Two looks at BC talent

Tuesday the final official signing day happened but it wasn't big news for BC. They added one New Jersey lineman. That left BC as the 12th ACC team in Rivals and in 247. But that system has proven meaningless as BC is always 12th or 13th or 14th in the ACC and still finish 7-6. We are not blowing doors off. But the higher ranked ACC recruiting classes aren't either (hello Miami, Florida State and Virginia Tech). Did those teams feel that much more talented than BC? Do they ever? Other than Clemson, there is rarely an ACC team we face where I feel like they have an overwhelming talent advantage.

If you are looking for validation that BC has a better feel for their talent needs and development, how about looking at the Combine invites.

Schools representing the most players invited to the 2019 NFL Combine:

(11) Alabama, Clemson
(10) Ohio State
(9) Georgia, Ole Miss, Washington
(8) Florida, Kentucky, Miss St., Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Wisconsin
(7) Boston College, Penn St., Stanford

— NFL Draft (@NFLDraft) February 7, 2019

2019 NFL Combine invites per school:

Clemson 11
Alabama 11
Ohio State 10
UGA 9
Ole Miss 9
Wash 8
Florida 8
Kentucky 8 👀
Oklahoma 8
Miss State 8
ND 8
TAMU 8
Wisc 8
Boston College 7 👀
Penn State 7

— Jared Tokarz (@NFLDraftInsider) February 7, 2019

This also doesn't account for other guys who have a good chance of getting drafted even without the Combine (Jeff Smith). BC is finding and developing talent. I do believe that talent wins. I do believe in bigger stronger faster. But these recruiting systems are flawed and not a perfect predictor of anything. I don't trust Addazio with a clock, but I do trust him looking at high school kids and projecting what they can become.

Addazio is also good at managing the roster and is working 5th years right now too. BC's roster will be better than most in the ACC, not the 12th or 14th best.

However, there in lies the problem. BC has all these Combine level players, yet can't win at an elite level. That's on Addazio too. He's a great recruiter and a pretty good developer, but he's not a great coach. At seven years, I don't think that is going to change either.

Talent: 2009 vs 2012

On Saturday Eagle Outsider posters questioned if any of our current starters would start for our 2007 or 2008 teams. To me that felt like an argument designed to make any BC team look bad. 2007 and 2008 were epic years when a variety of different factors (including talent) all came together. What I felt was a more reasonable comparison was Spaz's first year as head coach 2009.

The 2009 season had a millions reasons to fall apart but didn't. BC was coming off the confusing coaching change and the devastating news of Mark Herzlich's cancer. Plus all the quarterbacks on our roster were new to college football. Yet to Spaz's and the players' credit, that team did enough to win and made a bowl game. Since 2009 we've been on a decline and although talent is a factor, it is not the only issue. Just compare the talent of our current roster to 2009.

2009 Offense:
WR -- Justin Jarvis
WR -- Rich Gunnell
LT -- Anthony Castonzo
LG -- Emmett Cleary**
C -- Matt Tennant
RG -- Thomas Claiborne
RT -- Rich Lapham
TE -- Chris Pantale**
FB -- Lars Anderson
RB -- Montel Harris
QB -- Dave Shinskie

Which current players would start now? Rettig is starting over Shinskie now. Pantale would start if he were healthy. Cleary is already a starter (although at another position). Other than that, maybe Wetzel at Right Tackle. It might not be obvious, but I would start Amidon over Justin Jarvis. Amidon's current run is much better than Jarvis's best at BC.

The real drop off comes at the offensive line and at running back. But once again, that's Spaz's problem. He ran off Harris and has yet to find someone as reliable (in three years!). He also has not developed the OL well. Things may be getting better, but OL should never be a weakness for BC. I don't think Spaz ever appreciated our legacy at the position. If he did, he wouldn't have let their performance slip as far as it did.

2009 Defense:
DE -- Alex Albright
DT -- Austin Giles
DT -- Damik Scafe
DE -- Jim Ramella
SLB -- Mike Morrissey
MLB -- Mike McLaughlin
WLB -- Luke Kuechly
SS -- Marcellus Bowman
FS -- Wes Davis
FC -- DeLeon Gause
BC -- Roderick Rollins

Which current players would start now? Look at that unit above. Is it all that different from the group that just allowed Northwestern to run 100 plays on us? We miss Kuechly, but 2009 Kuechly wasn't 2011. I would also argue that Clancy and KPL would start over Morrissey and McLaughlin. The 2009 secondary is better at every position, but still not an all star squad. Although neither were ever all conference, Ramella's and Albright's consistency was much better than our current DEs. Scafe was very good, but I would say Ramsey and Appiah are as good if not better than Giles.

[Also note that current players Colin Larmond, Jim Noel, Mike Marscovetra, and Kaleb Ramsey were all on the two deep.]

I could go back to some other randoms years under TOB and also find a roster of similar talent. I don't think our 2012 team is filled with future NFL stars, but historically similar BC teams have won more. There are many factors in play, but head coaching is the biggest factor. When I say Spaz is not a good coach, it is not just about his terrible interviews or head scratching use of timeouts. It is also about how we approach recruiting, how we develop players, how he interacts with his staff, how we practice and how we prepare for games. I also think it is about passion and belief. The 2009 team overachieved in part because there was still a level of confidence and belief left over from the 2007 and 08 teams. That's gone now and we will need a new coach to change the attitude.