Everyone is putting together their Decade in Review posts, so I thought I would get the ball rolling with my all decade teams. I was pretty subjective in my selection and tried to think of guy's individual season as opposed to careers. Therefore a guy like Alex Albright made the second team at DE based more on his sophomore season. Toal's career was injury filled, but his freshmen year was amazing, so he made the team. I considered any player who played during the '00s. The toughest calls were the offensive line positions. With only two teams, I had to leave off some great players like Augie Hoffman, Pat Ross, and Paul Zukauskas. Leave you thoughts or selections below.
First Team Offense
QB -- Matt Ryan
RB -- William Green
RB -- Derrick Knight
TE -- Sean Ryan
WR -- Rich Gunnell
WR -- Brandon Robinson
OT -- Marc Colombo
OT -- Anthony Castonzo
OG -- Josh Beekman
OG -- Chris Snee
C -- Dan Koppen
First Team Defense
DT -- Ron Brace
DT -- BJ Raji
DE -- Mathias Kiwanuka
DE -- Antonio Garay
LB -- Mark Herzlich
LB -- Jolonn Dunbar
LB -- Ricky Brown
CB -- Dejaun Tribble
CB -- Will Blackmon
S -- Ryan Glasper
S -- Jamie Silva
First Team Special Teams
K -- Steve Aponavicius
P -- Johnny Ayers
Second Team Offense
QB -- Paul Peterson
RB -- Andre Callender
RB -- Montel Harris
TE -- Ryan Purvis
WR -- Dedrick Dewalt
WR -- Will Blackmon
OT -- Jeremy Trueblood
OT -- Gosder Cherilus
OG -- Clif Ramsey
OG -- James Marten
C -- Matt Tennant
Second Team Defense
DT -- Tim Bulman
DT -- Doug Goodwin
DE -- Nick Larkin
DE -- Alex Albright
LB -- Mike McLaughlin
LB -- Josh Ott
LB -- Brian Toal
CB -- Jazzmen Williams
CB -- Lenny Walls
S -- TJ Stancil
S -- Paul Anderson
Second Team Special Teams
K -- Sandro Sciortino
P -- Kevin McMyler
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40 comments:
Great call on Doug Goodwin. Blackmon over Grant Adams? Peterson over St. Pierre? Lenny Walls had a lot of interceptions, but he was terrible. Can't think of a viable replacement though.
Blackmon frustrated the hell out of me as a CB... I don't have enough knowledge to say who may have been better, maybe someone else does
Blackmon was inconsistent at CB, but still made all conference as a soph.
I went with Peterson over St Pierre, more because of the 12-2 record as a starter.
But this is all up for debate.
Wow, this really brings home the shakiness of our kicking game.
You do realize, though, that there is a whole year left in this decade?
ATL - roll this idea into the same for basketball and hockey too!
I feel old because I was going make a stink about Tennant over Damien Woody, but then realized I'm old and he's old and that was the 90s.
Could make an argument for Tony Gonzalez over Will Blackmon (if we exclude kick returns).
Cliff Ramsey?! Zuk was a first team All American, 2 time all Big East and Captain. He was also the first freshman to start in 20 years on the Oline. Not even close. He should be on 1st team if considering just BC production. He also played 4 years in the NFL.(I also know him so I'm biased)
Why are there 2 first team special teams? While there may be an argument for St Pierre over Paul Pete, I think it's a weak one at best. I agree with PP over BSP.
What about coach of the decade? Hell, we have 3 to choose from. (I know who my choice would be.)
Paul Zukauskas is the 2nd or 3rd best OLineman of the decade (after Snee, and maybe Koppen and Beeks). He played OT as a true frosh, and was All-American his Sr year. Injuries derailed his NFL career but he was a better college player than Gos, Columbo, Trueblood, Ramsey (by FAR), and Marten (by farther). It's still too early with Costanzo. Zuk's also a true BC guy, who is back coaching as a GA (future OL coach?)...
