UMass looking for true home games and other links

UMass hopes to play more games on campus in the near future. What a shock that playing 90 miles away at Gillette wasn't an immediate success. Our games against the Minutemen would not be impacted. As much as I mock what they are doing, I am all for establishing a long-term series that goes Alumni-Gillette, Alumni-Gillette. That is a huge advantage for us.

Nick Clancy is solidly on the Falcons depth chart. Let's hope he gets plenty of playing time in the preseason games. 

SI predicts five wins this fall. 

Being surrounded by BC guys is making Matt Hasselbeck's transition to the Colts that much easier. 

ESPNBoston broke down things to watch as practice begins. 

Here is a round up of anonymous comments on BC from other ACC coaches. I am amazed by how shallow their knowledge of BC is. It shows we are a real afterthought. That will change soon. 

Amidon's NFL prospects and other links

As I've noted before, it has been more than 25 years since a BC Wide Receiver was selected in the NFL Draft. If NFL scouting gurus really do have Amidon in their Top 5 for the position, maybe the streak will finally end. But my fear is this season's shift to a ground attack might limit Amidon's catches. 

Al Skinner's name keeps coming up for the UMass-Lowell job. As I say anytime he is rumored for a position, UMass-Lowell would be lucky to have him.

The Women's Lacrosse team lost in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. 

The son of former BC assistant Bonzi Colson is getting a lot of recruiting attention. Although he is local, I don't BC will get involved given how his dad's tenure ended. 

This is from earlier in the week, but it is nice to read about Nick Clancy's excitement over playing with the Falcons and Matt Ryan. 

Eagles in Atlanta and Indy and other places

As expected, none of BC's current seniors were selected in the NFL Draft. But when you are a potential late-rounder, being an undrafted free agent is not a bad thing. It enables the player to select a team with a favorable roster.

Nick Clany will be joining Matt Ryan with the Atlanta Falcons. I am obviously biased by fandom and geography, but this is a good fit for Nick. The Falcons are very thin on defense and at Linebacker (yet they didn't draft another LB). Clancy will get a chance on special teams and should probably get a very good shot at the practice squad.

Another team that loves BC guys is Indianapolis, so it was not a surprise to see them sign Emmett Cleary. He joins former Eagles Anthony Castanzo and Gosder Cherilus as protection for Andrew Luck. The Colts had a need at OL and only drafted one lineman. I guess that means Cleary's chances to make the team are decent.

Chris Pantale signed with the Jets. I have no idea who is going to be QB there this year nor how they will use him. I hope he gets a fair shot. If he hadn't been injured this season, I think he would have been drafted.

John Wetzel signed with the Raiders. They are another team with a lot of holes, so hopefully he gets a chance.

This is the first time since 2005 that no BC player was selected.

Remembering BC's Mr. Irrelevant

BC won't have a player drafted Thursday night. But with Wetzel, Clancy and Cleary all listed as late-rounders or undrafted free agents, BC may have a Mr. Irrelevant this year. It would not be the first time an Eagle ended up as the last player in the Draft. In 1995 the Carolina Panthers selected Michael Reed with the last overall pick.

Little is expected of Mr. Irrelevant, so Reed turning his tenure into two seasons was viewed as a success. He hardly played, but was able to extend his career after the NFL with two seasons of NFL Europe. After his playing days Reed got into coaching. He was on TOB's staff at NC State and recently joined Clemson.

Reed is making a name for himself now as a recruiter (Dabo praised his work on their 2013 class). I don't think his draft-day notoriety means anything to high schoolers, but his NFL background doesn't hurt. If any of our current eagles ever get selected last overall, I hope they use Reed as an example. He turned his one shot into a career.

Lacrosse update and other links

Since I said on the field success was the key to Men's Lacrosse's future, I wanted to make people aware the team is undefeated. They beat UConn Tuesday and take on Rhode Island on Saturday.

With two of our best NFL Draft prospects both from Illinois, it is only natural that the Bears are paying attention.

Softball lost to Maine.

This is not about BC, but is about how Quinnipiac leveraged hockey to raise the university's profile. There are lessons here for our non- or low-revenue sports.

Not so fast on the UConn-ND Fenway game and other links

As often happens when these rumors arise, they are quickly shot down. On Tuesday Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick called reports of a pending Fenway game inaccurate. But just because the Irish might not be interested or might not be able to schedule the game in 2014, doesn't mean that a similar game won't happen. BC needs to be involved in those discussions and find the right game and opponent to showcase the team and the Park.

Amidon's breakout season moved him onto the Biletnikoff watch list.

Nick Clancy's ultra-productive Saturday earned ACC honors.

Tabor's Tevin Montgomery is still interested in BC.

The Herald posted a feature on future Eagle Mackay Lowrie.

Rettig featured and other links

I am totally on board the Rettig bandwagon (and will have more on that later this week) but it seems like the media is starting to appreciate our sophomore QB. Right now it is only the local writers, but I think by the UCF game you will see more on Rettig's rise.

Everyone felt the offensive line was better, but Richman missed long portions of the scrimmage with back issues. We need him healthy if we expect any consistency upfront.

Clancy and Divitto are battling for the starting strongside LB spot. Although Kuechly never seems to come off the field, a few years ago we rotated LBs all day. I expect both Divitto and Clancy to play.