New commitment and other links

The top player in Massachusetts James Hendren committed to Addazio Wednesday. Hendren's offer list is decent, but what he's local and an Olineman. Those elements are the foundation of our past success and return to what we've been historically.

As speculated by many, Jerry York hired Mike Ayers as his new assistant. Ayers comes to BC from USA Hockey.

I don't think it surprises anyone that the Patriots have drafted more BC players than from any other school. I was a little surprised we didn't crack anyone else's Top 4.

Montel Harris is headed to the CFL.

Future baseball Eagle Mike King is Rhode Island's player of the year.

Keeping a presence in Cincy and other links

Shortly after the staff was assembled, Addazio also introduced their respective recruiting territories. Ohio was listed but there was no special mention of Cincinnati. Since Southwest Ohio has been a critical pipeline for BC for nearly 15 years, I had hoped that we would protect our base there. Now it looks like we are still going to hit our traditional feeder schools as BC has offered St. X's Nick Carovillano

Most of you probably read this by now, but Addazio's Q&A with ESPN is worth your time. Even though he has yet to even coach a game, I feel like I've changed my opinion on Addazio a dozens times. It will probably wear thin after a while, but for now I still like his passion and confidence.

Women's Hockey tied Vermont.

BC is going to be part of next Fall's 2k Sports Classic.

Lacrosse lost to Ohio State.

The baseball team lost to East Carolina on Friday.

The second half of this article mentions Montel Harris's talking point to the GMs at the Combine. It is a pretty simple explanation.

Wanted: Any 5th year transfer in FBS

Bruce Feldman's tweet about Florida Offensive Lineman Matt Patchan being interested in BC got me thinking. Why stop with just guys Addazio has a relationship with? Addazio and his staff should be making a grand push to get any interested and eligible fifth year to come to BC next season. It is a stop gap measure that could pay a nice dividend in Year 1.

The current recruiting class is not well regarded. The new staff is doing its best to fill the holes, keep the committed guys interested and find a few diamonds in the rough. It is what any transition staff does. But most freshman are not going to come in and have an immediate impact. An older, more mature and developed player might. Since BC rarely takes Junior College players, the only way to get older players in the program is by exploiting the NCAA's graduated player transfer policy. This allows a player with eligibility and his degree to transfer without restriction to another program (there are a few academic stipulations attached too). It is the policy Montel Harris used to play at Temple without sitting a season. If BC adds a few 5th years this year, this recruiting class might get a boost and we might get enough talent to win six games and go bowling again.

There is really no downside to the 5th year path. They have their degrees so BC's academic concerns and focus on graduation rate is not an issue. Addazio doesn't lock up a scholarship for four years on a player who might not perform. Taking a fifth year doesn't prevent him from filling out a huge class in the 2014 recruiting cycle. A few players might be put off by a "new guy" coming in above them, but in those cases winning wins out and competition can help change the culture. If you don't want a 5th year coming in and taking your playing time, then play better and practice harder.

None of the 5th years are without baggage. If they were perfect they wouldn't be available. But for a program like BC, it is all about the short-term upside. If a guy can help make the transition smooth and not interrupt the rebuilding process, there is no reason not to take him. Addazio saw what Montel Harris could do. Let's hope he brings that lesson to BC.

Harris injured in Temple debut and and other links

BC's all-time leading rusher Montel Harris began his Temple career Friday night. The debut didn't last long as Harris was sidelined with a hamstring injury. I hope he has a big season, but the once durable guy now seems to have the injury bug.

As a reminder BC will honor Lou Montgomery and Frank Chamberlain at halftime.

Women's soccer tied Stanford.

I know I promised a Meterparel interview this week but we had scheduling issues. We will have it next week.

Dominique Williams knows he has to earn his playing time.

ESPN posted a Q&A with Chase Rettig.

Volleyball lost to Northern Iowa but beat Mississippi State.

The Field Hockey team beat Quinnipiac.

Montel Harris to Temple now officially official

Although it's been rumored and reported multiple times over the past few months, Montel Harris finally enrolled in Temple over the weekend. Supposedly the delay was due to Harris completing his academic commitments to BC. To be eligible at Temple, Montel must have completed his BC degree.

All the past comments hold true for me. I hope Montel has a great end to his career and gets his shot at the NFL. He was a pleasure to watch the past four years.