Also, gotta like the Silva love. Easily one of the best safeties of the decade. Would love to see him as a coach of some sort after a successful NFL run.
I was at Notre Dame stadium when Peterson threw the winning score to Gonzalez (what a catch) with a minute to play in 2004. Also at the Meineke Bowl that year in Charlotte when PP suffered a broken leg in the victory over UNC.
PP was a special player - no problem with that pick over BSP.
I don't see Constanza being better than Cherilus.
Can you really see Constanza being an NFL 1st round pick?
I would switch the two on your lists.
And, yes having Apo( a dragged out of the stands, mid-season walk on), as our best in a decade is pathetic. In other words, BC could not recruit a decent kicker in a decade. How hard can that be? Pretty hard , I guess. Maybe they should talk to the soccer guys and see if they know anyone.
Coach of the decade: easy, TOB. Sorry, but he built the ship, and Jags-off and Spaz are just sailing it.
Richad: as for decades, if you add 1 year to 12:00:01 Jan. 1, 2000, you get 12:00:01 Jan 1, 2001. If you add 10 years you get Jan 1, 2010. So Richard, the end of the decade is upon us!
Always good to see a couple of BC High boys on there - Paul Zukauskas and Tim Bulman.
I think the biggest omission is Vinny Ciurciu. Even though he was only here for 2 years, he had 2 big years in 2001 and 2002.
Even though he is not the most upstanding citizen, Ray Henderson had some big years back in 2003 and 2004. Statistically speaking, he was better than Mike Mac - although probably not the team leader that McLaughlin is.
Also think I'd give a slight edge to Ralph Parent over TJ Stancil.
What about Jamal Burke as 2nd team WR?
You can not totally judge olineman based on where they ended up in draft. For example a lineman like Gosder is not better than a Zukauskas because he was a first rounder. Zuk blocked for 3 different 1000 yd backs (Cloud, Washington, Green) and olnly giving up 1 sack for his career at both tackle and guard while Gosder gave up more sacks and blocked for one 1000 yd rusher. Gos did play both RT and LT tackle though.
LB and Safety are very deep positions for us. Whoever doesn't get selected for LB is slighted and has an argument.
Gunnell as BC's top receiver in a decade also shows how weak BC has been at wide receiver. I do not think we have had a WR in the NFL, or at least not in the last decade. (is that right?)
You would think a top reciever prospect might want to come to BC with its great OL and QB tradition in the past decade, and good RBs too. But we never do get the great WR. maybe the TOB schemes put a damper on that.
Gunnell is a good receiver, and he had a great career at BC. I agree he is one of the best BC has had in the past decade. But even in the ACC he is just very good, but not outstanding.
Maybe if Larmond gets some stickum for his hands, he will be that Hakeem Nicks type BC needs.
Here are the 2009 receiver stats for the ACC
1. Donovan Varner-DU SO 12/65 (games/receptions)
2. Torrey Smith-MD SO 12/61
2. Devon Brown-WF SO 12/61
4. Marshall Williams-WF JR 12/60
4. Conner Vernon-DU FR 11/55
6. Bert Reed-FS SO 12/58
6. Rod Owens-FS SR 12/58
8. Greg Little-NC JR 12/55
9. Rich Gunnell-BC SR 12/54
9. Austin Kelly-DU JR 12/54
1. Demaryius Thomas-GT 88.8 (yards/game)
2. Donovan Varner-DU 87.2
3. Marshall Williams-WF 72.2
4. Owen Spencer-ST 69.5
5. Torrey Smith-MD 68.7
6. Conner Vernon-DU 67.8
7. Leonard Hankerson-UM 64.4
8. Rich Gunnell-BC 62.5
9. Jarrett Boykin-VT 59.6
10. Bert Reed-FS 59.2
During 2008, Gunnell was not ACC top 10 in either receiver category.
In 2007 (Matt Ryan) year he was 8th in the ACC.
