BC sending Milano, Willis to ACC Media Days

BC named Matt Milano and Myles Willis as the Defensive and Offensive representatives at next week's ACC Media Days. As always with these things, this assignment is a bit of an honor and a bit of an indicator.

BC tends to send Seniors who can represent the school well and who have earned the special recognition. But they also want to send some of their best players as the media gatherings are a way to build up name recognition and help in getting individual and conference awards. Milano is not a surprise. He had a great season last year and is poised to be the team leader this year. Willis has certainly earned the right to go, but picking him also tells me that there are still huge question marks about the other offensive players. Sending either QB would be messy. When healthy Hilliman will get more carries than Willis. Is he not healthy yet or did they want to give Myles the shot now and Hilliman in the future?

Both guys will handle themselves well. I hope that they also use this sort of responsibility and motivation for a great season.

CFN predicts each game on BC's schedule

How does 6-6 sound? That's what College Football News predicts for BC's season. After last year that would be an improvement, however, it would still seem hollow. As part of the prediction they expect BC to go 2-6 in ACC play.

6-6 does not allow for even one upset. I hope that our style of play and improved offense allows BC to steal at least one game. Think of some of the close games from last year. Something should have broken our way. If Addazio can't pull out any close games, then you really have to start questioning his game management abilities. 

CFN does not get into Bowl predictions, but 6-6 would make BC eligible and likely headed to a bowl game. Whatever it takes to get that seventh win and over .500. 

390 athletes make ACC Academic Honor Roll

BC spends a lot of time on managing and publicizing APRs and graduation rates. However, just graduating athletes really undersells how much is done in the classroom by BC athletes. Nearly 400 students just made the ACC's Academic Honor Roll. That list recognizes students who maintain a 3.0 or better during one full school year. 

While some curriculums are easier than others, BC doesn't have fake majors or fake courses to pad these GPAs. These students work hard, especially when you consider their commitments outside the classroom. BC was third overall in ACC honorees. Congrats to all. 

What Syracuse's AD means for BC

Earlier this week, Syracuse hired former ESPN executive John Wildhack as their new Athletic Director. From an ACC and BC perspective, this is good news. Now as we design and negotiate new TV deals, we have a level of expertise unmatched by any other major conference. Wildhack understands ESPN in a way that few could. Hopefully, he also leads the charge in the every evolving ACC Network.

While hiring someone without any previous Athletic Department experience comes with risk, I applaud Syracuse for trying something new. Although non-traditional names were floated after GDF, Brad Bates was a safe and traditional candidate. The jury is still out on his success, but it seems pretty clear he is not going to make any major changes while in charge nor take any big risk. I hope that BC soon reaches a level of stability, so that when it comes time to replace Bates, BC can look beyond the traditional and make a hire like Syracuse just did.

ESPN's Scouting Report on Burton

Austin Burton switched to a Florida High School to raise his profile and become a better football player. Based on this ESPN article it doesn't seem like any of that was necessary. Burton gets high praise for his arm strength and accuracy. They also think he'll be more mobile than expected.

All this talk about Burton has me feeling good, but I can only wonder how it will play out. The verbal to BC put him on other schools' radars. Playing at a higher level will also raise interest. Let's hope he continues to progress, yet doesn't give into the temptation that will come with new offers. 

Hot Seats and other links

The Football season is nearing and Addazio is starting on many Hot Seat lists. Last year was disappointing, but it will take a lot for Bates to fire Addazio this year. Perhaps another winless ACC schedule.

Matt Ryan said all the right things at his BC press conference. He made a special point to thank and credit his two offensive coordinators -- Dana Bible and Steve Logan.

BCI listed all the ACC's odds for winning the conference and division. If you want to put money down on BC, you'll make big bucks if BC wins.

BC to retire Ryan, Kuechly's jerseys

In two separate ceremonies this fall, BC will retire the jerseys of Matt Ryan and Luke Kuechly. In the final paragraph of the release, BC explains:

Previously, Boston College has retired the numbers of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Doug Flutie and Outland Trophy winner Mike Ruth and the jerseys of eight other standouts: Art Donovan, Bill Flynn, Gene Goodreault, Mike Holovak, Lou Montgomery, Charles O'Rourke, Tony Thurman and Louis Urban.

Both Luke and Matt are great guys who followed great BC careers with great NFL careers. Both have given back to BC and serve as role models for the BC Football community. This honor is well deserved. However, I do have a few quibbles with the process and timing.

Retiring numbers in football is difficult logistically. The massive size of the roster necessitates recycling iconic numbers. Hence most teams use some sort of ring of honor. The eight numberless jerseys that are honored at Alumni are in the same concept. BC doesn't clarify whether or not Ryan and Kuechly's 12 and 40 will be permanently retired, yet both are out of use and seemingly reserved for retirement. I think Ryan and Kuechly should be retired, but their numbers should live on with new players. In my opinion, Flutie's 22 should be the only number not re-used. (I would argue that even Ruth's 58 was premature...but that is another subject.) While both Ryan and Kuechly were special, I don't think either deserve the ultimate honor and honoring them in that way now is a trend that glorifies the recent past (in all sports) over true history.

