Davis final 2 and other links

With less than a week before signing day, Addazio is making a final push on some key targets. One is Florida Running Back Robert Davis. He will be in Boston this weekend. Currently he favors Memphis. 

This didn't get much attention but a pipe burst in the Yawkey Complex over the weekend. The water damage was extensive, but fortunately no people or equipment will have to be moved. 

BCI wrote a good piece on how BC can emulate Stanford's football success. 

For those wondering what sort of offense we will have, Tim Boyle's coach thinks our QBs will run 15-20 times a game. 

Gerry Ward will represent BC as an "ACC Legend" at this year's ACC Tournament. Congrats to Gerry. (Does anyone else chuckle when these guys who never played in the ACC are tapped as "Legends"?)

The honors keep piling up as Jerry York will now enter the Beanpot Hall of Fame. 

Report: McGowan to join Addazio staff

In their report on Mike Siravo heading to Temple, Philly.com also noted that former Temple Linebacker coach Sean McGowan would reunite with Addazio in Boston. BC has not made an official announcement. What I find curious about hiring McGowan is that Addazio could have hired him early on and chose not to. It was only after McGovern left that Addazio felt the need to add McGowan to the Defensive staff. In a way McGovan is the second staffer who Addazio initially passed over before bringing him on board at a later date (Washington being the other). You would hope that Addazio isn't settling.

McGowan's never worked at a BCS level, but he has solid experience in the north east. He should be a good addition to the staff.

Addazio still needs to add one more staffer. I am surprised and disappointed that it has taken this long. Every day we recruit without a full staff is another opportunity lost.

When will we turn the corner?

I know I've been down on this team lately, but how can we not be? Forget about losing close games or having off shooting nights. Tonight it felt like the guys didn't even come to play. We are playing North Carolina on national TV at home and the guys were sleep walking. Other than Hanlan and Odio, did anyone else give off the impression that they were ready to play and thought we could win? Worse I don't know what Donahue can and should do at this point. He mixed up the lineup and minutes tonight and it didn't work.  Clifford has been good change of pace lately but only played four minutes tonight. The apologists can talk about how young the team is or the holes in the roster Donahue inherited, but that doesn't matter now. Guys need to get better. Effort needs to get better. Coaching needs to get better. We have another chance Saturday. Let's hope things start to click. Other thoughts on the game...

Likes
-- Hanlan's aggressiveness. I think he needs to drive on every possession. The motion around the perimeter is not leading to good shots.
-- Odio's blocks. He'd be a great asset as an energy guy on a decent team.

Dislikes
-- Van Nest's near the basket. I was hoping he'd be a spark, but he wasn't tonight. We need front line minutes but he's got to be more aggressive and grab more boards.
-- Anderson settling for mid range shots. I am sure he's getting worn down, but he's at his best on the low block.
-- Lonnie Jackson chucking it. We know he's streaky but today it felt like he just threw some of them up there.

Comments update

I've heard from enough of you to know that posting comments is now cumbersome since I reinstated Blogger's  "word verification." Because I respect reader feedback and contributions, I have turned off the verification. However, this means I need your help.

Given the randomness of my schedule and other commitments, I cannot monitor the comments sections with any consistency. Therefore we could face spammers or comments that break the template code and impact the blog's display in some browsers. If this happens, please alert me via email or twitter. I will do my best to clean it up. If any of your comments get deleted, know that it was probably related to fixing things, not anything you wrote.

Thanks for your patience, you support and your lively opinions.

Addazio recruiting like Cortes

Legend has it that when Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes got to what is now Mexico, he had his ships burned. Like many historical anecdotes, I am sure there is some embellishment, but the lesson is simple: if you want full commitment, a leader needs to make sure his team has no other choice. That is sort of how I feel about Addazio's QB situation. First he landed a dual threat QB and now he has basically told our highest rated recruit Tim Boyle that the system is going to favor dual guys.

Boyle liked BC from the very beginning and has stayed true despite the terrible season under Spaz and the coaching change. I feel for him. That doesn't mean he is owed anything. Maybe Addazio is doing him a favor. He's now free to go where he is wanted.

As for what it means to BC...I hope Addazio has something in Walsh or has another ace up his sleeve. I don't know if Boyle would have been special, but he was a nice insurance policy. Now we are all in on dual threat QBs. It makes you wonder how we are going to use Rettig this season.

Boston Magazine confirms Hohler is the Globe's hatchet man

Boston Magazine posted a great feature on the demise of the Boston Sports media. It is well worth your time and touches on how out of touch and provincial the biggest names can be. But what I found most interesting is that the article pulled back the curtain on how the tough news is covered. The beat guys can't risk access to the coaches and players they cover every day so they turn the hard news and gossip over to Bob Hohler. Although he hasn't put BC in his crosshairs lately, Hohler has written many negative articles on BC in the past.

