Boston College Athletics
For Eagles, The Time Is Now
July 13, 2017 | Football, #ForBoston Files
The core is ready to break out to prove success
On the official calendar, football is still a long way away. The sounds of helmets and pads hitting each other are still in the distance. Schedules are just logos on walls and stadiums are totally empty, devoid of the Saturday excitement and movement coming every week in the fall.
But the truth is that it never really ends. Each season blends into the next, with the road paving itself. What happened yesterday dictates what happens today and tomorrow is a product of today's work.
So to understand the pretext for the Boston College Eagles, it's important to understand how history flows into 2017, which itself is a continuation of the progress made in the 2016 offseason. Student-athletes who arrived on campus as young, raw talents are now maturing into big-time players, bringing with them the promise of seeing three years of hard work pay off for their team.
"We took the momentum from the end of our season last year into our bowl prep, into our bowl game," head coach Steve Addazio said at ACC Kickoff on Thursday. "That excitement within our team, our team found a way in the maturation process of learning how to compete, finish and win games in the end. I think the excitement in the bowl game with the generation of what we tried to do and where we're headed offensive kicked us into the winter program, into the spring program. It's energized everything."
Through a sometimes-bumpy road, the Eagles grew. They learned about themselves on the field, developing as a single unit. There's a core of players who understand and know how to play within this system, preparing for this moment. By challenging each other and building together, they now stand poised for a breakout campaign in the upcoming season.
BC is a team led by a well-established, elite-level defense. It's shifted through the years, turning over its personnel. But it's remained able to compete with the best competition the game offers thanks to its ability to adapt players' differing skills. Adhering to a core philosophy of an aggressive, multi-faceted formation, it's relied on the pliability of its players within a common scheme.
"Harold (Landry) is one of the elite pass rushers in America," Addazio said. "Along with Harold, we have Zach Allen, Wyatt Ray, Ray Smith and guys who have played a ton of football. Connor Strachan at inside linebacker with Ty Schwab both played a lot of football. Will Harris is at safety, Kam Moore, Isaac Yiadom (at cornerback), all of these guys have played a ton of football."
Offensively, that's been harder to achieve. It's no secret that BC struggled at times with consistency. Dating back to Addazio's first season, the unit consistently changed over. It's appeared all over the map, trying to hone in on what the team could do well. That, in turn, caused slower starts as players learned and built the database of tendencies.
Beneath that surface, however, the Eagles developed a roster of gritty, tough players hardened through its challenges. Even with quarterback changeover, they'll have the same running backs, receivers and offensive linemen. After taking its lumps, the offense is ready to turn the corner and surprise non-believers.
"On offense, we're going to start to see the emergence of playmakers," Addazio said. "(These are) guys that were young players that are now matured, experienced, and I believe on the verge of breaking out. We'll be better at every position on that side of the ball. Our offensive line, (with) Jon Baker, anchors it at center. Our tight end group will be one of the better ones as a group in the conference. Our running back group, I think, is going to be elite. Our wide receivers have got explosive speed. And I think at quarterback, I've seen the best competition that I've seen in a long time."
As the season dawns, conversation will center on that QB competition. Darius Wade is the well established name, the player whose grown and matured in the Addazio system. He's been driven by Anthony Brown, a talented redshirt freshman capable of making his own name. Whoever wins the job is whomever finds success within the system and their team, not just as an individual.
"We're going to utilize tempo and we're going to have the ability to have a pro-passing approach, coupled with some pro concepts, intermingling spread sets," Addazio said. "I think that gives you the opportunity every week to help your defense grow because they can see the combination of a spread game and see the combination of a real power game because they're going to face that at different points throughout the season. Â
"I believe now with the skill players we have, and the quarterback development that we have, we'll be able to do that," he continued. "We want to get more whacks at it with the amount of plays that we run. In the bowl game (against Maryland), we ran over 60 plays in the first half. We used to run 70-something in a whole game. So it's all philosophical. They all work."
It's all bolstered by a coaching staff ready to take this team to the next level. They've been patient with the program, taking them from a young, inexperienced team to a team capable of qualifying for, then winning, the Quick Lane Bowl. But the job didn't end in Detroit; it only just began warming up.
"Coming up on four years at BC, I've learned a great deal from Coach Addazio and (offensive line coach Justin Frye)," Jon Baker said. "They've taught me a lot, how to handle myself on and off the field, and as a player I don't think you can find a better team of coaches that are going to develop you as an offensive lineman in the country."
All of this plays out against the backdrop of increased levels of competition. Over the last four years, the ACC has two national championships and another national championship game appearance. The two teams - Clemson and Florida State - combining for that success are in the Atlantic Division, meaning the Eagles play both annually. But it's not about what a team's accomplished or who they beat the year prior; it's about executing a system that these players were recruited to play. Everyone has a role and a job and doing that job will translate the sum into a greater whole than its parts.
"I think we've done a great job carrying the momentum from last season into offseason workouts," Harold Landry said. "We've just got to carry that into training camp and then on through each game starting with Northern Illinois. Last season we had a good season but we know there's more meat on the bone. There's so much potential for this team. Everybody is stepping their game up. I've never seen so many players put in so much extra work. We've been working, we've been grinding, and our schedule is one of the top schedules in the country. I look forward to it. We all look forward to it."
