Thursday, August 23, 2018

Disagreeing with Herald's Players to Watch list

The Herald put up a pretty innocuous five Players to Watch article and it got me thinking. Their list might be the best five but they are all the established, veteran guys. We know what to expect from that group. What I find more interesting are the players who might emerge or breakout. With that here are my three players to watch. These guys will really determine the season.

1. Anthony Brown. His health and ability to pass are the most important unknowns heading into the season.
2. Ray Smith. We are young and thin at DT. Smith needs to play well and play a lot.
3. Colton Lichtenberg. It always comes down to the kicker with Daz. If this is the year we finally break seven wins, it will be critical that Colton kick well from the start.

17 comments:

Scott said...

How can we be “thin” at DT if our top 5 guys weigh between 300-330lbs ... kids doing. Wr’re Young at DT, but we have 4-5 talented space eaters ... plus an equal number of stout, gap-shooting tweeners in the 260-285lb range.

The staff likes to mix things up with wired combos of big, small, stunts, zone drops etc ... they hav more enough pieces to handle 2 DT spots

Scott said...

BTW, the Harold no longer has a local beat writer assign to BC football. They’re only going to cover national press, which is why they’re “watch list” is comprised exclusively ofpre-season all conference picks ... with no mention of sleepers or dark horses.

Napolean Bonaparte said...

Agree on Lichtenberg plus the new punter from Texas. Would also add Michael Walker and other special teams players. Field position critical. Can't be giving other ACC offenses the ball at our 30 - 40+ yardline.

Geezer eagle said...

What the hell does it take to recruit a respectable fg kicker? This has been a weak link for years. Enough!

Seamus Folan said...

“The Herald no longer has a local beat writer asssigbed to BC”...what? Rich Thompson has been with the Herald 30 years, mostly covering college sports. LinkedIn says he is from Framingham. That’s pretty local!

http://www.bostonherald.com/users/rich_thompson

bceagle93 said...

"It always comes down to the kicker with Daz."

That statement alone should be the reason why we hire a new coach in 2019.....#DecideToRunADrawOn4thand12inRedZone

NYCEagle said...

A couple other players to watch:

Hamp Cheevers. Kid has a nose for the football. Classic disruptor. Can he do it all year against #1 receivers?

Wyatt Ray. Can he take the next step? Allen will draw double teams. When Landry drew double teams, Allen made teams pay. Can ray take advantage of a similar situation?

Kobay White. BC hasn’t had a reliable take the top off the defense type talent on the outside for years. White has the speed and the route running ability to be a game breaker.

Ben Petrula. How will he handle the transition from center back to his natural spot at tackle. I suspect there will be a lot of off tackle hand offs to his side as he is a real road grader. Can he get to the second level and showcase the mobility we didn’t get to see at the center spot?

Connor Strachan. In 2016 he was an all ACC second team type talent team linebacker. He’s big enough to be a thumper, and fast enough to play sideline to sideline. How will his knee hold up?

Tanner Karafa. Originally recruited as a 240 pound linebacker (he chose BC over Va Tech even tho he’s from VA), he has since put on 45 pounds and is playing at 285. From what we’ve heard, he’s the smaller, gap shooting type tackle that BC likes to play along side a space eater like Ray Smith. Our Achilles heel last year was between the tackles run defense. If Smith and Karafa can occupy the interior offensive lineman, our talented linebackers just need to plug the holes.

CT said...

Good stuff NYC.

Big Jack Krack said...

I agree.

I am interested in the first two-deep roster to be published for the Defensive Line.

Brandon Barlow 6'3" 250
Bryce Morais 6'4" 260
Jaleel Berry - 6'2" 310
TJ Rayam - 6'1" 305

Don't know if we'll see Kyiev Bennermon as a freshman - 6'3" 265 as good as he looks.

Or Ryan Betro (true freshman) 6'4" 320

Don't know much about Taylor Hill (R.S. Soph) 6'0" 270

Go BC - get tough on the D and lock 'em down!!!

JBQ said...

I want to knit pick about the kickers. The holder has always been the source of the problem and the technique of rotating the laces. When three different kickers have problems with the same holder, duh!. Once Jeff Smith got the job, everything came together.

Eagle Esquire said...

I think we’re going to see a corner step up and establish himself as an impact player. Perhaps Tate Haynes.

Knucklehead said...

To the 5:05 comment. That is a real problem. No joke. Laces out and tilted back is a problem.

Is Colton Lichtenstein listed as the place kicker(rhetorical Mod)? That is as laughable as TGS proudly saying his "son" got into Providence College, sad.

The talk above is good. Original and knowledgeable thoughts. The major question with this team is QB. Is Brown going to play at a competent level with Baker at center. If he can and doesn't get hurt it will be an enjoyable season. The binky play that Addazio engages in with some players and coaches is frustrating(Wade, Baker, Justin Frye, Lichtenstein).

Unknown said...

I would add B Sebastian to ur list. They need a corner opposite Hamp to step up.D Line is Big concern. Young & inexperienced. Betro will be Great in time

John said...

I agree, Chris. The D Line is inexperienced after the first 4,and I am not sure how much experience Tanner Karafa has playing in the INTERIOR.

I think our players are good, but not a lot of time in the trenches. In that regard, we are young.

I hope that TJ Rayam comes on strong and that Jaleel Berry can help. Both of those players have the size.

It's possible Le for a Freshman to play, but better if we can redshirt them, I guess.

Barlow and Morais have gotten some ink in practice - just don't know how they will fare against 325 pound linemen. I'm sure we will employ different packages.

Burning that kid's redshirt hurt this year. I'll think of his name in a minute. He played one play as a freshman, I think. We could have used him this year.

John said...

Noa Merritt.

mod34b said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Knucklehead said...

If anyone knows a soft boiled egg it is Mod34b!!!!!!!!!!!