A look at the roster shuffle

The transfer portal has been up and filled with BC-related names, but not many answers from BC or the press. We got some answers Wednesday. Matt McDonald, who had been on the portal for a few weeks, is headed to Bowling Green. He will join fifth year Grad Transfer Davon Jones and former BC OC Scot Loeffler. While Addazio can't talk about it right now, I assume both had his blessing. When the season ended Jones seemed iffy on social media if he would even be asked back. McDonald showed promise in the Spring Game, but I think he still faced an uphill climb on the depth chart. Reuniting with Loeffler give both a chance to see the field. Addazio's son is on Loeffler's staff, so this has to be seen as friendly.

McDonald leaving also explains the recent commit of Florida QB Daelen Menard. Commits that come in late may usually have a story. Menard is small and dealt with injuries, hurting his chance to play at a high level. I am fine with taking a risk on him and Brian White and Addazio's hit rate on under the radar guys from Florida has been pretty good. Menard will hopefully continue that pattern.

Incoming transfers include former Miami OL Hayden Mahoney and former Clemson DE Richard Yeargin III. They join the long-announced Danny Dalton. Will any of these guys change the program? Probably not but like the Florida history, Addazio has a good track record of turning discarded P5 players into contributors at BC.

Youth movement

While in Clemson, I heard that some of the older players are unhappy with playing time. Then there was some grumbling on the message boards and in BC fan chatter that the older players are being told to make way for the young guys. Coincidentally, Addazio focused on the young players in his Monday media press conference. Of note:

You saw that Saturday night when we played Aaron Monteiro, for example, at left tackle. He came out. He's a true freshman tackle. Sam Schmal, he redshirted last year, he played; James Hendren, who was redshirted last year, played; Chris Lindstrom, who is a true freshman, has played and has been playing since the beginning. Jon Baker is a sophomore who has played a handful of snaps last year who has really come into his own right now. I just rattled off four or five guys that are freshmen or redshirt freshmen or who are true sophomores with limited experience who we think have great upside. Not to mention some of the guys we haven't broken out yet on the offensive line that we are very excited about. In addition, we have other guys like Ben Glines, who we haven't taken him off yet. I'm not going to say that yet. It's getting late: it's game eight. But you've seen Thaddeus [Smith] play very few snaps last year. He is a sophomore, but he really played very minimally last year and you are seeing him emerge. Elijah [Robinson] is a true freshman. You are starting to see what is happening with him. These are the things that are going on in the flank. You are seeing [Michael] Walker. You saw him on the kickoff return. He is very dynamic guy. Then you saw [us] throw one ball to him down the sidelines and he got behind [the defense]. He has real speed. He is legitimately a fast guy. And you've seen him now. He is playing a dozen offensive snaps plus 10 special teams. He is probably playing 25 snaps per game. Then of course, Jeff [Smith] and of course, you saw Jordan Gowins. I don't remember his exact tally of snaps but he probably touched the ball 10 times or whatever in there. So there are a lot of guys I'm talking about right now. There are an awful lot of guys that are either true freshmen or redshirt freshmen [or] sophomores. Those guys are pretty much the same because almost every sophomore we have out there had almost no snaps last year. And Jake Burt now, the freshman tight end. He has played anywhere between five and 12 snaps a game. Tom Sweeney, who is a redshirt freshman, is playing 60 snaps per game. He is a guy who is really starting to come into his own right now. He is playing a ton of football right now. Those guys are all out there. On defense, you're seeing a lot of [Wyatt] Ray and Ray Smith. Zach Allen. Will Harris. Those are guys that you are seeing. Then you have that sophomore brigade that played last year. Isaac [Yiadom] and Kam [Moore] and Connor [Strachan] and Ty [Schwab].

That is why I am so excited. We're very talented. We are very young, but we are very talented.

Addazio earned a lot of criticism this year, but I have no problem with playing the young players. Contrary to how the older players might feel, I don't view this as throwing in the towel on the season. In fact with regards to the Offensive Line, I think the young guys are looking better each week. The older group we started the year with weren't all that great when they got their shot. If the performance of the young players equals the old, then play the young.

Even with the skill players, I have no problem with guys like Thadd Smith or Robinson being targeted more than some players with more experience.

Who knows? Some of these young guys might provide a spark. If the older players are upset, there is one solution: play better. At this point, I want BC to get three more wins. I don't care if it a a fifth year senior or a kid who just got there leading the way.

Young rosters and where BC stands in the ACC

Addazio is quick to remind everyone how young this BC team is. But it seems like other ACC coaches have the same issue. When Dave Doreen brought it up again at the ACC Media Day, ACCSports.com decided to look at all the rosters in the ACC. It turns out that everyone is young.

The nature of college football means that you're always going to have more underclassmen than juniors and seniors. First there is the redshirt aspect. That really turns your roster into three classes (redshirts, freshmen and sophomores) vs two (juniors and seniors). Then there is the inevitable attrition through injuries, grades and transfers that shrinks a class as it advances through college. For every class like BC's 2007 group (17 redshirt seniors), there will be plenty much smaller than that. But on most rosters and even the best programs, you need to win with your underclassmen.

But even though ever team is young, some are younger than others. That's where BC's 2016 roster comes in. Using ACCSports' data, BC is the third youngest team in the conference behind Wake and NC State. 67.5% of the roster are classified as underclassmen.

So when Addazio says the team is young, he's right. But that doesn't mean that BC's unique nor does it mean that we cannot win this year.

Football roster update

Although Spring Practice began weeks ago, BC did not rush the public updates to the Football roster. Now it is finally up to date. The new roster confirms most of the gossip and speculation that has been out there for weeks. Notable departures include Spiffy Evans, Marcus Grant, Brian Miller, Dominic Appiah, Win Homer, Tahj Kimble, and Victor Nelson. 

Aside from Evans, none of those players were significant contributors last season. But it does hurt our depth among pass catchers and along the lines. Other items of note include Bordner officially being listed as a Wide Receiver and all the early enrollees getting numbers and official measurements. 

All the attrition is natural. There will probably be more departures after spring and summer. As long as we don't lose key players, this won't set BC back. In fact the scholarship churn just enables Addazio to bring in that many more recruits in this next class.