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But the truth is that it never really ends. Each season blends into the next, with the road paving itself. What happened yesterday dictates what happens today and tomorrow is a product of today's work.
So to understand the pretext for the Boston College Eagles, it's important to understand how history flows into 2017, which itself is a continuation of the progress made in the 2016 offseason. Student-athletes who arrived on campus as young, raw talents are now maturing into big-time players, bringing with them the promise of seeing three years of hard work pay off for their team.
"We took the momentum from the end of our season last year into our bowl prep, into our bowl game," head coach Steve Addazio said at ACC Kickoff on Thursday. "That excitement within our team, our team found a way in the maturation process of learning how to compete, finish and win games in the end. I think the excitement in the bowl game with the generation of what we tried to do and where we're headed offensive kicked us into the winter program, into the spring program. It's energized everything."
Through a sometimes-bumpy road, the Eagles grew. They learned about themselves on the field, developing as a single unit. There's a core of players who understand and know how to play within this system, preparing for this moment. By challenging each other and building together, they now stand poised for a breakout campaign in the upcoming season.
BC is a team led by a well-established, elite-level defense. It's shifted through the years, turning over its personnel. But it's remained able to compete with the best competition the game offers thanks to its ability to adapt players' differing skills. Adhering to a core philosophy of an aggressive, multi-faceted formation, it's relied on the pliability of its players within a common scheme.
"Harold (Landry) is one of the elite pass rushers in America," Addazio said. "Along with Harold, we have Zach Allen, Wyatt Ray, Ray Smith and guys who have played a ton of football. Connor Strachan at inside linebacker with Ty Schwab both played a lot of football. Will Harris is at safety, Kam Moore, Isaac Yiadom (at cornerback), all of these guys have played a ton of football."
Offensively, that's been harder to achieve. It's no secret that BC struggled at times with consistency. Dating back to Addazio's first season, the unit consistently changed over. It's appeared all over the map, trying to hone in on what the team could do well. That, in turn, caused slower starts as players learned and built the database of tendencies.
Beneath that surface, however, the Eagles developed a roster of gritty, tough players hardened through its challenges. Even with quarterback changeover, they'll have the same running backs, receivers and offensive linemen. After taking its lumps, the offense is ready to turn the corner and surprise non-believers.
"On offense, we're going to start to see the emergence of playmakers," Addazio said. "(These are) guys that were young players that are now matured, experienced, and I believe on the verge of breaking out. We'll be better at every position on that side of the ball. Our offensive line, (with) Jon Baker, anchors it at center. Our tight end group will be one of the better ones as a group in the conference. Our running back group, I think, is going to be elite. Our wide receivers have got explosive speed. And I think at quarterback, I've seen the best competition that I've seen in a long time."
As the season dawns, conversation will center on that QB competition. Darius Wade is the well established name, the player whose grown and matured in the Addazio system. He's been driven by Anthony Brown, a talented redshirt freshman capable of making his own name. Whoever wins the job is whomever finds success within the system and their team, not just as an individual.
"We're going to utilize tempo and we're going to have the ability to have a pro-passing approach, coupled with some pro concepts, intermingling spread sets," Addazio said. "I think that gives you the opportunity every week to help your defense grow because they can see the combination of a spread game and see the combination of a real power game because they're going to face that at different points throughout the season. Â
"I believe now with the skill players we have, and the quarterback development that we have, we'll be able to do that," he continued. "We want to get more whacks at it with the amount of plays that we run. In the bowl game (against Maryland), we ran over 60 plays in the first half. We used to run 70-something in a whole game. So it's all philosophical. They all work."
It's all bolstered by a coaching staff ready to take this team to the next level. They've been patient with the program, taking them from a young, inexperienced team to a team capable of qualifying for, then winning, the Quick Lane Bowl. But the job didn't end in Detroit; it only just began warming up.
"Coming up on four years at BC, I've learned a great deal from Coach Addazio and (offensive line coach Justin Frye)," Jon Baker said. "They've taught me a lot, how to handle myself on and off the field, and as a player I don't think you can find a better team of coaches that are going to develop you as an offensive lineman in the country."
All of this plays out against the backdrop of increased levels of competition. Over the last four years, the ACC has two national championships and another national championship game appearance. The two teams - Clemson and Florida State - combining for that success are in the Atlantic Division, meaning the Eagles play both annually. But it's not about what a team's accomplished or who they beat the year prior; it's about executing a system that these players were recruited to play. Everyone has a role and a job and doing that job will translate the sum into a greater whole than its parts.
"I think we've done a great job carrying the momentum from last season into offseason workouts," Harold Landry said. "We've just got to carry that into training camp and then on through each game starting with Northern Illinois. Last season we had a good season but we know there's more meat on the bone. There's so much potential for this team. Everybody is stepping their game up. I've never seen so many players put in so much extra work. We've been working, we've been grinding, and our schedule is one of the top schedules in the country. I look forward to it. We all look forward to it."
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Players Mentioned
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DB
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