Boston College Athletics
Hoffmann, Ott Named 2003 Football Captains
August 06, 2003 | Football
Aug. 6, 2003
Boston College senior offensive guard Augie Hoffmann (Parkridge, NJ) and senior linebacker Josh Ott (Silver Spring, MD) were elected captains of the 2003 Eagles football team in a Tuesday evening team vote, Coach Tom O'Brien announced.
Hoffmann started every game for the Eagles at right guard in 2002 and has played a key role in paving the way for a 1,000-yard rusher in each of his first three seasons at BC. Ott, a 13-game starter and the team's leading tackler as a junior, was named national Defensive Player of the Week after his performance against Notre Dame last season.
The two were elected on the eve of BC's first official practice of the 2003 season. Thirty-eight letterwinners return from a BC team that finished with a 9-4 record and the program's third consecutive bowl game victory, a 51-25 win over Toledo in the Motor City Bowl.
As the Eagles prepare for their August 30 season opener against Wake Forest, O'Brien will be searching for a starter at quarterback and middle linebacker while evaluating personnel to fill backup spots at several positions.
"I'm very excited as we begin practice" O'Brien says. "Our goal is to continue to improve and move the program forward.
"We have to solidify the quarterback position," he says, "and we have questions about backups at several positions along the offensive line. On defense, we'll be looking for a middle linebacker, along with backups at some linebacker and secondary positions. We're ready to get started."
The top two contenders for the starting nod at quarterback are juniors Quinton Porter (Portland, ME) and Paul Peterson (South Jordan, UT). Heading into spring drills, Porter was, perhaps, the leading candidate to replace the graduated Brian St. Pierre but was hampered when he broke his collarbone and missed most of the spring season. He will compete with Peterson, who transferred to BC from Snow College in Utah, where he threw for 2,982 yards and 35 touchdowns in 10 games in 2002. Redshirt freshmen Karim El Nokali (Pittsburgh, PA) and Dan Berglund (Shorewood, MN) took most of the snaps in spring drills and will push Porter and Peterson.
The Eagles will practice Wednesday afternoon on the Alumni Stadium turf and are scheduled to scrimmage three times before normal game-week preparations begin on August 24.