Hoffses reporting Montel Harris to Temple

According to Eagle Action reporter Eric Hoffses, Montel Harris is transferring to Temple. Despite some speculation, Harris did graduate from BC (enabling the transfer). The move reunites Harris with his former Offensive Coordinator Kevin Rogers and former BC assistant coach Ryan Day. I don't know how healthy Montel's knee is but I hope he has a strong season. He deserves it.

Scholarships and Spaz

Maryland is currently under NCAA sanction due to their failing APR score. They are only allowed 82 scholarships this season. Urban Meyer is designing his entire recruiting plan and rebuilding plan around the Buckeyes' five scholarship penalty. Scholarships are precious commodity in college sports as they represent the lifeblood of a program. As of today BC has 82 scholarship football players. Given historical attrition we will probably be down to 80 scholarship players by our season opener. Why other schools are fighting penalties and scholarship limitations, we are essentially penalizing ourselves. Of all the complaints about Spaz, this might be the most overlooked and the most inexplicable.

I know I've complained about this idea many times, but that is because four years into the Spaz era I still don't understand it. BC prides itself on graduation rates. That means you honor scholarships for four years and you find guys who can hack it in the classroom. Because of that we cannot be as cavalier with scholarships as some football factories might. But "banking" scholarships was never as prevalent under Coughlin, Henning, TOB or Jags and we still managed to graduate kids and honor four-year commitments. Spaz has said he likes the buffer because it allows him to reward walk-ons and accept transfers. But even those justifications don't hold up under scrutiny. In his four years we only accepted two transfers (Parsons** and Grant). Banking also allowed us to have a space for Dave Shinskie. But those rare occasions amount to less than one scholarship a year. Why not use the other three or four annually?

Rewarding walk-ons has its place. When a guy contributes significantly he deserves the same privileges as the scholarship players. But like transfers, we just haven't had that many. Since Spaz took over, Hampton Hughes and Mike Morrissey were promoted from walk-on to full-time scholarships.

In my opinion the mistake Spaz makes is planning on those opportunities. Attrition is so common in college football that you don't need to plan on those two transfter/walk-on spots. It is highly likely that during the course of any season you will have an opening or two. Holding those spots open means that when attrition does occur, you start to see your head count drop to 80 or less.

This might seem like nitpicking, but that one extra player could be your next star. Guys like Montel Harris and Jamie Silva were offered with our last scholarships. Saying that you cannot find enough prospect in each recruiting class is pathetic. These scholarships are lottery tickets to players. There are thousands of players who would want the chance to play in the ACC and get a free ride to a world class university. And Spaz can't find enough players he likes that reciprocate? That's pathetic.

Spaz defenders will say he is only down to 82 because of bad luck with Momah and Harris. But both were iffy. We should have factored their issues into recruiting. But we didn't.

The only silver lining to this policy is that it will give our next coach more scholarships to work with immediately. But still this idea is just another example of where Spaz is out of sync with modern college football. While the other coaches are doing everything they can to find scholarships we are letting ours rot away in the bank.

CORRECTION: I've been corrected that Parsons transferred as a walk-on. Spaz has also promoted Sean Flaherty and Gerald Levano to scholarship status. So congrats to those guys.

Spaz & Gene: perfecting pettiness

Spaz and Gene deserve each other. The BC community deserves better. I would say the Montel Harris story broke the camel's back, but the camel gave up long ago. We like to joke about Spaz's game management skills, but his people skills are the real problem. He's run off loyal long-time staffers and thrown multiple players under the bus. It was so predictable that he would run off at least one formerly loyal role model player, that Eagle Outsider posters created a pool about the topic back in March. This is supposed to the head coach that values loyalty. But loyalty is subjective. If Spaz was so loyal wouldn't he have followed TOB to NC State? Wouldn't he have been loyal to Jags? Or was his loyalty really just to Gene (which is all that mattered to Gene)? Montel kept our offense afloat during Spaz's first two winning seasons and what did he get for it? An overworked bum knee and a kissoff from BC.

