Which BC players will get drafted next year?

With the NFL Draft just completed, it is time to start thinking about next year. There are already Mock Drafts, so why not talk about just BC talent?

Zach Allen
Both the Sporting News and The Big Lead predict that Allen will be a first round pick next year. Last year at this time most had Landry as a first rounder, so this speculation does not guarantee anything. But if Allen has a good year, his size and flexibility should make him an ideal NFL player.


Lukas Denis
The results are clear. NFL teams like and trust what is going on with BC's DBs. The two just drafted are part of a trend that won't end next year. Denis -- who had a strong year -- will only be more popular next year (assuming he doesn't get hurt). His pass coverage skills will also be better than most safeties.

The OLine
I don't know which line prospects the NFL will prefer, but I do believe that at least one guy among Monteiro, Lindstrom, and Baker will be selected. If they all stay healthy and improve, maybe all will be drafted.

The other guys
BC hasn't had a WR drafted more than 30 years, so the odds are not good for Jeff Smith. But his speed and ability to do other things, will get him some looks. He needs a big senior year. Because of all the attention on Allen, plenty of people will also see Wyatt Ray on film. If he is good, someone will give him shot. As a Tight End, Sweeney won't be a priority for many teams, but a strong final season could get him more than just a chance as an undrafted free agent.

Lacrosse loses ACC Championship to UNC

The Women's Lacrosse team is no longer undefeated. They're also not ACC Champs, as the team lost a tough game against North Carolina in the conference finals.

While not winning the ACC is disappointing, the main goal still exists -- an NCAA Championship. They've proven throughout the year that they are a championship caliber team. Now they just need to prove it.

Robinson gone officially

A dozen reports -- including one from ESPN's Jeff Goodman -- confirm that Jerome Robinson is staying in the NBA Draft and will not return to BC. This makes sense for Jerome. He's likely a first round pick and doesn't stand to gain much with one more year of college. His versatility and offensive game is ideal for the current NBA. Even if he is not ready to be an elite NBA player, enough teams will see potential in his game to give him a chance to develop. Best of luck to Jerome and thank you for giving BC some exciting moments this year.

This leaves an enormous hole for Jim Christian. We know he is actively working the transfer market, but there is no one out there close to Robinson's talent. We know there is some promising freshmen coming in, but they will have some growing pains. Then there is Ky Bowman. As it stands now, Bowman can still come back to BC. And with Robinson gone, this team will be his and he will have a chance to lead the ACC in scoring. However, maybe he will follow Robinson out the door. If Bowman leaves too, then Christian is nearly back to square one and has to prove that he has built something worth keeping.

Saints draft Moore

Kamrin Moore joined a growing list of BC Defensive Backs in the NFL by getting drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round. This is great news for him as the Saints have been one of the better teams when it comes to incorporating and playing their draft picks. Moore will get a shot right away.

Congrats to Kamrin and good luck as a pro.

Broncos grab Yiadom in 3rd round

I guess John Elway knows a good thing when he sees one. For the second time in three years, he used a late third round pick to take a BC defensive back. This time it was Isaac Yiadom with the 99th pick overall. He joins former teammate Justin Simmons in Denver.

Yiadom was projected as a mid round pick, so it was nice to see him go on the early side. He should be an immediate impact player for the Broncos. Elway taking him so closely after Simmons is an endorsement of what BC is doing defensively. 

Congrats to Isaac and good luck in Denver. 

Titans take Landry in 2nd round

After the disappointment of Day1, the second round didn't get off to a great start, as teams kept passing Harold Landry. Finally, the Tennessee Titans realized the opportunity, moved up and took Landry with the 41st pick. New Titans Head Coach and current BC dad, Mike Vrabel was key to the selection. He had worked out Landry personally and had discussed him extensively with Addazio.

Congrats to Harold and now it is his time to shine. No one cares where you were taken once the whistle blows. As I said yesterday, hopefully Landry will use this slide as motivation to a great career. Good luck to him.

Harold Landry not selected in First Round

Harold Landry will be drafted high by an NFL team. Unfortunately it won't be in Round 1. That's disappointing for him (and his family and friends) but there is still plenty of opportunity ahead. Landry loses a bit of money going later, but I imagine teams will start jockeying and trading to get him in the second round.