1. Kenneth Moore....... WF SR 13 98
2. Aaron Kelly......... CU JR 13 88
3. Hakeem Nicks........ NC SO 12 74
4. Andre Callender..... BC SR 14 76
5. Preston Parker...... FS SO 13 62
6. Jomar Wright........ DU SR 12 56
7. Tyler Grisham....... CU JR 13 60
8. Rich Gunnell........ BC SO 14 64
9. Brandon Robinson.... BC JR 13 56
10.De'Cody Fagg........ FS SR 13 54
Biggest Ommissions IMO:
- Grant Adams over Dewalt or Blackmon
- Augie Hoffman or Paul Zukuaskas over Cliff Ramsey
- Sandro should be first team over Apon (not as many points, but was simply a better kicker)
Other than that, pretty solid.
Keuchley has to be on there somewhere. I would argue first team over Brown.
His freshman year was better than Toals. He should at least take his spot.
In response to mod34's comment about BC WRs in the NFL, I can only recall three: Brian Brennan, Kelvin Martin and Tom Waddle. Yes, all from the leather helmet days.
I've always been mystified that BC couldn't recruit really outstanding WRs given the legacy of good passing QBs. Maybe Larmond has that potential. Unfortunately, we're now kind of in a state of limbo at QB.
As I said, this was pretty subjective on my part and I appreciate the feedback. I didn't consider NFL careers when I put this together. The biggest slight is probably Zukauskas. This is how I rationalized that -- I looked at him strictly as a tackle. So while he certainly had a better career than Marten or Ramsey, those guys spent most of their time at guard. I am also a little biased to the more recent teams since I've logged all their games. Since I've been logging games, the best 'seasons' I've seen from OLineman have been Beekman's JR year, Tennant's SO year and Ramsey's SR year.
Harris-Knight was another either or. I guess being the all time leading rusher was the tie breaker.
I will debate BSP vs Paul Pete with anyone. Peterson was a better college QB for a variety of reasons and was the first QB to actually use the downfield options in Bible's offense paving the way for Matt Ryan.
Sid got the nod over Sciortino because he's grown into the role and I think people forget how iffy Sandro could be at times.
If Philips is as good as they say (knock on wood) and Larmond uses Spaz's towel to wipe the butter off of his fingers, we have a 2 year window to develop a WR tandem that can change that perception a bit. We do usually turn out some quality TE's Pantale/Andersen being the latest. Wait a minute, Larmond, Philips, Pantale, Andersen... damn, combine these with Montel and a veteran O-Line and we could have a scary offense if Shinskie et. al can step it up in the offseason.
Knight was the main guy during my years there and was fun to watch. However, the fact that he is the all time leading rusher yet never did anything beyond college while pretty much every O-Lineman he played with is in the NFL shows the ultimate value of a good O-Line and the importance of the O-Line U reputation to BC's success.
Sandro may have been iffy sometimes but Apon was a horrible kicker up until this year. Even in his great year, you couldn't trot him out for anything longer than a 40 yard FG, which easily cost BC numerous opportunities for points. Sandro was also picked for the All-Big East Second Team in his senior year. As much as I thought Sandro was horrible back then, he was better than Apon.
Dan .. I did not know about Philips. Great recruit for BC. He could be the answer along with butter fingers (g1!)
Here is what Rivals says about Philips.
On the Hoof: Wide, thick-shouldered and a thin waist similar to Terrell Owens. Phillips has really big hands and lean legs that could use some additional muscle mass. He has the body to take punishment over the middle.
Needs Improvement: He needs to work on initial speed off the line of scrimmage, which should help him create separation quicker.
Most Impressive: Excellent route runner with hands like a Venus flytrap. Phillips does a nice job of using his body to shield off defenders.
Conclusion: His hands and route running almost assures him playing time as a freshman. If he does improve on his speed, he could eventually become an All-American.
Apo didn't really become an asset until this year. People just gave him a hero's welcome when he walked on the team because he was replacing Ryan Ohliger who would routinely miss extra points.
