Boston College Athletics
Spaziani Talks With ACC Media In Greensboro
July 27, 2009 | Football
July 27, 2009
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Boston College head coach Frank Spaziani took his turn at the 2009 ACC Football Kickoff on Monday at the Grandover Resort and Conference Center.
Like seniors Jim Ramella and Matt Tennant on Sunday, Spaziani took part in a quick photo shoot with the other 11 ACC head coaches before making the rounds at the Grandover with the record number of media in attendance.
Media members from around the country settled on one common theme throughout the day and that is how the program will respond to the adversity it has faced this offseason - including another coaching change and dealing with news of senior Mark Herzlich who was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in May.
"It was devastating news," Spaziani said regarding Herzlich's condition. "In my years of coaching, I always tell kids to expect the unexpected. Whatever happens in life or in a football game, we have to deal with it. As cliché as it sounds, we told the kids and after the initial shock, we just dealt with it. That's what our kids have to do. We will help Mark in whatever way we can."
When asked later in the day about Herzlich, Spaziani continued, "Youth be served. When you're 21 years old, you think you are invincible. He's a competitor and he just looks at this like a bump in the road - granted a bigger bump - but it's nothing he can't handle."
With the situations that have arisen, Spaziani was pressed to name someone who has stepped up in the offseason and he mentioned senior Marcellus Bowman. "In four years, I have seen guys grow and he has matured in a lot of ways," he said. "With everything that has happened this offseason, he has stepped up. I have seen a different side of him that I never have before and he has become a leader on the team."
Over 250 media members got their first exposure to Spaziani's wit and smile and a lot of them asked what it meant to him to get the head job at Boston College.
"BC is a great place," he said. "The longer I stayed there the more I realized that is where I wanted to finish my career. I worked all those years with Tom (O'Brien) and I never thought he'd leave, but he did. I applied for the job then because I wanted to stay and then this situation arose. This time it worked out. It's a great honor because it is such a great place."
