Position Preview: Quarterbacks

PERSONNEL

Returners: Anthony Brown (RSo.), EJ Perry (So.)
Newcomers: Matt McDonald (RFr.), Dennis Grosel (RFr.), Johnny Langan (Fr.), Matt Valecce (Fr.)

Brown won the starting quarterback job late in camp last season over graduate student Darius Wade. He became just the second freshman QB in BC history to start the season opener, which the Eagles won, 23-20, at Northern Illinois. Brown, the veteran of the quarterback room, reclaims his role as QB1 going forward after a late-season injury ended his 2017 campaign.

In 10 starts, he threw for 1,367 yards and 11 touchdowns, including three in a win at Virginia in which he totaled a season-high 275 yards. Brown's rookie season came to an end following a non-contact knee injury against NC State on Nov. 11; a 17-14 defeat that ended a three-game win streak, including victories over Louisville, Virginia and Florida State.

The Eagles' win over the Seminoles at Alumni Stadium on October 27 was BC's first over FSU since 2009 and came by way of a 35-3 score; the largest margin of victory in the all-time series by BC. Boston College led 21-0 midway through the second quarter as Brown tossed an 11-yard score to Tommy Sweeney and ran in four a four-yard touchdown in the period.

BY THE NUMBERS

#13 Brown, Anthony: 134 completions-258 attempts-9 interceptions, 51.9 pct., 1,367 yards, 11 TD

For the season, he passed for more than 200 yards twice and posted three multi-touchdown games. On the ground, Brown averaged 5.0 yards per carry; totaling 210 yards on 42 touches.

Perry and McDonald have competed for the number-two slot on the depth chart throughout training camp; each getting opportunities with the first team offense as Brown works toward a fuller recovery. Perry, a product of Andover, Mass., moved up the depth chart to back-up for the final three games of 2017 following Brown's injury and made his college debut against Connecticut at Fenway Park. McDonald arrived on the Heights last summer from Mission Viejo (Calif.) High School, where he threw for 2,764 yards and 39 touchdowns to just interceptions.

REST OF THE ROOM

After enrolling at BC in January 2017, Grosel redshirted the fall season… at St. Ignatius (Ohio) High School, he earned first-team Associated Press Division I in 2015 with 1,959 yards and 18 TDs… Langan was named the 2017 New Jersey Player of the Year by News 12 after leading Bergen Catholic to their first Non-Public, Group 4 state championship since 2004… he was rated as the No. 22 prospect in the start by Rivals.com after tossing for 2,103 yards and 23 TDs to go with 825 yards rushing as a senior… At Fordham Prep, Valecce was recognized as the top-ranked QB in New York and the nation's No. 44 pro-style signal caller according to 247Sports… as a senior, he led the state with 3,333 passing yards and tossed 41 TDs on the way to a spot in the Class AA title game.

QUOTES FROM THE STAFF

"Matt is highly accurate. Everybody has got unique skills. Matt's unique skill is he can anticipate throws. He doesn't have to see them open, he anticipates them and then he's very accurate. EJ has got a tremendous arm and he's got great athleticism. He too is starting to see the field. That's encouraging, but there is a learning curve to both of them and they're still in that learning curve. And Anthony is doing great. Anthony looks phenomenal in seven-ons and all the scout drills. We're going to start to merge him back in here little-by-little [this] week so he'll start to get more and more of this to get ready for the opener." – Head Coach Steve Addazio

"He was playing every rep. He was standing behind the center taking every rep. We made an emphasis with him, he was a young guy last year, too. Games one through six, he played like a rookie. As he got some experience, he got to grow up a little bit. But he needed to take the next step of truly understanding why we're doing what we are doing." – Deputy Head Coach Offense/Offensive Coordinator Scot Loeffler

"I think EJ and Matt are competing like crazy right now. They're very talented. We're excited about them. Anthony Brown is our starting quarterback. That's not open for debate right now. We love the fact that we have two guys that are as talented as the guys we have that are pushing every day. Your program is healthy when you have competition within positions." -- Addazio

"[Brown] understood the playbook, the plays. If you don't understand the whys, you aren't going to be good. The latter half of the season, he started to figure out why we were doing what we were doing. It's one thing whenever you're in a great play. But being a quarterback, understanding if you're in a bad play, this defense is going to take the play away. By throwing the ball, aggressive play, he's getting to the point where he's able to audible a little bit more. He's getting to the point where he understands the whys. I think that's really important. We all think that's really important." -- Loeffler

PERSONNEL

BY THE NUMBERS

REST OF THE ROOM

QUOTES FROM THE STAFF

Players Mentioned

Anthony Brown

Dennis Grosel

Johnny Langan

Matt McDonald

EJ Perry

Tommy Sweeney

Matt Valecce

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