So when you are wondering how player issues or coaching fights or other newsworthy subjects are ignored by the Globe or Herald, remember that access remains key. Or in a case like Blauds and Spaz, sometimes you just want to go easy on your buddy.

New QB and the good news of the weekend

Although I questioned Addazio's need for a third QB in this class, it doesn't mean I am not happy for our latest commitment Ohio QB James Walsh. He fits the much discussed dual threat mold that our new coach has been looking for. Walsh previously committed to Ohio. I don't think he is a program changer, but at this point he is low-risk hedge. The only downside to taking him is the chance that one or more of our other QBs leave. I hope they don't. They should at least see if Addazio is true to his word and plays the best guy and not just the system QB.

The Women's Ice Hockey team crushed UConn.

2014 recruit Justin Neslon liked his visit to BC. 2014 recruit Thadd Smith also enjoyed his visit.

We haven't taken a JUCO player in a few years, so it is surprising to see our interest in Marvin Fan Fan. He's a Tight End but could probably play in a few other positions too.

What's the worst thing that happened to BC this weekend?

Where to start?

I would start with the basketball team losing to Virginia, but that is to be expected. Virginia is a good defensive team and made life difficult for our best player (Anderson). Don't read too much into us leading at the half...as we still haven't shown we can play 40 minutes of quality basketball.

The Hockey team usually provides hope to everyone around BC athletics, so when they lose back to back games you start to worry. It was the first time Maine had swept us at home since 1993 (when Maine was at its peak). The last time BC lost consecutive games at home to anyone was 2007.

But the strangest news of the weekend, was the Heights report that our 2013 game against New Mexico State will be a road game!?! Everyone assumed it would be a home game, especially when we settled on playing a team like New Mexico State. Brad Bates has yet to explain why he selected this game and why he seemingly cut a one-off deal where we travel, but I assume it is all about money. I know BC talked to plenty of schools about coming to Boston and all wanted huge guarantees. If we travel we don't pay the opponent. In fact depending on the price of buying a game at Alumni against a lessor program, this might be more lucrative and less risky. Now New Mexico State won't provide the same sort of pay day that travelling to a BCS conference school might have (like Ohio State), but they are FBS. That means that a win in Las Cruces will help our bowl eligibility. The perceived momentum of another win next year might help Addazio and Bates as they rebuild. I know ticket buyers are upset about not having another home game, but would there have been much demand for NM State? Would it have sold out? Probably not. Until we show we can support a six game homeslate, I don't see the Administration in a rush to add a seventh game.

And if that wasn't enough, there's water damage in the Football offices.

What sort of QB does Addazio need?

BC has a strong history recruiting pro-style, pocket passers. Jags recruited some dual-threat guys but Spaz reverted right back to the pocket mold when he took over. Despite his challenges, Spaz even landed two tall pocket passers for this upcoming class in Tim Boyle and Mackay Lowrie. When Addazio came on he said he was going to play to the team's strengths and build on what is here. Yet despite his proclamation and the connections he built with Boyle and Lowrie, Addazio went hard after a third QB in Michael Julian. 

Julian is an late blooming athletic kid from South Carolina. The recruiting sites categorize him as a "dual-threat" QB. He's right in line with Addazio's ideal QB based on his system at Florida and Temple. Even with the promises to the Spaz commitments, I had no problem with Addazio's decision. He needs to find the best players he can. But now that Julian has said "no" to BC, I am starting to wonder what sort of QB BC should recruit. And with the rise of the running QB in the NFL, what is a "pro-style" quarterback anymore?

A lot of the pro vs dual style is cover for race. If you look on the recruiting sites, "pro" style are predominately white, while "dual" are predominately black. For a variety of reasons, BC has been an easier sell to white, pocket passers. The guys who wanted to be the next Foley, Hasselbeck or Ryan. But that doesn't mean that there aren't exceptions. Bordner is a white QB from Maryland, but he is probably best categorized as "dual." Codi Boek was also recruited as a "dual" threat. But the color of the skin shouldn't really mater. What should mater is the QB's ability to throw and run. The ideal QB -- the guy I want BC to get -- is someone who can do both well. 

But stepping back, I started to rethink about Addazio's need to get a third guy. Shouldn't the offense execute well as long as the QB does most things well and right? Take Brian Kelly as an example. In all his stops he's used running and throwing QBs interchangeably  The framework of the offense is the same, but the types of plays and what the QB does is different. Steve Logan was the same way at BC. We ran the same offense with Matt Ryan as we did with Chris Crane, yet with Crane we ran the ball much more. If Addazio is going to have success at BC, he should be able to win with the QBs we have. The only way it makes sense to go hard after a third QB is if he thinks Boyle and Lowrie are not ACC caliber. 