We like to think that BC is better than this. We're not. Spaz's mismanagement is not all that different from his boss's. Instead of being straight forward or better yet taking the high road, Gene can't let anything happen without getting the last word. The list of smear victims is long. Tom O'Brien, Jeff Jagodzinski, Al Skinner, Steve Lively, Cathy Inglese, Mik Aoki, Kevin Rogers, Ryan Day, Gary Tranquill, and Dana Bible have all been on the receiving end of whisper campaigns from BC. Gene can disavow this because it is rarely a direct, on the record quote to the media, but it does come from friendly media and message board posters. I know from experience that BC keeps close tabs on every story, every rumor and every leak. If Gene didn't approve of the smearing he could have it shutdown. When you fire someone or they leave, why can't we just let it go? Take the high road and move on. By making everything personal -- whether it is UConn, Lively or Spaz -- you lose sight of what makes the most sense for Boston College. In 99% of cases in business and in life taking the high road is the better move.

It had long been rumored that Montel Harris wasn't going to subject his knee to another season under Spaz. If that was the case, why not talk to him? Agree to a mutual release, watch him graduate and let him play somewhere else. Instead you have the school's all-time leading rusher and a guy who will graduate in days, being "dismissed from the team." Is Spaz that worried about Montel lighting it up at another school, that he feels he needs the upperhand?

Spaz is a lame duck. I have little faith that he can win enough to keep his job. He'll leave the program in much worse shape than he found it. The question now becomes does Gene get to hire his replacement. My fear is that Gene will repeat the same mistakes, hire a bad coach and continue to alienate our fans and players.

Montel Harris kicked off of team

Spaz kicked the school's all-time leading rusher off the team. This is actually not a surprise as there has been rumored discontent between the two sides for some time. Spaz's quote:

"Montel Harris has been permanently dismissed from our football team due to a repeated violation of team rules," Spaziani said. "We are grateful for his contributions the past four seasons and will support him in completing his degree requirements and in his future pursuits."

There are two sides to every story, but is anyone stepping back to look at the big picture? Even if Montel was a problem to the extent he had to be dismissed but allowed to remain in school, why did it get to this point?

He was a really fun guy to watch play and exceeded all expectations while he was on campus. Because of his lingering knee injury, I don't know what the future holds. I wish him the best of luck. The Spaz tenure can't end soon enough.

Harris done for Spring

In disappointing but not unexpected news, Montel Harris experienced soreness in his knee and will miss the remainder of Spring practice. Given all that has happened, I don't think BC can expect much from Montel this Fall. He will own most of the BC rushing records and have his degree, so I hope he comes back on his terms. With chronic knee issues, a professional career is looking doubtful. Montel was a fun player to watch. Let's hope he gets one more shot to shine at BC.

Momah gets 6th year! and all the others are able to come back too UPDATE

UPDATE: I wrote the post based on the tweet. BC's article later clarified that Momah still needs NCAA approval. I assume he will get it.

Injuries to college athletes are especially unfair. Their respective careers are so short that any game or season missed is one less chance to shine or contribute. Of all the guys who missed time this season, I felt especially bad for Ifeanyi Momah. He was a guy who came in with such raw potential, did what was asked of him, yet never got a chance to put it all together. It seemed like 2011 might be the season where it finally clicked. He was healthy and back on offense full-time and had a new offensive coordinator. Things were going according to plan until he got hurt. Now he gets the rare sixth NCAA year. I hope he makes the most of it and we get something special.

Also of note is Montel Harris's opportunity to return. He comes back to a much more crowded backfield than the one he left. But another season means another chance to break the ACC's rushing record. I also feel he was misused and rushed a bit this year. Let's hope all the time off means he'll finally be healthy in 2012.

Ramsey should be a contributor if he is elects to use his fifth year. I also look forward to seeing Jones and Wujciak back.

Montel Harris out for Clemson

Per the Globe:

"Montel had an MRI and he had a little swelling so we are shutting him down," said Spaziani. "They just did the MRI. I haven't had time to discuss with Montel, but he isn't playing this week and next week we have off."

I don't know what Montel wants, but I hope he shuts it down for the season. He can still get a medical redshirt and comeback for his fifth year.

The Montel Harris decision

As Duke made its comeback on Saturday, I was reminded of another blown lead under Spaz -- the 2009 Florida State game. That day BC retook the lead based on a big play from Montel Harris. Now that Harris may play, I am wondering if he will make a difference going forward.

The answer really depends on Montel's health. If he is 100%, I do think he can make a difference. While Williams and Kimble have shown some upside, neither are a versatile as Harris and neither have Harris's ability to make consistent positive yards in traffic.

If he is not 100% and cannot cut or doesn't have 100% strength, Harris might not be any more effective than our other RBs.

