Boston College Athletics
Football Springs Into Action
March 14, 2003 | Football
March 14, 2003
With March Madness in full swing and the snowy remnants of a brutal Boston winter melting into memory, the Boston College football Eagles will take to the Alumni Stadium turf on Saturday afternoon to begin their annual spring drills. The four weeks of spring camp will culminate with the annual Jay McGillis Spring Game, scheduled for Saturday, April 12 at Alumni Stadium.
Thirty-eight letter winners (11 offense, 24 defense, three special teams) return from an Eagle team that finished with a 9-4 record after an impressive 51-25 victory over Toledo in the Motor City Bowl in Detroit. The Eagles will enter the 2003 season in the hunt for an unprecedented fifth straight bowl bid and fourth consecutive bowl win.
Since his arrival at Boston College in 1996, Coach Tom O'Brien has transformed a struggling program into one that is a consistent winner. O'Brien has coached a running back who has rushed for 1,000-plus yards five seasons in a row; he led last year's senior class to 32 wins over four years, tying the 1981-84 Eagles for the most wins in a four-year period in the past 60 years of BC football; he has signed recruiting classes regarded among the best in the nation; and he has helped maintain Boston College's tradition of producing winners in the classroom as well.
As the Eagles head into spring drills, here's a look at the 2003 squad, position-by-position:
OFFENSE
Offensive Line
No doubt about it - this could be O'Brien's primary area of concern heading into the spring campaign. Departed tackles Leo Bell and Marc Parenteau, along with center Dan Koppen, leave some big shoes to fill along the line. The Eagles do return both starters at the guard positions in Chris Snee and Augie Hoffmann, and sophomore Jeremy Trueblood did see big-game experience in 2002 as a redshirt freshman, along with Pat Ross.
O'Brien plans to move junior Anthony Crosson and seniors Justin Hinds and Keith Leavitt back to the offensive side of the ball to help shore up the line and will look to sophomore Chris Hathy and redshirt freshmen Josh Beekman, Shadu Moore and James Marten to have a strong spring.
"Right now, it's a little unsettled," O'Brien says. "But hopefully by the end of spring, we can come up with a two-deep we're comfortable with."
Don Horton, the Eagles' former tight ends coach, will take over the offensive line coaching responsibilities following the departure of Dave Magazu to the NFL's Carolina Panthers.
Tight End
The Eagles are in good shape at this position with the return of 2002 starter Sean Ryan, who was named to the All-BIG EAST second team following a stellar junior campaign. Ryan will be backed up by junior David Kashetta, who saw significant action at tight end last season as one of Ryan's backups. Sophomore Chris Miller, who played a key role with the scout team last year, also will vie for playing time at tight end in 2003.
Jim Bridge, offensive line coach last season at Eastern Michigan University and a former offensive line assistant at The Ohio State University, will coach BC's tight ends, replacing Horton.
Quarterback
Easily the most high-profile position on any team, this will be, no doubt, the hottest topic of discussion among BC fans heading into the 2003 season. Veteran QB Brian St. Pierre, who ended his career third on the Boston College all-time passing list, has graduated, and his backup, junior Quinton Porter, saw action in only five games last season. But O'Brien expresses confidence in Porter heading into spring practice.
"Quinton will get most of the reps in the spring," O'Brien says. "I think he's ready to step up to the plate and play well for us."
O'Brien also will take a look at redshirt freshmen Karim El Nokali and walk-on Dan Berglund.
Running Back
At ease - the position that had fans wringing their hands heading into the 2002 season could have them jumping for joy in the fall. Tailback Derrick Knight heads into his senior year after gaining 1,432 yards on 259 carries last season and picking up second team All-BIG EAST honors. Knight was also BC's third-leading receiver on the season after grabbing 37 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns.
While Knight seems to have a solid grip on the starting tailback job, he will be pushed by returning senior Horace Dodd, who actually got the starting nod for the first two games of last season and finished the year on a strong note, gaining 33 yards with a touchdown in the Motor City Bowl. Redshirt freshman Jeff Ross and walk-on Everett Lee also will have an opportunity to compete for playing time at tailback.
"I look for Derrick to improve upon last year," O'Brien says, "and we look for Horace to have a strong spring, also, to give us a solid backup at tailback."
Senior Greg Toal, who started the final 10 games of last season, gives O'Brien a strong starter at the fullback position, while sophomore Haven Perkins has recovered from surgery and hopes to make his presence known in spring drills.
Wide Receiver
One would think this would be an area of concern with the departure of leading receiver Keith Hemmings (41 catches, 559 yards) and fellow starter Jamal Burke (33 catches, 498 yards). Not so fast. O'Brien is confident juniors Grant Adams and Joel Hazard are up for the task. Indeed, both showed flashes of good things to come at the Motor City Bowl - Adams led all BC receivers with five catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns, while Hazard caught five passes for 66 yards and one touchdown in that game.