We won't know if the new guys are any good for two years. We will know how adaptable Addazio and Day are well before then because Rettig is not a "dual" guy. I hope that they can score regardless of the QB's strengths, because if not we will have a lot of square pegs trying to fit in round holes. 

Questions about the basketball team

The mens basketball team gets a chance to turn things around Saturday vs UVA. But at this point I question if they will. In fact I have a lot of questions born out of frustration with the team's progress. These are rhetorical obviously but I hope Donahue and staff are working through similar thoughts. If he is going to get these guys to turn a corner next year, he needs to lay the foundation now.

-- Should Van Nest and Caudill get more minutes? Dennis Clifford is limited out there leaving us very small. Yet we have two bigs sitting for most of the game. Why? I understand that neither player is going to be "All ACC' but they should be better than they are. Word is the shine has worn off Van Nest and he's got some lingering injuries. But even if he is not the player they hoped and he's a little dinged, I am sure he's healthier than Clifford.

Caudill is slow and I guess  he's not in the type of shape Donahue wants. But how can a second year player not be in shape? How is the staff not riding this kid? Did they not get him on a S&C program last year? My cynical belief is that Donahue wants to free up a scholarship and is getting minimal playing time to send a message.

-- When is Heckmann going to grow up? I don' mind the missed shots, but the sloppy passing is inexcusable. Once again, what are the coaches doing to prevent this?

-- How should Donahue use his open scholarships? We need more and varied talent. Preferably with some size. But Donahue doesn't have much free space due to the large sophomore class. Saving this season is primary, but recruiting should be his next focus.

Recruiting territories and other links

Eagle Action released the individual recruiting territories for the Addazio staff. Although with open positions and an still to be named recruiting coordinator, the assignments could still be fluid. What I found interesting was some of the focus. Addazio will have three staff members assigned to Florida and just one to the other New England states. All the staffers will split Massachusetts. We will also put effort into Detroit and St. Louis for the first time in decades. I don't really care where we recruit. I just think BC needs to get a dozen kids each year from the Northeast and then find another 8-10 around the country. If we find pockets -- like Cincinnati -- where our message works, great! But the key thing is finding areas where there is talent and it is receptive to BC's pitch.

Basketball prospect Terance Mann likes BC.

Now that he is back and doing well, Jerry York night has been rescheduled for February 8.

Anyone who thinks we need to add seats to Alumni should read this article. More and more college football is becoming a TV sport and BC needs to be ahead of the curve in how we fill seats.

Coming up short against Maryland

Maryland played poorly and didn't fully capitalize on their size advantage and still won by five. This is getting old fast. Normally I would point to the closeness of the game as an indicator that BC is about to breakthrough, but I am starting to have doubts. What's most frustrating is that we were terrible down the stretch again.

Likes
-- Anderson avoiding foul trouble. It is a sign of a smart basketball player when he can guard bigger men all night and still score in the post without picking up too many fouls.
-- Lonnie Jackson sparking the run. In an ideal world this is how we would use him. When he hit those 3s in the first half the team had new life.
-- Hanlan making his FTs. It was nice that there wasn't a hangover from his last game.

Dislikes
-- The offensive decision making in the final two minutes. Our pace was slow. We waited too long. We couldn't find good shots.
-- Second half turnovers. It wasn't Maryland playing better. It was our carelessness.
-- Shooting. Do we need to go over this again?

The BC Band in Inaugural Parade

Congratulations to all those who took part. As always they represented the school well.

Mike Dawson joining Chip Kelly in Philly too

Remember when Spaz took over and he hired a bunch of guys with UNH connections? We never turned into "Oregon East" for variety of reasons, but it is interesting to see that Chip Kelly is collecting a bunch of BC guys on his NFL team. First it was McGovern, then Bob Bicknell, and now Mike Dawson.

What's interesting about the Dawson hire is that he left big-time football to work as a high school AD. Although it was a quality of life decision, I guess the opportunity to work for his old friend at the highest level was too much to pass up. Best of luck to him.

Thanks to reader Greg for the link.

McGovern to Philadelphia Eagles

Long-time BC staffer Bill McGovern is leaving BC to join Chip Kelly. I teased this news on Twitter Friday, but waited to make the full announcement until I got further confirmation (as I've been burned before). Although I appreciate McGovern's contributions to BC over the years, I think it is best that he moves onto new things.

First McGovern gains NFL experience. He also gets to be part of the Chip Kelly-NFL grand experiment. If this works, it could be the type of coaching hire that changes the League. Finally it allows Addazio and McGovern to have a fresh start with the BC Defense.

McGovern was invaluable to BC over the years, but no one knows how this transition was going to work. Taking a demotion and working for yet another BC coach might have dulled McGovern's energy and outlook. Was he ready to recruit hard again? Was he going to work well with Don Brown? McGovern's been very adaptable over the years, but this was going to be different.