I don't believe in giving up. I want BC to win and play hard for the remainder of the season. Spaz is the lost cause in my mind. But Montel is not. So what do you do? I would wait a week. We should beat UMass without him. If he is still pain free after two weeks of practice, then you play him for Wake. If he's not ok prior to Wake you shut him down for the year. He's earned the rehab time, plus the redshirt would give the apologists one more excuse for this year.

Three bigger issues than Running Back depth

Andre Williams hurt his ankle in BC's third scrimmage. Combined with Montel Harris's knee, BC's once deep backfield now becomes a major question mark. Most fans are trying to stave off panic. I remain worried about the season, but not about running back. We still have capable RBs in Finch and Boyd and Williams and Harris could both return in September. However, these three things still have me more worried as we prepare for the season.

1. The offensive line
It doesn't matter who runs the ball if no one can block for them. Nate Richman is hurting and now we are moving Spinney from Center to LG to replace him. I think this is a bad idea. I would rather see Spinney stay at Center -- where he's been solid. Given how bad our OLine has looked to start the past two seasons, I don't know who I can tru

2. Kevin Rogers running the offense.
Hard to believe but Rogers hasn't called plays since 2001. In that regard Tranquill was more relevant. I think Rogers will be an improvement but I do wonder how he will manage the offense and manage the clock. The season really depends on him and Rettig.

3. The defensive backfield
Injuries are forcing Spaz to mix things around. You also have to wonder how the offense is able to move the ball with such ease. If the defense is vulnerable in the passing game, this could hurt BC once the games count and we face go passers.

I want Williams and Harris back as soon as possible. But still (stupidly?) think we can still compete without either. The issue now is will these other units step up.

Harris's timetable uncertain and other links

Things are not looking good for Montel, per Dan Duggan's blog:

What was found was another lateral tear of the meniscus, the same injury that he suffered last November 20 in the game against Virginia, and there was also some debris that needed to be cleaned out. Dr. Thomas Gill – the orthopedist for the Bruins, Patriots and Red Sox – performed the surgery at Brigham and Women’s/Mass. General Health Care Center in Foxboro.

Harris conceded that redshirting is an option, but it’s not one he’s looking at closely right now. He hopes to be able to play by the third game of the season against Duke on Sept. 17.

Good job by Duggan to first report the news. I am not a knee or medical expert, but it is troubling that it look this long to diagnose. I think this knee will be an ongoing issue. Regardless of what Montel hopes, I am mentally preparing for a season without him. Let's hope Williams has worked on his reading of holes.

Kuechly and the linebackers are going to carry this year's defense.

This guy has a BC offer and he hasn't even started a game in high school yet.

Lesson to all you high schoolers courtesy of Chris Snee: don't get a tattoo until you are really sure you like it.

Harris's knee is bigger issue for him than BC

Because the offense seems leaps ahead of last year and because we have decent depth at Running Back, I think BC can survive without Harris. My bigger concern at this point is Montel and his future.

After a seemingly innocuous tackle, Harris, the coaches, nor the medical staff have had a good feel for his true recovery. Each scheduled return has been beset with setbacks. Wednesday he underwent another surgery on the troubled knee. Now the staff advised he should be back in three to four weeks. But can we trust this speculation given the history of this injury?

Montel and BC have two options:

1. Monitor his progress and get him out there as soon as he can play.
2. Shut him down for the year as a redshirt and let him recover completely.

Although Montel might not want to sit, it is probably a better long term option. He won't approach the ACC records on a short season and NFL teams are not going to draft him with a nagging injury. If he redshirts, he still has a chance to recover and have a strong, full season in 2012.

The redshirt benefits BC too. When someone is out for the full season, you are forced to adjust. You find new players. You adjust your scheme. You mentally move on too. If the staff waits on Montel, they may wait the entire season. He never may regain his form. You don't know what you have so you are hedging your plans. However, if Montel fully recovers and comes back strong in 2012, BC gets a new weapon and wrinkle to the offense.

We won't know Montel's status until after the season starts, so I will stick with what I tweeted earlier: if he is not 100% by UMass, Spaz should redshirt him.

Five Things we won't learn with the start of practice

BC begins their fall practice schedule Monday. It's a huge first day and a huge season for BC and Spaz. But for all the storylines in play, there are still some major unknowns that won't be revealed until BC takes the field against Northwestern.

