Boston College Athletics
Receivers Finding Routes to Progress
March 27, 2015 | Football
By Kristen Scott
Last year the Boston College Eagles had an unprecedented year running the football: with a group of backs that carried BC to finish the 2014 season ranked 16th overall in rushing yards. Quarterback Tyler Murphy, with 1184 yards, produced over a third of BC's yards on the ground.
With Murphy gone and a new signal caller at the helm, the Eagles' receiving corps is eager to shoulder more of the offensive output by putting in work this spring.
"Darius [Wade] has a heck of an arm. So do Elijah [Robinson] and Troy [Flutie]. They're playing really well. I love spring, I love competing, but the other thing I love the most is watching the quarterback competition and watching these guys grow, getting a feel for each one of them. All of them can chuck the ball," said sophomore wide receiver Charlie Callinan. "I've been working on deep balls as well as getting more in shape and running better than I did last year. That correlates to me getting deeper passes to beat defensive backs on go balls and posts and corners. Definitely adjusting and pulling them in to make big plays rather than just being a 10 to 20-yard possession receiver."
As a redshirt freshman, Callinan put up 149 yards on 13 receptions. He was targeted three times in his breakout game against Clemson, amassing 64 yards of damage against the Tiger defense.
"I definitely was happy with my experience last season. It was my first year playing. I caught a couple balls, which I was happy about. Going forward I can build upon that experience already having gone through one year. I know how to handle the highs and lows to better myself as a player," Callinan said. "I think we're building. We came out pretty inexperienced, we have a lot of young guys, but we're all banding together and working before practice, after practice on the little things," Callinan said.
Wideout David Dudeck looks to step into his role as a senior and a leader as a receiver next year.
After missing the first two games due to injury, the Hamilton, N.J. product recorded a series of highlight-reel plays in the latter half of the season. Dudeck posted a career-high 58 yards in BC's 23-17 win over Wake Forest and a 21-yard reception in overtime against Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl.
"Spring practice has been very positive. We have a lot of young guys, but everyone's getting better every day. We had a great addition with Coach White coaching the receivers. All the guys love him so far and he's doing a great job teaching us new things about reading defenses and route techniques," said Dudeck. "Coach White relates really well to us. He wants us to compete every day so when fall camp comes around we're ready to get rolling."
The Eagles will get an opportunity to showcase the body of work they have put together this spring on Saturday, March 28, as BC holds an open practice/offense vs. defense scrimmage at noon.
"Obviously everyone loves to play in an actual game. When the atmosphere is different and there are a lot of people here, it's so much fun. It will just be another day of work for us, getting after it. It will definitely be fun with the point system we're going to use so that there's a winner and a loser. The crowd will get involved a little bit, so it will be fun,"
Even though Callinan and Dudeck will be lining up against their teammates on Saturday, the duo won't hold back, fully expecting an offense victory.
"I want to win. Make some big plays, score some touchdowns. It's all about the team, getting better, and staying safe. We practice all spring to get to this game, so I want to show everyone what we've been working on and how much I've improved," said Callinan.
"We're always going in it to win. Yeah we're not losing; my team's not losing" said Dudeck.