This also allows Addazio to distance himself from Spaz. The continuity benefit that McGovern provided isn't as critical with Day and Washington on board. Now the staffer most closely associated with Spaz is gone...and although there was plenty of blame to go around for our 2012 defense, it was technically McGovern's job. There was some subtle pressure to keep McGovern, so now Addazio has free reign to hire any LB coach he wants.

I think McGovern will do well with Kelly and in the NFL. Players love him and he's a sound position coach. Best of luck to him.

Pantale's Shrine game and other links

Chris Pantale caught two passes in the East-West Shrine game. The West side won the game.

Men's Hockey bounced back from Friday's loss to beat Northeastern.

Silas Spearman is now one of BC's main recruiting targets.

Hockey, Beyonce? and other links

The Men's Hockey team lost at home to UMass, 5-2. We hadn't loss to UMass at Conte since 2007.

Delaware hired former BC Offensive Coordinator Dave Brock as their new head coach.

The Women's hockey team beat Mercyhurst. 

Chris Pantale is making the most of his opportunity to impress at the East-West Shrine game. 

Finally, check out this picture of Beyonce:

As reader Brian pointed out, that is a Flutie-era Boston College helmet. Isn't it? I can't think of any other college or pro team that ever looked like that. What is it doing there? My guess is that it was just some prop the photographer or GQ had lying around. But the pic is random. Someone should show it to Under Armour and Bates and explain that it would be a much cooler alternate helmet. "See, the white stripe helmet stinks. Let's go with the Beyonce helmet! That will make us seem cool."

Codi Boek is blogging about his Turkey adventure

Former BC special teamer Codi Boek is back in football, only it is in Turkey. He is coaching and playing in Istanbul and has started a blog to share his experience. Codi's early entries are strong and show his sense of adventure and excitement of being in a new city. If you like travel logs and diaries, it should be a fun read.

Why my blogging experience makes me suspicious of Notre Dame and Te'o

I try to avoid the news of the day on the blog unless it relates to BC, but there is something about the Te'o situation that compelled me to post. Based on my experience blogging about a college team, I don't believe Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick when he said that December 26th, 2012 was the first time the school learned of the hoax.

As I've referenced, people send me all sorts of gossip and conspiracy theories revolving around BC sports. Obviously 99.99% of it is garbage or very difficult to confirm. If I ever think anything is serious but don't want to write about it, I pass it on to whoever I feel can help resolve the situation. I imagine a school like Notre Dame has a similar culture and network...only bigger and under more of a microscope. If Te'o was allegedly confronted December 6, I doubt that it didn't get back to Notre Dame sooner. His childhood friend  Robby Toma is a Notre Dame WR! Just based on my experience, I would suspect a Grad Assistant, a Sports Information Director or at least a position coach heard about something at some point prior to December 26.

My blogging experience also has me questioning how a Notre Dame fan didn't sniff this out sooner. Anytime I blog about a sad Boston College story or a current or former player in need, I always get emails from people either trying to help or sharing their story of how they reached out to those involved. I am only one blogger and BC is a much smaller community than Notre Dame. If a BC star's girlfriend died in season, I know there would be dozens of BC fans who would reach out to her family...even if the family asked for privacy. The media reported this fake girl died in Southern California and even named the hospital. There are thousands of Irish fans in Southern California. Appropriate or not, I am surprised that not one of them attempted to reach out and inadvertently discovered the hoax.

These things are always hard to keep underwraps. The more people that know the more likely it is to unravel and with a fanbase as engaged as Notre Dame, I just don't see how no one heard anything prior to the Te'o family sharing the secret.

Basketball blows a chance at a big win

BC showed a lot of heart tonight. I also think they outplayed and outcoached Miami for most of the game. Yet here we are with another loss. You can call it growing pains, but I think it was just bad decisions and a little bad luck via the refs. Here are my thoughts:

Likes

-- Dennis Clifford's hustle and defense. He earned the "C" on his jersey tonight. He's playing smart and moving better and had a real difference against a big team like Miami. I know he won't be 100% this season, but spurts like this would be huge for BC.

-- Hanlan driving. In my opinion he didn't drive enough. Good things happen when he goes to the hoop and he has great touch with his floater.

-- The gameplan. The pace probably wasn't where we wanted it, but defensively we were smart and well prepared. On offense we got plenty of open shots against a long team.

Dislikes

-- Hekmann's decisions. I know he is my whipping boy but tonight he earned his rep. He passed up shots and missed the ones he took. 

-- Playing Rahon as much as we did. He wasn't playing well and had trouble moving and then made a turnover late. I know it was a borderline call, but does he even pick up his dribble if he is not hurt?

-- Missing foul shots. It wasn't just about Hanlan's miss at the end. The other misses were in a sense as costly.