My second issue is that this honoring skips over too many guys who came between the Thurman-Flutie-Ruth eras and the Ryan-Kuechly ACC era. I think Herzlich and Kiwinuka were both conference players of the year and both had incredible college careers. I feel like they are not being honored like Ryan and Kuechly because their NFL careers did not reach the same heights. That shouldn't matter.

There might not be a Matt Ryan era if not for the rebound led by Glenn Foley. How is his jersey not retired? What about all the great offensive linemen who have protected BC's stars? Mike Cloud, Derrick Knight and Montel Harris all finished their respective BC careers as the school's all-time leading rusher. Some acknowledgement is deserved, not to mention what Andre Williams' accomplished. Tom Coughlin and Tom O'Brien deserved the same honor that Mike Holovak received. I could go on, but the point remains.

In the short term this will be a nice little boost of PR for the Football team. I hope it leads to clarification of what BC is honoring --  "jersey vs number" -- and a whole new group of other players getting the recognition they deserve.

Happy 4th of July

There were several July 4th messages on Twitter, but this one was my favorite. I keep smiling at the player wearing 1776. That's the number I would want to request if I played BC Football. God Bless America.

Happy #4thofJuly hope everyone is having a safe & enjoyable weekend pic.twitter.com/5GN1IWl2bD

— Steve Addazio (@BCCoachAddazio) July 4, 2016

Dunn set to make pro debut

Justin Dunn completed the Mets 10-day throwing program for new signees and is now ready to pitch professionally. He's been assigned to the Brooklyn Cyclones and could pitch any day now. Dunn is starting in the Bullpen, so his usage will be a bit unpredictable. The team is monitoring his pitch count and adjustment to the new environment. Good luck to him.

Trying to rebuild local basketball connections

Despite being the only major conference team in the area, BC doesn't have great relationships with the AAU basketball powers around Boston. The problems and history are long, but it is partially because of admissions issues, JOB's scorched earth, Skinner's disinterest and Donahue not having enough time to build relationships. Jim Christian is trying to change that. Hiring a Boston guy like Spinelli was a first step, but so is getting in early on local talent.

BC just offered 2019 prospect Brycen Goodine. He is a BABC product. BABC is the oldest AAU team in the area and yet recruiting there has been hit or miss for BC. Can this be the start of a different era?

Goodine's graduation year is a long, long way away, so who knows if anything will come of this offer, but I am glad BC is being aggressive. It is just one more step to turning things around.

BC needs to get Holy Cross in Hockey East

As BCI points out, it appears Holy Cross wants to join Hockey East. There are lots of hurdles to clear, but if the Crusaders put together a solid proposal, BC needs to be their biggest advocate.

Even though the Holy Cross-BC rivalry doesn't mean much to any BC fan born after 1970, baby steps towards rebuilding it are good for BC. We are headed towards a time of uncertainty for college sports. Paying players, breaking off from the NCAA, and challenges to Title IX are all in play. Given that BC is proudly anti-athletic payment, I could see a situation where our leadership decides to de-emphasizes sports (especially if the Power 5 really starts up player salaries). However, if our historic rival is moving towards big-time sports (like Football and Hockey), it will put pressure on BC. Why would BC give up the marketing and community advantage that sports brings just when Holy Cross is embracing it? Holy Cross learned their lesson when they decided against the Big East basketball and gave up athletic scholarships.

I know that Holy Cross joining Hockey East is not the same as the Crusaders joining the Big Ten (or even something like the Conference USA), but it is a good first step. And even if it doesn't generate huge athletic momentum for them or start an athletic renaissance for BC and Holy Cross, it would still be good to play them more often. Their return to big-time sports is also a good reminder of what we did right over the years.

Burton and Stoneburner commit

Although he only recently received an offer from BC and transferred to Florida in order to gain more national attention, Austin Burton will be playing college football close to home. The former Newton South QB verballed to Addazio Thursday. He's the second QB to commit in this recruiting class. I am excited for him -- all reports are that he is a good kid -- I just hope this sticks. My fear is that if he has a great season in Florida, big programs will come calling.

One of the guys he might be throwing to at BC is new commit Ohio WR Caleb Stoneburner. He's a big kid and from a good program in Dublin, OH, but most of his offers are MAC type. Perhaps being a tweener between Tight End and Wide Receiver scared Power 5s off. BC has done well with big WRs under Addazio. As long as the kid can block, we should be okay.

BC gets excited about Twitter addresses

Earlier in the week, BC teased a big announcement for Friday. The guessing among fans kicked into overdrive. New uniforms? Revamping the dreadful BC italics logo? Real progress on some of the facilities? Friday of a holiday weekend is usually a bad time to announce major news, but who cares? BC fans were getting something big! Errr, maybe not.

Maybe they teased the change too well, because this release from BC make it seem like the big announcement was about Twitter handles. Changing Twitter addresses is such a non-event, I don't know why they felt the need to promote it. All the short little rollercoaster did was raise expectations and in the aftermath raise frustration.