How did this happen to a guy who at one point was listed as the best DE in the Draft? Obviously not playing most of 2017 raised a lot of red flags. As good as he was in 2016, teams don't know exactly what they are getting. With the first round, teams want sure things.

There was also some bad luck, where the teams that were supposedly interested went in another direction. The Lions went OLine, the Patriots went OL and RB, the Falcons grabbed a WR, the Dolphins went DB, and the 49ers went OL. None of the teams that "liked him" picked another DT or DE over him.

Mel Kiper has Landry as one of his best available still on the board. I don't think the wait will be long in the Second Round. I hope Landry has some patience and uses the snub as motivation.

The Christian extension is predictable and frustrating

According to reports, BC extended Jim Christian's contract through the 2021-22 season. This is adds two years to his current deal. BC did not release any information nor are any of the details of the deal known. Ever since the team made the NIT, there has been speculation about an extension for Christian. It comes with the territory as I am sure Christian and his agent said it was needed for recruiting. That part I get.

What frustrates me is that even with the improvement this year, Christian has yet to prove that he has built anything sustainable. We don't know if this year was a fluke. We don't know how good they will be without Robinson (and potentially Bowman). So BC is spending money on a losing coach with the hope that he can win consistently. While the recruiting has been better, results on the court matter more.

My hope is that BC didn't penalize itself with aspects of the extension. Because other than recruiting, there is no need to spend more money on Christian until we know where the program is headed.

Good news, bad news on Robinson and Bowman

A record 236 players have entered the NBA Draft. Two of them -- Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman -- hold BC's season in their hands. The good news remains that neither hired an agent and the super crowded field means it will be that much harder for the two to standout at the NBA Draft Combine. If neither feel confident about their stock, they can both return to BC towards the end of May.

The bad news is that most still see Robinson as a first rounder and Bowman as a likely second. If those ratings hold coming out of the Combine, I believe Robinson will hire an agent and Bowman will return.

BC's 247 site is having a promotion

Just a heads up that Eagle Insider (not the same one I used to work for) but the 247 site focused on Boston College, is having a pretty good membership promotion that ends Wednesday. Full disclosure, I am not getting any referral money from them but may contribute to their site in the future.

BC on radar for 2019 hoops star

After the success of his most recent recruiting class, it seems like Jim Christian and his staff are going to continue to go for elite recruits. Now they are on 2019 recruit and Texas big man Drew Timme. All things considered, it is a little late to offer an elite 2019 player at this point, but Timme seems interested (at least on social media).

Timme is a Top 100 player with all the recruiting sites. He holds offers from many Big 12 schools, plus places like Virginia and Purdue. The other thing that is unique about him is that Wuczynski is his lead recruiter. Spinelli has been the guy with the best track record on elite players. Wuczynski's recruiting reputation is not as strong. It would be nice if he landed Timme.

Looking at BC's 990 form

The Heights did their usual reporting on BC's 990 tax filing doc. Being a private school, this is one of the few times we can get real information as to what BC is doing and where they are spending money. Part of the filing includes compensation of "key employees." There are a few predictable salaries and some trends that might be interesting.

1. Addazio, Christian, York, etc. As expected, Addazio is the highest paid BC employee (with a base comp of $2.4 M and another of amount of $54k). It doesn't say what the $54K is. Many non-sports employees have a similar number. Perhaps a bonus, or credited offset for tuition or maybe access to a leased car. I don't know. Christian is getting 1.4 (which is low for the ACC). York gets 600k. This was also one of those years where we didn't pay for fired coaches. And even though Bates got 600k in this filing, he won't be on next year's.

2. No other sports salaries listed. BC included Leo Sullivan on here even though he only made 190k in his semi-retirement role. There are other Athletic Department employees including some coordinators, assistant coaches and key leadership who made more than that but are not listed. I don't know how or why BC picks the employees they do include.

