Gallik, Mihalik taken in NFL Draft

Congratulations to the newest Eagles in the NFL. First the Tennessee Titan took Andy Gallik in the sixth round Saturday. One round later, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Brian Mihalik. Both were somewhat surprising.

Most projections had Gallik going in the midrounds. Falling into the sixth means less upfront money -- and doesn't even assure a final roster spot -- but Gallik should get a fair shake in Tennessee. He's versatile enough that even if he doesn't earn a starter's spot, he can back up the interior positions.

Mihalik always seemed a long shot, but the Philadelphia connections to the current BC roster gives the Eagles a different sort of insight. Seventh rounders are regularly cut. Hopefully Brian impresses and he makes the team. His size always gives him a differentiator.

Considering the attrition and questionable lack of quality that went into Spaz's core recruiting classes, BC should be happy with two players taken. Let's hope the upcoming NFL Drafts are filled with more Eagles.

Baseball sweeps GT and other links

Baseball completed its sweep of Georgia Tech. They are riding a huge wave of momentum into their Beanpot game with UMass. Softball won their series with Georgia Tech too.

The Notre Dame game at Fenway will kick off at 7:30. With the weather and home aspect of the game, I think that helps BC.

Lacrosse improved to 14-2 with their win over UNH.

A Patriots blogger broke down Andy Gallik as a prospect and potential draft pick for New England.

Gleaning Draft stuff from NFL.com

We know Andy Gallik performed well at the NFL Combine. We know the turnout was good for BC's Pro Day. But will any of it lead to a big group of BC draftees? One of the best ways to gauge what NFL Teams are thinking is through the NFL's own website. Every year prior to the Draft the NFL loads up profiles of potential draftees. This year three Eagles are already in the system:

• Andy Gallik
• Ian Silberman
• Brian Mihalik

Being listed doesn't guarantee anything. Silberman and Mihalik are borderline late rounders by most accounts. Other BC guys might sneak into a late round too. But using the NFL's profiles as a guide, I think Gallik is the only lock to be drafted. 

Pro Day speaks to past recruiting and current development

24 NFL teams sent representatives to BC's annual Pro Day. Considering we lack any true first day draft picks, that sort of turnout is impressive. Of the potential draftees, Andy Gallik probably generated the most attention, but there weren't 24 teams there to see just him. This Pro Day was about the diamonds in the rough that helped lead the resurrection of BC football under Addazio.

The lack of elite NFL talent mostly falls back to Spaz's recruiting. Most of the guys that worked out today developed under Addazio. Outside of Gallik I would think that Asprilla, Betanourt, Keyes, Mihalik, Phillips, Silberman, Vardaro, and White all have a chance to be late round picks or undrafted free agents. None of those guys were dominant players while at BC, but I think Addazio and Co. have done good job the past two years of developing players. I think NFL teams respect what he's done and his assessments of his own players. One of those 24 teams is going to find a contributor from today.

The most interesting case will be Tyler Murphy. He threw as a QB (see the video below) but I have a hard time believing any team will give him a real shot there. He just didn't show enough as a passer for a team to use a draft pick on him. But he also showed he is a great athlete and great open field runner. I think he could be a very good NFL WR or even a 3rd RB.

@bceaglesfootball QB Tyler Murphy shows off his arm at #BCProDay

A video posted by Boston College Athletics (@bcathletics) on Mar 18, 2015 at 2:53pm PDT

Hockey win Ledyard Classic and other links

The Hockey team defeated Dartmouth -- in Dartmouth's own tournament -- to win the Ledyard Classic.

Andy Gallik accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl. He is probably BC's best chance of having a player drafted this year.

Future Eagle Michael Walker was a Finalist for Offensive Player of the Year in his region in Florida.

For those who missed it, here is the obituary for former Eagle Clarence Cannon.

Women's Basketball lost to Miami.

