How did Addazio approach new redshirt rule in Week 1

One of the biggest rule changes this offseason was the new redshirt policy. Players can now play in four games and still use a redshirt. Addazio mentioned in the preseason there were a few ways to test the system based on team needs and expectations for the players. Based on Week 1 it looks like he will play a lot of kids and see who is ready for full time action and who might sit later in the year. Nine true freshmen played against UMass. As a reference point -- last year Addazio only played five true freshmen. (And one of those was using Perry earlier than he wanted.)

Being aggressive with the roster early makes sense to me. If all nine look great and are needed, there is no reason to redshirt them. Ride it out and put the best team you can on the field. If only one or two are exceeding expectations, then you keep playing them and redshirt the others.

The only challenge I can foresee is if one of the players sits and then is needed late in the season (sort of like Perry last year). Then you burn the redshirt and didn't get a full season for the player. That will probably happen eventually, but for now, I think Addazio should keep using young players and see who is ready to help the team. 

What should BC do about redshirts?

I don't want to use the whole week to rebut or poke holes in Addazio's radio show, but aside from the Brown topic, there was another argument the coach made that rang hollow. It related to redshirts. Throughout the conversation with Meter and Cronin Addazio referenced players that played as true freshmen and how in an ideal situation BC would have redshirted them all. He said that BC has always been a "developmental" program -- meaning that we succeed by taking lightly recruited guys and developing them over four and five years.

I agree that BC should always look to redshirt, but the problem with Addazio's complaints is that he was the one who played all these guys as true freshmen! Look at the careers of guys he pointed to like Matt Milano, Gutaphel, Kavalec, and John Johnson. They all played as true freshmen. But none were really needed. Addazio can't pin that on Spaz or our lack of depth at the time. He wanted to play these guys. Maybe he wanted to win right away. Maybe the thought he could recruit better talent behind them. Maybe those years at Florida skewed his perception on the impact freshmen could make. I don't know. But look at what Addazio got in return for those four guys he wants back next year.

Milano -- 13 games. No starts. Five tackles.

Johnson -- 12 games. No starts. Three tackles.

Kavalec -- 8 games. No starts. Three tackles. 

Gutapfel -- 10 games. No starts. Half of a tackle.

Now there were players that had to play in Addazio's first year, like Willis and Rouse. But he and his staff chose to play most of the other guys. For all the challenges he did face taking over Spaz's team, playing so many true freshmen was not one of them.

Based on his demeanor, I feel like the last thing Addazio wants to do is talk to the media or do radio shows. Maybe the nature of the questions leads him to trot out excuses for the losing. But enough with the redshirting and youth. Figure out what you have and then try to win with it. I don't care if the kid is 18 or 23. Just do it.

Start petitioning for Williams, Swigert 6th years now

Every NCAA student athlete is eligible to play in four seasons. However, things are not always that cut and dry. When you start your playing time plays a role in the NCAA's eligibility clock. The varied transfer and graduation rules also apply and then there is the issue of injuries and redshirts. Every once in a while the NCAA will grant a sixth year of eligibility to a student athlete who faced a unique injury or extenuating circumstances. As anyone who followed the Ifeanyi Momah case knows, getting that 6th year is a total crapshoot. Now we have two more guys -- Bobby Swigert and Harris Williams -- looking at a potential 6th year request.

Of the two, Swigert seems like the more likely guy to get a 6th year. In fact it is sort of implied in Addazio's update on Monday.

Bobby Swigert is really doing well. We have to see if it's this season or next. He looks great & he is starting to get confidence. - Addazio
— BC Football News (@BCFootballNews) October 13, 2014

To me, the "this season or next" means that BC knows Swigert will get a 6th year. Based on his numerous infections and setbacks, I could understand why. All the issues essentially relate back to the initial injury (one of the NCAA's loose criteria). I hope Bobby waits. We are not a pass heavy team this year, so I don't know if he would have much of an impact. Next year he could be featured from the beginning of the season and could potentially play in all 12 games.