1. Just how tough is the schedule? Everyone agrees that this year's schedule presents more of a change than last year, but no one knows how much more. Every team we face has some question marks. NC State, Clemson and FSU have new QBs. Miami has a new coach. Clemson's coach is on a hot seat. Is Notre Dame finally back? This schedule might be easier than we expect. But this is college football. Perceptions matter. So BC's record will constantly put in context of its "tough schedule." My prediction is that things will even out as they usually do. Two of the teams will surprise and two will probably disappoint. Let's just hope that BC catches them all on their off days.

2. What sort of impact will Kevin Rogers' have? We are already hearing mixed rumblings regarding Rogers's offense. Some say the players are taking to it, while others question the learning curve. Practice will help but we won't know what sort of game Rogers will call and how the players will adapt until the season starts. We are not extremely talented on O, but there are enough pieces that a competent Offensive Coordinator should be able to improve things.

3. How healthy are Harris and Larmond? Both are saying the right things this summer, but camp will be telling. Things get out and if the guys miss practices or look tentative, we will know. And if either are less than 100%, expectations will take a nose dive.

4. Which new players will emerge? This is always the internet fan and blogger's favorite game. We hear and read things and then anoint some young guy or second teamer, the new savior. Sometimes the scrimmages are proving grounds and other times they are red herrings. But the speculation is fun.

5. What is Spaz's future with BC? This clearly won't be answered in camp but after the season we should have a much better idea. I know it seems like I am rooting against Spaz at times. I promise you I am not. I root with passion every week for BC. I just don't think Spaz is the right guy and every season with him as head coach is a wasted opportunity. I hope I am wrong. This is his third season. This is his team. How we perform this year will be a pretty good indicator of how the remainder of the Spaz era plays out.

ACC Media Kickoff Day 1

For those who weren't following on twitter, here is the ACC's roundup of Day 1 of the ACC Football Kickoff.

Both Montel Harris and Luke Kuechly scored big points with the assembled media. Neither seems concerned about individual awards.

For many fans, the biggest news of Day 1 was the debut of BC's new jerseys. Most pleasing is the return of normal numbers. The italics are gone! Let's hope we phased them out on our logo too.

(Screen grab courtesy of EO.)

With the ACC record within reach, Montel Harris is also getting national attention.

I am glad someone finally mentioned Kuechly's stats getting padded. I thought they might be too, but towards the end of the season, I started logging his specific tackles and they were pretty accurate.

HD and Pat Forde gave their take on Day 1.

ACC Honors and other links

As expected, the ACC named Reggie Jackson first team All-ACC. Trapani made the third team. Congrats to both.

I overlooked an important accomplishment over the weekend -- the BC women won the Hockey East! Congrats and now go get the big trophy.

HD has a pretty good take on our 2011 schedule. Obviously the ACC schedule is primary but I think how we perform in the non-conference will really impact perception among the fans and Spaz's progress. We only have on non-conference cupcake this year.

Montel Harris's injury put a damper on the end of his 2010 season. I wonder if it will mute some deserved publicity heading into 2011. Southern Pigskin thinks he is unappreciated.

Pre-snap read is following Emmett Cleary this spring. I actually think Cleary played well for Lapham at RT and wouldn't mind seeing him stay on the right side. Give one of the young guys a chance at LT.

Steve Donahue and Joe Lunardi go way back...not that it matters come Sunday.

I hope Charlie Davies new found maturity speeds his comeback with D.C. United.

Future Eagle Ryan Anderson is developing nicely.

Harris's injury and other links

With his surgery yesterday, Montel Harris moved from unknown recovery time to three to six weeks. He will miss Syracuse and may miss our bowl game. If we are in the San Francisco Bowl again, their late kickoff date (January 9) would help the timeline a bit. I don't care either way...I just hope for a full recovery. Montel is poised to own the BC rushing record books and it would be a shame to screw up his knee by rushing him back for a pointless bowl.

Bob Ryan hasn't paid much attention to BC this season, but he finally sat down to write a nice story on Luke Kuechly.

Spaz is starting to fill up his class with under the radar guys and late bloomers. I know some bemoan this strategy but I have no problem with it. I've always felt banking scholarships was silly. Give a kid a chance and you may get a good football player. Plus you always need the bodies. One of the commits is Canadian Eddie Meredith. Even though he might take a few recruiting trips Graham Stewart says he's still solid on BC.