Spring Practice Report: February 27

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The Boston College football team held its first of 15 practices this spring Tuesday morning inside the bubble at Alumni Stadium. The Eagles donned just helmets during the two-hour workout.

"First day of practice, everybody's flying around, which was great to see," said head coach Steve Addazio. "Great work ethic. We have a team that understands how to practice and understands without pads on, how to take care of each other and still compete and grow. So I think from that standpoint, it's was a good day."

It was clear to see after just one practice: Boston College returns a wealth of experienced players on both sides of the ball. The offseason strength and conditioning program looked to show immediate results with the players.

"It's incremental," Addazio said of the offseason workouts. "You're looking at guys who are now three and four years in and they're bigger, they're stronger, they're faster, they look more mature and older. We haven't seen that around here. You're seeing that. We have a 16-person senior leadership committee right now and you look amongst those guys and there's a lot of really good football players there and that is pretty impactful."

Despite starting quarterback Anthony Brown limited to viewing practice from the sideline while he continues to rehab from a November knee injury, sophomore signal caller EJ Perry looked sharp as he took all the reps with the first-team offense.

"It didn't look like the first day of practice," added Addazio. "The offense seemed to be working at a good tempo. We have a lot of guys who understand what they are doing and we came out here and honestly operated pretty seamlessly. I thought EJ Perry came in and ran it and there were no issues. That's the kind of team we have.

"What we have to do right now is just focus on improving and getting better. I talked to the team yesterday and I said that we know what to do, but now let's become an expert on what we're doing and really own your technique, fundamentals and your position," Addazio said.

The Eagles return to the practice field for spring practice No. 2 on Thursday.

Practice Notes: There was no contact during Tuesday's practice as they team wore just helmets … the offensive line featured the same starting five as last year with senior Aaron Monteiro at left tackle, senior Sam Schmal at left guard, sophomore Ben Petrula at center, junior John Phillips at right guard and senior Chris Lindstrom at right tackle. It was clear from the outset the Eagles should have one of the ACC's best offensive lines next season … sophomore running backs AJ Dillon and Travis Levy both looked to be in midseason form Tuesday, especially Levy as added over 10 pounds of muscle during the offseason workouts … junior Ben Glines earned reps at running back, as well, and showed his versatility coming out of the backfield in the passing game … redshirt freshman defensive end Drew McQuarrie had the play of the day as he tipped a pass and caught the ball for a highlight-reel interception.

Players Mentioned

Anthony Brown

AJ Dillon

Ben Glines

Travis Levy

Chris Lindstrom

Drew McQuarrie

Aaron Monteiro

EJ Perry

Ben Petrula

John Phillips

Sam Schmal

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