"We really liked the way Adams and Hazard played in the bowl game," O'Brien says. "They will start out as our top two wide receivers, but then we have four freshmen on campus (Taylor Sele, Jason Lilly, Tony Gonzalez and Kevin Challenger) who will get a strong look."
DEFENSE
Defensive Line
The area weakened last season by season-ending injuries to Doug Goodwin and Antonio Garay could be the strength of the 2003 team.
Although he will sit out spring drills, left tackle Goodwin is expected to be back at full strength in time to reclaim a starting job in the fall. Senior Tom Martin brings experience to the line after starting all 13 games last season. Junior Tim Bulman, who was thrust into a starting role midway through last season when Goodwin was injured, returns to challenge again for a starting role, along with Al Washington, who saw action last year as a true freshman. Senior Leonard Bennett also will get a look during spring drills.
Although starting defensive end Derric Rossy is gone, his counterpart, junior Phil Mettling returns. Mettling was another player thrust into the limelight in 2002 as he replaced the injured Antonio Garay and started the last eight games of the season. Standout sophomore Mathias Kiwanuka returns, along with sophomore Jim Unis, who was called into action last season as a true freshman. Junior Myran Hunter and redshirt freshmen Jake Ottolini and Robert Ziminski also are on the radar screen for spring drills.
Linebacker
"Our main concern on defense," O'Brien says, "is to find a middle linebacker." Indeed, the key to this position is finding a replacement for departed starting middle linebacker Vinny Ciurciu. O'Brien will look at sophomores Ray Henderson, who played a key backup role in 2002, and Ricky Brown, who saw action as a true freshman, to step into Ciurciu's role.
Starters Josh Ott and Brian Flores return to lay claim to the other two starting linebacker positions. Ott started all 13 games last season, was BC's leading tackler, and was named national defensive Player of the Week after his performance against Notre Dame, which included a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown. Fellow senior Flores earned BIG EAST Player of the Week honors last season for his play vs. Central Michigan. Senior Kevin Kiley, sophomores Jon Misiewicz and Patrick McShane and redshirt freshmen Jeff Burns also will get a look in spring drills.
Defensive Backs
The Eagles lose three starters in safeties Doug Bessette and Ralph Parent and corner Trevor White, but a strong spring practice could enable some talented young players to step to the plate.
Peter Shean, who started at corner for the first two games of 2002 before being sidelined with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, will sit out spring drills but is expected to return to the lineup in the fall. Sophomore Larry Lester returns as a veteran after being thrust into Shean's starting position early last season as a redshirt freshman. Sophomore talent Will Blackmon, who showed flashes of brilliance as a true freshman, and fellow sophomore Jazzmen Williams return to provide depth at this position.
Senior Paul Cook, who started one game at safety in 2002, and talented reserve T.J. Stancil are the frontrunners at the safety spots, while O'Brien will be watching sophomore Nathanael Hasselbeck and redshirt freshman Larry Anam at the position as well.
Kevin Lempa, defensive coordinator at Hawaii since 2000 and a former member of the BC coaching staff, will coach the Eagles' defensive backfield, replacing Bob Shoop, who resigned in January to become the head football coach at Columbia University.
Specialists
Senior Sandro Sciortino is a proven place-kicker for the Eagles. Sciortino handled all kickoff, PAT and field goal duties for the Eagles in 2002 and set a Boston College single-season record for field goals made (23). O'Brien will call on walk-on Rob Leuffen to replace four-year starter Kevin McMyler.
THE SCHEDULE
Home games vs. five teams that played in bowl games last season, including 2002 national runner-up Miami, traditional rival Notre Dame, BIG EAST foes Pittsburgh and West Virginia and 2002 Seattle Bowl champion Wake Forest highlight the 2003 BC schedule.
The Eagles will open the 2003 season on August 30 with a home game vs. Wake Forest of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Demon Deacons have engineered one of the top turnarounds in the country over the course of the past two seasons and capped a 7-6 campaign in 2002 with an impressive victory over Oregon, 38-17, in the Seattle Bowl.
One week later, BC travels to "Happy Valley" to take on Coach Joe Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions, followed the next week by a visit to the University of Connecticut's new football stadium in East Hartford. The Eagles return home on September 20 to take on the Miami Hurricanes. One week later, Ball State travels to the Heights.
Following an off date on October 4, the Eagles begin a stretch of seven straight games with a visit to Temple, followed by a trip to Syracuse. Then Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and West Virginia will visit Alumni Stadium on successive Saturdays before the Eagles finish the 2003 slate with road games at Rutgers and Virginia Tech.
