Boston College Athletics
Football Hosts Annual Media Day
August 04, 2006 | Football
Aug. 4, 2006
Head Coach Tom O'Brien's opening remarks:
"The freshmen reported Wednesday night and spent yesterday at their academic orientation. The rest of the team reported last night, and went through our compliance meeting last night. Today, we are able to start practice, as we look forward to the 2006 season and to continue the success we've have here at Boston College.
"The first order of business was physicals. We have four individuals who will not be starting with us, and maybe will not make it through the year. The four players are Brian Young (senior, free safety) who has a knee, Jim Ramella has a shoulder, Justin Bell has an achilles, and Ryan Glasper) has a hip. We have two individuals that aren't starting practice, but have situations that are day-to-day or week-to-week. They are Brady Smith with a bacterial infection, and James McCluskey, who has a hamstring injury.
O'Brien's answers to questions from members of the media
On the areas of concern for the team
" If you look at the offensive side of the ball, we have to replace two starters on offense. We're set with Kevin Sheridan at center, but we're looking to find a left guard. We have returning players at wide receiver, but I think we lost 80 catches from Will Blackmon and Larry Lester, who graduated, so there is some work to do there.
"On the defensive side of the ball, we lost two defensive linemen. Right now, I think we're in pretty good shape inside. We were counting on Ramella on the outside, so we have Brendan Deska and Austin Giles competing to play opposite Nick Larkin. In the secondary, the injury to Glasper, gives an opportunity to Paul Anderson) and Marty Bowman. We will see how it goes in the next 24 practices before we have to make a depth chart. One man's misfortune is another man's opportunity."
On the advantages of having a returning quarterback
"It's a great advantage to have him get in the games, and have the experience from last year. In the off season and through spring practice, there are things you can look at and work on that now you understand because you've been in a game. The more you play the game, the more it slows down. It's not as fast as it was a couple of years ago. It's a great advantage for any program to have their quarterback return, especially as one as talented as Matt."
On Matt Ryan's leadership qualities after returning from a vicious hit against Clemson last year
"He's always been a great competitor and tough kid. You never know what's going to happen after a hit like that, but if anybody was going to get off the mat and come back, it's Ryan. Right away, he earned a tremendous amount of respect from the rest of the team. Hopefully he has that little something special that will separate him from the rest of the quarterbacks in the conference this year."
On the strengths of the team
"The running backs are experienced and have been around for a couple of years. Our quarterback is back and that's a good thing to have for an offense. Josh Beekman, Gosder Cherilus and James Marten have all been in a lot of games. Now we have four tight ends that have all played a lot of football. That would be a strength of the offense.
"On the defensive side, Nick Larkin and B.J. Raji have played a lot of football. Brian Toal is back and healthy. Jolonn Dunbar filled in last year and came up big for us. When you look at the secondary with Jamie Silva and DeJuan Tribble and Larry Anam, they've all played a lot of football. We have a chance to be a good football team."
On still being perceived as the new kid on the block in the ACC
"I don't think we're the new kid on the block anymore. I think everyone said this would be a ten-plus year experiment to know how joining the conference really worked out. We end up playing two new conference teams this year, even though Miami isn't really new to us. We get to go to different venues, which we haven't been to before. We surprised a lot of people last year, and now they know a little more about us, and have matched up against us. It's always going to get tougher and tougher the more that people know about you. Maybe they didn't take us seriously last year, but they will from now on in this conference."
On Sunday, August 6, BC has invited alumni, fans, friends and Gridiron club members to watch the team's first practice in pads from 3-6 p.m. Players and coaches will be available for autographs and photos following practice.
The activities will kick off approximately four weeks of preparation for the 2006 season opener on August 31 at Central Michigan. The Thursday evening game will be televised by ESPN2 with a 6 p.m. kickoff.
The Eagles return to Chestnut Hill the following weekend for their home and ACC opener vs. Clemson. That game, which will be televised by ABC, will kick off at 3:30 p.m.