3. Non-athletic salaries continue to grow. Next time a member of the BC community criticizes the cost for sports, point him or her to this doc. Once again, the compensation for BC's leadership continues to rise. I am not begrudging anyone his or her salary. And I understand that despite the non-profit status, BC remains a huge operation and these people are in charge of millions in revenue and thousands of people (students and staff). I also know the cost of living in Boston and how the salaries across higher ed continue to grow. I don't know when the market corrections impacting colleges will (if ever) hit BC, but it will be interesting to see how the school adjusts its overhead staff accordingly.

BC hosts ALS/Frates Day at Fenway

More than 5,000 people showed up to watch BC take on Florida State at Fenway as part of the annual ALS Awareness Game. It was the event's largest crowd. Unfortunately the team didn't send the fans and Frates home with a win, falling to Florida State 13-7. With the loss, BC falls to 5-15 in ACC play.

But the bright spot of the day is what this does to help Frates and continue to keep his fight against ALS in the public eye. It has been four years since the Ice Bucket Challenge and Pete's and his family's work and fight continue to amaze.

Basseball loses tight game against FSU

A fly ball to right ends the game and Florida State wins, 13-12 in 11 innings#Birdball

— BC Baseball (@BCBirdBall) April 21, 2018

Lax completes undefeated regular season

Congratulations to the Lacrosse team for completing an undefeated regular season. They did so in dramatics fashion (see tweet below) as Sam Apuzzo won the game with just 1.7 second left.

BC enters next week's ACC Tournament as the top seed. Let's keep it going.

😨😨😨

Sam Apuzzo scored the game-winner with just 1.7 seconds left to lift @BCwlax to a perfect 17-0 regular season. #NCAAWLAX #SCTop10pic.twitter.com/VfjiskGIT8

— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) April 20, 2018

(Despite the Women's success, don't expect a scholarship DI Men's program any time soon.)

Get to know Steve Lubischer

Recent verbal Steve Lubischer committed as a athlete, but as you can see from this video, he does have the skills to play QB. I like the idea of him coming as an athlete and potentially moving to WR or DB. It is really low-risk for BC. If he can't break into the QB depth chart, we can get him on the field in other areas. I also think reinforcing our New Jersey ties and keeping Football Alumni children in the program is a good thing.

Recruiting keeps rolling: adds Maryland DB

Another happy Spring Game visitor. Maryland DB prospect Jalen Williams verballed to BC once he got home from the weekend. The services rate him as a 3 star and he has a bunch of lower-level P5 offers from places like Kentucky, Rutgers, West Virginia and North Carolina. (Interestingly Maryland is not mentioned in the write up.)

Williams seems like the type of guy that has and will continue to thrive at BC. Respectable offers, but nothing that gets the Scouting Services excited. He has good size but not overwhelming speed. He is coming to BC for the right mix of reasons. This seems like a good fit. Congrats to Jalen and welcome aboard.

Addazio picks up commitment from CT Lineman

Connecticut OLine prospect Jack Conley verballed to BC Monday. He's from New Canan and has a history with Zach Allen so that helped in the process. He holds decent Power 5 offers and has a huge frame.

There are two things I find important about his commitment. First we haven't lost OLine recruiting momentum even with the change in position coaches. Frye was his primary recruiter, but the staff continued on him even after Frye left.

The second notable thing about Conley and other Connecticut recruits, is how they rarely mention UConn. I know losing hurts recruiting, but I also believe that the conference shuffle killed so much of their momentum in state. That's good for BC.

Denis named McGillis Recipient

Aside from the actual game and festivities, the Spring Game is also the time in which BC and the McGillis family selects the McGillis scholar for the following year. This year it will be Lukas Denis.

The acknowledgement is given to the senior defensive back who most exemplifies Jay McGillis' spirit and dedication. It also usually goes to the best Senior DB. Giving it to Denis is another sign that the staff has faith in his playing ability and his leadership qualities. If you look at the list of past winners, you see pretty much model players. It is good to know Denis is getting that sort of trust from his coaches.

If you look at the history, the winner usually has a good season. Let's hope that tradition holds true for Denis. 

Spring Game highlights

Here are some highlights from the annual Spring Game. I had kids sports on Saturday, so I haven't watched the game yet. I will watch it later this weekend and give my full thoughts.