple Dana Bible offenses that had less raw talent and depth than our returning starters. If we could put plays together then, there is no reason to think it can't happen now.

The biggest reason you won't hear a Matt Millen type run down our WRs is the return of Colin Larmond. He has big play capability. He's saying he's faster than ever. Whispers differ a bit. Knee injuries are tricky, but even at less than 100% he should be the leading target. Swigert and Amidon were forced to grow up fast last year. It should pay off this season. I still like what Momah brings to the table. We had him all over the place last year but you can't coach height. Logan found a niche for him in 2008. I hope Rogers can his year. Lee will also get a chance to make plays.

I also like our Tight Ends. Pantale is progressing and I could see him having a 40+ catch season. (Rogers likes to work the ball to Tight Ends and H backs.) Anderson has be been very dependable for most of his career. I am guessing that he'll spend a little time in the backfield as a blocking back. I doesn't matter as long as he is being used effectively. Naples and Darmstatter both have favorable buzz. Are there enough snaps for them to make an impact?

If you want to torture analogies to get an understanding of our pass catchers, you can't even use the chicken and the egg. We had a rotten egg that produced nothing but an embarrassing stench. How can you say what is and is not FBS when the scoreboard would indicate that none of it was? But that changes this year because you can't keep talent and hard work down forever.

Why can't BC produce NFL-caliber Wide Recievers?

In my preseason work last summer, I predicted that Rich Gunnell would be drafted after a strong senior season. Rich had a strong year and played some of his best football against BC's most talented opponents. He also managed to produce while breaking in two new QBs. He's a good guy and a good football player, so you would think teams would be lining up to draft him. They are not. Gunnell was not invited to the combine and is barely getting mentioned on the major scouting services. If Rich is going to make it in the NFL, it will be through determination and free agency.

But if the program's all-time yardage leader cannot get drafted, then what is the problem? BC has not had a wide receiver drafted since 1987. Gunnell is not a tall burner, but he has enough size and speed to play in the NFL. He has the production. It doesn't make sense. Is there a bias against BC WRs? I have a few theories. Leave your in the comments section.

1. College football is producing too many WR prospects. Think of how many places run the 4-wide offenses. Now consider all the programs that used to run conservative ground attacks. Even the most basic program has too many WRs. So when it comes time for the draft there are more than enough prospects and only the seemingly flawless merit an actual pick.
2. Perception about BC talent. When Matt Ryan was drafted, all you read in the scouting reports was how he was surrounded by mediocre skill players. Most of our skill guys have still come from cold weather territories. Fair or not, there is a perception that these guys aren't as fast as their counterparts in California or Florida.
3. The position was a recruiting afterthought for a long time. Coughlin brought in some good pass catchers but never hung around long enough to bring in an elite WR. Henning loaded up on tight ends. TOB put an emphasis on linemen and often converted DBs to WR. Gunnell was one of the few decent WR recruits of the TOB era.
4. Dumb luck. We've hit on so many positions with under the radar guys that you're bound to have one position that causes headaches. You would think that BC would have stumbled into an NFL WR on its roster. Instead, we've been left with tough kids, willing to play hard but who have questionable size and hands.

I think Gunnell will catch on somewhere. He is willing to play special teams and has enough things going for him that he'll get a chance. I just wish for his sake and BC's, that someone would give him an official shot via a draft pick.

Preseason breakdown: Wide Receivers

Part III of the previews. This time I turn my attention to the wide receivers.

Consensus heading into the season
“If a tree falls in the woods…” Because there are serious concerns if BC will even throw the ball this year, no one is really talking about our WRs. It’s unfortunate that much like last year, BC will have a deep and talented WR group that won’t really have a chance to show their stuff.

Roster Reminders
Returning Starters
Rich Gunnell
Backups and Hopefuls
Johnathan Coleman
Billy Flutie
Chris Fox
Justin Jarvis
Colin Larmond, Jr.
Clyde Lee
Ryan Lindsey
Clarence Megwa
Ifeanyi Momah


Chatter
Since many of the names on the roster above committed during the pass-happy Steve Logan-Matt Ryan era, there were some rumblings of discontent and transfers. Fortunately all the guys with upside and talent remained.

