Boston College Athletics
Back To School At O-Line U
August 12, 2004 | Football
Aug. 12, 2004
Traditionally a strength at Boston College, the offensive line was an area of concern for Coach Tom O'Brien as his team entered fall drills on Monday. After all, Boston College has earned the right to call itself "O-Line U". Building on a proud tradition, at least one Eagle offensive lineman has been selected in the NFL draft for six straight years. In 1999, center Damien Woody was selected by New England and guard Doug Brzezinski was drafted by Philadelphia. Kansas City chose tackle Darnell Alford in 2000, Cleveland selected tackle Paul Zukauskas in 2001, and Chicago chose tackle Marc Colombo in 2002. In 2003, the New England Patriots chose center Dan Koppen and by the end of last season, the former Eagle was the starting center for the Super Bowl champions. This past year, guard Chris Snee was taken by the New York Giants after he and fellow guard Augie Hoffmann were both named to the All-Big East first team. Tradition, however, won't protect the quarterback on game day. "This is the first time since I've been here that we don't have a senior returning to play," O'Brien says. "We have very little experience here. It's an area of concern for us. We lost some very good players last year." Losing both Snee and Hoffmann, along with Keith Leavitt (13-game starter at tackle), left some big shoes to fill for BC's young offensive linemen. But the team does return a pair of talented juniors in Pat Ross (Cincinnati, OH), who blossomed last year at center following the departure of Koppen, and talented tackle Jeremy Trueblood (Indianapolis, IN). "I think we have some talented young players who are very capable of continuing the BC offensive line tradition," Trueblood says. "I think practice has gone really well. I think a lot of guys have made improvements from the spring, but I think we still have a lot to work on." A pair of sophomores, Josh Beekman (Amsterdam, NY) and James Marten (Indianapolis, IN), have an opportunity to nail down starting positions. Beekman started two games last year and saw significant playing time, while Marten could be coming into his own. "I think Jim Marten has come a long way from the spring," Trueblood says. "He surprised me a lot yesterday, which was our first day in shoulder pads. I think he's gotten a lot better. He's always been a good player, but he's had a transition to make. But I think he's going to be pretty good." As the Eagles enter day four of fall camp, it's back to school at O-Line U.