Kuechly named to si.com all-America second team. He was the only freshman named to their all-America defensive teams.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/ncaa/12/15/all-america/index.html
I'm telling you guys, front cover of the SI 2010 College Football Preseason edition should definitely be Herzlich and Keuchly standing together with the title "Superman & Boy Wonder"
Nice that they spelled his name wrong...
Harris and Castonzo got honorable mention too on SI all-maerican list
Mod34b:
The problem is, January 1, 2000 was in the previous decade. This decade didn't begin until January 1, 2001. Because there is no year 0, the first decade of this dating convention went 1-10 A.D., then 11-20 A.D., then 21-30 A.D., etc.
Richard --
You are technically correct!
However, as a matter of common usage, not!
Please, if you can, use your powers to go back in time and tell everyone present in Times Square on Dec. 31, 1999 (and the artist formerly kinown as Prince) that they arrrived a year too early for the celebration of the New Millenium.
Hey, come to think of it, does this mean the world will not end in 2012, but in 2013?
Does this mean Chase Rettig and Shakim Philips aren't coming til the 2011 season? uh oh...
Green is on the 1st team
Richard is correct. However, just as most people now use "impact" even when they are not referring to a crash, referring to a decade as 0-9 is common practice. For example, when "I Love the 80's" is on VH1, they go with the years 1980 to 1989, even though technically, the 80's were 1981 to 1990.
a decade can be any ten year period...85 to 94 can be considered a decade if you choose to do it that way. atl_eagle is obviously choosing, as most people do, to consider the Aughts as a decade. pretty ridiculous to pick that nit.
eagleboston: don't even give on that point. the 80s are the years beginning with 198*. by your logic 1980 was in the 70s. let's not try to get too smart and just enjoy the debate.
ATL--
Paul Peterson is a great pick. For those of you who missed those gallant years with Paul just gutting it out and throwing awesome shots down field. He'd get crushed while he tossed beautiful passes with nothing but hell coming after him--man, that dude had huevos galore. And he was BC to the core. No "I-me-mine" in one cell of that QB. Just Eagle courage.
Watching Peterson as he was carted off the field with a broken leg that day just killed me, with his hand up giving the team a victory "V".
Man, I'm 'vaclempt' just thinkin' about it. (Talk amongst yourselves while I listen to some Foo Fighters doing "Learn to Fly"...)...ok, I'm good now.
Bill, your list makes me wonder in amazement at some of those great players who really did stuff for BC that was huge. They created the new era of BC football in alot of ways. Beating the Domers with style and consistency. Knocking off Penn State, laying out ASU, CSU and Boise State (our guys were the last ones to beat them in a bowl game, ya know) and stopping the BC Haters cold week in and out.
It's important to remember WHO. WE. ARE. (Maybe that's why I'm still pissed that we aren't sending the band to S.F. and looking like the class act that these guys made the BC 2000's into with Going for It.)
Zuk, Silva, Tony G.--Goodwin and Kiwi! So seriously good. Kiwi's timely sacks, and his heart like a house. ATL--your list makes me proud of where BC has been and certainly should make us all see where we can go and why it's vital to never lower our standards as a program.
These guys were clutch players. The Greens and Clouds and Gunny,and Brandon making those scary grabs across the middle. Blackmon stepped up in big plays--who cares about total numbers?--these Eagles won ball games. These guys weren't about stats as much as clutch catches and big runs that broke open games. 4th down conversions and 2 minute drill guys in crunch time.Let's look at their cumulative won/loss records...that'll say it all.
The list is as much true to fact as it is fun. And inspiration, too.
It should make us appreciate Montel Harris and Keuchly, and what can come from this year's batalion of promising players.
I'm pumped-but let's liberate the Band for this football game vs. USC. C'mon! This is absolutely stupid to show for a nationally televised bowl game vs. the Trojans with NO BAND. Are you feeling the stupid of this?
yes
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