Captains announced and other links

BC announced their 2014 Captains. They are Josh Bordner, Sean Duggan, Andy Gallik and Dominique Williams. It is an interesting collection and I always appreciate when it is not the best players elected captain (other than Gallik, I wouldn't say the others are obvious choices based on past performance). I hope that the honor means that the team thinks these guys are ready for a big season or that they are putting thought into the vote and electing true examples for team leadership. Or hopefully both and these captain are good guys ready to have great seasons. I know that the tradition and legacy is drilled into these players, so I am sure they are all honored.

Tim Joy injured his knee and will miss the entire season. Fortunately we have depth at Linebacker. I wish him a full recovery and hopefully he can redshirt and play two more years.

UMass released their depth chart for the game. BC's is floating out on message boards, but the official chart has yet to be released.

Analytical love for Matt Ryan and other links

With the cliched talk of "elite" QBs, I feel like I am constantly defending Matt Ryan. The only person who might be a bigger defender of Ryan is Grantland's Bill Barnwell. Barnwell has Ryan in his Top 10 and ahead of Brady, Brees and Eli. I hope the Falcons bounce back this year, but more importantly I hope casual fans start to realize how well Ryan has played the past few years. Kuechly also made Barnwell's Top 25.

Andy Gallik made the Preseason All ACC team.

Earlier in the week EDSBS assigned parts of our galaxy to ACC teams. The BC analogy is probably fair.

Steele Divitto is ready for Jets Training Camp.

Miami is recruiting New England players this cycle.

ACC Media kick off links

Sunday was the players' day to speak with the ACC media. Andy Gallik and Dominique Williams performed well and answered questions in a thoughtful, safe and consistent way. As much as we would love for these guys to be a colorful quote, it is probably best that they have smart but boring answers.

Both players answered plenty of questions about replacing Andre Williams.

As you can see from BC's coverage, there was still fun to be had.

The school also released its updated roster Sunday. The only big news was an official status on Shakim Phillips. BC is also using "GS" as a new listing for 5th year/graduate students. Seeing all the GSs on one page is a reminder that this staff has been very creative in adding depth and patch working their roster.

Dunbar's comeback and other links

Last season was a disaster for Jo-Lonn Dunbar. He missed the beginning of the year with a PED suspension and only played in seven games. The Rams even cut him. The team gave him another chance this year and he plans to make the most of it.

Outside of Gallik, most of our seniors seem like longshots for the NFL.

Soaring to Glory's continued their player preview series with Kam Moore.  He seems like the type that woud redshirt.

2014 Preview Questions: How good is the Offensive Line?

Given BC's history with OLine play, it is surprising that it took until last year for an offensive coach to say "forget skill players, maybe we should just put out eight offensive lineman." The jumbo packages combined with the spread proved to be a good wrinkle. It played to our strengths and depth. I am sure this year we will see new wrinkles, but I don't think teams will be as surprised or that we have the same depth to pull it off. The big question is how good can this Oline be? Their success as a unit will impact BC's season more than any other.

During the decline under Spaz, the most obvious weakness was offensive line play. Mistakes, confusion and sloppy technique were evident. One of the reasons for last season's turn around was simply better position coaching. Which shouldn't have been a surprise since Addazio was a former OLine coach. You assumed that he would put an emphasis on the unit and find a good position coach (which he did in Justin Frye). In Year 2 -- with another year of good coaching -- things should be better. But it is not always that simple.

The middle of the line returns. Vardaro, Gallik and Williams should all probably be in the same position as last year. But those three were also the most inconsistent of our starters last season. Vardaro and Gallik would play really well some games and struggle in others. With Gallik receiving a series of preseason accolades, I assume the coaches are expecting a big season season from him.

But who replaces the Tackles? It is assumed that it will be another Florida transfer Ian Silberman and Seth Betancourt. But the coaches could easily move Vardaro and Williams wide and use Silberman and Betancourt on the interior. It really depends on what Frye thinks is most important, position familiarity or putting you best talent at Tackle.

I also don't know if and how often we will go big. Opponents have had a whole offseason to prepare. Without the surprise will the big packages be as effective? Also, do we have the depth? Are the guys on the bench able to come in and play? Are we better off with multiple Tight Ends? Unlike our questions at WR, I have more confidence that the Oline will come together. The talent and coaching is too good for it not to come together. And if it doesn't come together...we're screwed.