The Real Question
We are hearing that Tranq’s schemes are a hybrid of his philosophies, a bit of Logan leftovers and a few adjustments for the talent on the field. That is all well and good when it comes to play design and play calling. The question on my mind is what are the WRs going to be instructed to do once the play breaksdown. Starting with the Paul Peterson days, BC QBs and WRs started becoming much more aggressive and consistent about heading downfield on broken plays. Logan and Ryan went deep with even more regularity. This only made sense since we had smart QBs and decent lines that could provide extra protection. This aggressiveness led to numerous big plays. We didn’t see it as much last year as Crane-Davis were more inclined to run and also lacked the downfield accuracy. I hope to see a few bombs away moments this year because I think our guys have the capability to turn them into TDs.

My bold prediction
This has less to do with the regular season and more to do with next spring but I think Rich Gunnell will be drafted next year. While that might not seem like a big deal, do you realize Kelvin Martin was the last BC wide receiver taken with an NFL draft pick? That was 1987! Now consider all the offensive talent we’ve had since then and the thousands of passes completed yet none of those guys were considered elite talents. Gunnell will hopefully change that as he’s got a good combination of size, speed and hands.

What keeps me up at night
That we ignore this group. Think back to last year against NC State. Crane put up big numbers but much of the credit was due to the WRs who made big plays and pulled in tons of balls. We almost stole the Music City Bowl when Larmond burned the Vandy DBs late in the game. There is talent here. But if we hunker down and only throw 15 times in a game, we’ll let a great pool of guys waste away. Even if the QBs are shaky we need to air it out. In part to keep the opponents’ D honest and in part because we have some playmakers.

Outlook
Perhaps I am being gushing too much about a group of returning players that only caught 94 balls collectively last year. I guess rewatching the ACC Championship Game was a reminder that their productivity was less about talent and more about play calling and QB play. I think they should be able to fill any hole left by Brandon Robinson. I also think the continued maturity and development of Larmond and Momah could pay huge dividends this year.

They're back: Ryan's supporting cast crucial for Crane

Chris Crane will have one advantage over Matt Ryan -- a very experienced group of pass catchers. I don't think we'll pass as often or as effectively as last season, but I also don't think this returning production will disappear. These stats and factoids should make us all feel better about throwing the ball this season.

-- 15 Eagles caught passes in 2007. Eight of those Eagles return this year. Of the seven who left via graduation or disciplinary issues, only two caught more than 20 passes.
-- Three of 2007's four most productive pass catchers return.
-- The two most productive wide receivers return. The most productive tight end returns.
-- Our returning players accounted for 60% of our completions.
-- Our returning players accounted for 65% of our passing yards.
-- Our returning players accounted for 64% of our passing touchdowns.
-- Incoming freshman wide receiver Colin Larmond was All-State in New Jersey and ranked as the No. 7 prospect in the state of New Jersey according to Rivals.com.
-- Incoming freshman Clyde Lee was ranked within the top 100 recruits coming out of Texas by Rivals.com.
-- Redshirt freshman Lars Anderson was ranked by ESPN as the 26th-best tight end in the country and ranked as one of the Top 50 and #2 TE in the state of Florida.

Going deep

Our wide receivers are not considered gamebreakers, but they’ve done unexpected things in our short history with FSU. The past two season’s FSU Defensive Coordinator Mickey Andrews has been very aggressive against BC -- coming after the QBs early and having their LBs jump short routes. In return, our much-malinged WRs have actually made some big plays. Last year Robinson caught a deep go route for 44 yards and Gonzo pulled in Ryan’s endzone scramble for a 48 yard gain (that play is still the most amazing thing I have seen Ryan do. If anyone has video of it, please put it on Youtube.).

In 2005 when Ryan came in for an injured Porter, he showed that he could push the ball downfield. He connected on a 23 yarder that Robinson pulled out of the air and even found Taylor Sele for 26 yards.

These plays were all happening with an offense designed around short completions. Imagine what Logan will try if FSU employs the same scheme again?