The only good to come of it is that the Athletic Department got a glimpse into what the people want. Perhaps they should address uniforms, or logos or other things people brought up. It would certainly excite the fanbase more than Twitter tweaks.

Chatman joins Basketball team

According to reports, former BYU guard Jordan Chatman is our newest basketball transfer. He's a graduate, so he is eligible immediately, but that might be the only thing normal about his situation. Unlike most grad transfers, Chatman is not a one-year rental. He actually has three years of playing time left. He's also 22 and has used a redshirt year too. Chatman's unique age and eligibility stats are all related to his time as a Mormon missionary.

As a missionary he took a two year break from college. The mission stops the NCAA playing time clock, but he was still able to get through school quickly.

Chatman came off the bench for BYU last season. He is likely to be a role player with BC too. He's not a difference maker, but should provide some good depth and maturity. With his remaining years of eligibility, he doesn't really help the scholarship imbalance like a normal grad transfer might have. Hopefully his age becomes an asset, because this team is desperate for a leader. Welcome aboard, Jordan.

Oline pressure and other links

Everyone talks about our QBs, but the real key to the season might be the Offensive Line. Personally I think this unite comes together quickly.

The Heights put together a nice "Year n Review" feature.

Former BC Defensive End Brian Mihalik is going to convert to Offensive Tackle for the Steelers.

Camp, kicking camp and Towles stuff

BC posted a a slide show of some of their Football camps. It is a pretty good insight into much of what goes on...which is nothing. While it is critical to get targets and good regional teams to campus for camps, there is also plenty of kids who camp at BC who have zero chance to play FBS football. For starters, many are young and this is just something to do in the summer. BC and its football staff make a few bucks, kids get a great experience and it grows BC Football and Football in general in the area. Most colleges do this in all sports. One of my kids just spent a week at a Georgia Tech camp. But there are also camps for older, elite prospects which are very important. We've generated dozens of players from these events over the year. The camp environment allows the players and coaches to get to know one another in a football setting. And unlike the new satellite camps, it a kid attends camp at Alumni, you know the guy has real interest in BC.

Another smart camp related thing that Addazio is doing is hosting a Kohl's Kicking Camp at Alumni. Ours just took place last week. Kohl's sponsors a series of these around the country and they are a tool to showcase Special Team's specialists. BC coaches have attended these for years looking for kickers and punters. By having it on campus, BC improves their access and ability to recruit kickers and punters that much more.

Athlon thinks Towles was one of the bigger QB transfers this year. They don't mention the chance of Wade starting. It should be an interesting training camp. I think both guys think they will start.

Sorry for the delay

Long story short, I didn't post Friday or Saturday. Not much news and I was partially out of pocket. Fortunately it is the dead of summer. Thanks for the inquiries. Normal blogging resumes now.

Army hires Foster away from BC Baseball

BC Baseball looked hapless as recently as two years ago. The turnaround began last year. In part due to improved and maturing talent, but also due to pitching coach Jim Foster. That success gained notice as Army hired Foster to be their next head coach.

If you listened to the player interviews during BC's run, they gave a lot of credit to Foster. He called very solid games and provided great scouting reports on the other team's hitters. Beyond the NCAA tourney success, Foster also served as a trusted adviser to Gambino. When he joined the staff, Foster brought much needed experience as a head coach from his days at URI. Hopefully Gambino appreciated what Foster brought to the team and finds another great assistant who can handle the pitching staff as well as fill in for some of Gambino's short comings.

Best of luck to Foster at West Point. Coaching and winning there is always a challenge. If he struggles, I would love to see him return to BC as an assistant. If he wins big, maybe he'll be the head man here one day.

Recruiting class getting bigger

Summer remains Addazio's key recruiting period. Wednesday, BC added New Jersey DE Marcus Valdez. While he doesn't have many stars with the rating services, Valdez does have a good mix of offers from Power 5 and mid major schools. He also comes from Don Bosco. I think it is important to stay relevant and bring in kids from programs like Bosco that have supported BC through the years and consistently produce talent. Hopefully Valdez is another Bosco player who will blossom at BC.

Another new member of the class is New Hampshire's Drew McQuarrie. Although he plays QB, he is coming to BC as a Tight End (according to BCI and EA).

I remain impressed that Addazio has this momentum coming off a terrible season. Imagine how things will be if we turn it around?

Can Florida competition validate Mass QB?

BC offered QB prospect Austin Burton Monday after camp. Focusing on a second QB in this class is noteworthy, but what I find more interesting about Burton is his geographic background. He's from Massachusetts and played at Newton South, but is now playing in Florida.

BC was very familiar with Burton before he left for Florida. He's Newton Offensive Cooridnator was Darren Flutie and his father is local Boston anchor Steve Burton. Austin tranfered in an effort to raise his profile and prove his talent at a higher level. Now that he's wrapped up a BC offer, will other Power 5 schools come calling? Will they wait until he actually plays in Florida?

It will be also interesting to see how much playing in his hometown means to Austin and if he is willing to be the second QB in the class. He seems like a good prospect and assuming he plays well this fall, will bring in a different perspective than most of our New England recruits.