Harris Williams' case won't be rubber stamped by the NCAA. He only played one game this year, but he redshirted as a true freshman. Like Momah, the NCAA could very well rule that decision was elective. Even if BC comes up with something to explain that first redshirt, I don't know if the NCAA will care. Like Swigert, Williams might be even more valuable next year when so much of the line turnsover.

We won't know anything officially until after the season is over. The best aspect of all of this is that both guys have their degrees and BC is playing well without them. Let's hope they play again though because both have earned a better ending than the one they've had.

What is Spaz leaving in the cupboard?

We won't know Spaz's fate until the new AD is in place, but I think most can agree Spaz will not be coaching BC five years from now. That prediction is not based on wins and losses. It is simply about age. Spaz must know this too. That's why I am glad he is still keeping some of our current true freshman on the sidelines, preserving their fifth year of eligibility. Obviously under pressure, Spaz could play everyone with the hope that one of the guys might make a difference. But he doesn't seem to be in a full "win now" mode yet.

Last year's recruiting class consisted of 17 players. Eight have yet to play and look like they are headed towards redshirts. Those eight are Jim Cashman,  George Craan, Win Homer, Malachi Moore, Mike Strizak, Frank Taylor, Nigel Matthews, and Joel Karim Zoungrana. Now preserving their eligibility is not Spaz simply looking out for their best interests or wanting to help his successor. Spaz may have good intentions, but most of the redshirts are lineman who are physically not developed enough to play the positions for which they were recruited. Others like Craan have been battling injury and some like Matthews and Strizak would break the depth chart at their positions.

Eight players might not mean much and it is unlikely that all will hang around for five years. But at least it is one less excuse for the 2015 and 2016 seasons (of course Spaz used the excuse for himself when talking to Avidon). The key for BC's future success is to get back to redshirting the majority of the class. I know that concept is becoming dated as players arrive on campus more mature and developed, but that added time can still be advantageous to a program like BC. A fifth year, 23-year-old marginal recruit is always going to be more valuable than he was as a true freshman. We just need a head coach who sees himself at BC long enough to invest in their and BC's future.

What's up with the MAC? and other links

UMass made the game much more interesting than it should have been. I know that after the game many were wondering after what have sort of Pandora’s Box have we opened by making New England DIAA teams a regular fixture on our schedule. The logic behind the scheduling made more sense to me last week, but I’ve moved on and decided to focus on another new portion of our schedule -- the annual MAC game.

BC doesn’t have much history with the MAC. Prior to the TOB era, BC had only played two MAC teams (Northern Illinois in 1971 and Ohio in 1966). Starting in 2002, BC has played at least one MAC team annually and played two in 2002 and 2006. The rationale has been that the MAC provided 2 for 1 series or the preferred one off home game and helped BC solidify recruiting in the Midwest. I never bought the recruiting stuff. BC recruited the Midwest for decades without playing MAC teams. The extra home game made sense. The unspoken explanation is that these games should be record-padding BC wins. It doesn’t always work that way. Ball State gave us a serious scare to start the 2004 season and Central Michigan nearly beat us last year. So why does BC keep playing these games? As much as I want to point the finger at TOB, Gene has signed us up for a game at Kent State next year. Ultimately I think money is a big factor, but the wins are probably more important. Wins help rankings and general perception. Not the way I’d like to go about things, but another sad fact of life of college football. I'll have a Bowling Green guest blogger Wednesday to tell us more about our latest MAC opponent.

Redshirting vs playing
True freshman Dan Mulrooney saw the field this week. The Connecticut DB anticipated redshirting, but injuries and his ability got him on the field early. Some fans are concerned about burning a redshirt year on a role player. I am not concerned. In general, I believe that if a player is good enough, get him on the field. Redshirting can help when the position has a steep learning curve from the high school level (QBs and offensive lineman). However, contributing early is a very good indicator. If a guy can get on the field as a true freshman, especially on a veteran team like this year’s team, we may have a player for the next few years.

More information is coming out in the Cherilus Tribble bar fight. The guy claiming Gos hurt him is now facing charges. Hopefully this will lead to our players exoneration.