Where "Next Year" Becomes "This Year"

College football's spring practice season usually represents the beginning of a new team and a new year. "This year" starts to become "last year," and "next year" blends into "this year." The speed by which that transformation occurs is dictated by performance results, represented by a launch pad for both continuity and change.

For Boston College, previous spring practices sought to build the continuation of the program's ongoing construction project. On Wednesday, it took on a different feel with a team looking to attack 2019 as quickly as possible.

"There's a lot of continuity, a lot of positive things," head coach Steve Addazio said. "We've got a great work ethic. The guys that have come through here have really set a high standard for our players and for our team in terms of their attitude, and their commitment to football and what it takes. They're all working at that really, really hard."

The desire to make that initial push isn't dictated by a lack of success last season. The well-documented, individual achievements of the football program stretched into almost every area. The team returned to the national rankings during the season and put itself in position for a late-season run at the ACC Atlantic Division. The program hosted the centerpiece marquee of college football when ESPN College Gameday came to Chestnut Hill for the Clemson game, and the Eagles advanced to a bowl game designed to pit them against a highly-competitive and nationally-ranked Boise State team.

Seven players earned invitations to the NFL Combine. Chris Lindstrom starred at the Senior Bowl and is now considered one of the two best guards in the draft, per ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr. Defensive lineman Zach Allen and tight end Tommy Sweeney are additionally on their respective top position lists on the ESPN Big Board, as is safety Will Harris.

"We've got facility enhancements, coupled with winning, and we have star power marquee football names on our roster," Addazio said. "We have seven players in the combine. That's the real way you evaluate your recruiting, and I'm proud and excited about that fact. Somewhere between five and seven players will be drafted in the NFL Draft. The talk of the Senior Bowl and the combine has been Boston College."

That success drove other programs to Chestnut Hill in hopes of recapturing the same lightning that the Eagles had in their bottle last year. BC will have new coordinators on both sides of the ball this season with the addition of Mike Bajakian and the promotion of Bill Sheridan, and strength and conditioning coach Frank Piraino moved to the NFL's Tennessee Titans. It's a natural attrition that occurs when programs draw the right kind of attention, but it occurs under the separate continuity of both head coach and institutional philosophy.

"That's a compliment to our staff," Addazio said. "The key is the ability to keep bringing in high-powered people, and we've done that at a high level. I'm excited about that. Frank Piraino had a chance to move on to go to the Tennessee Titans, and Scott McLafferty came in. Scott is having a huge impact on our strength program right now."

It's the brand of success that enables a team to continue evolving for future success. The Eagles enter spring practice as a team celebrating its accomplishments from last season but knowing there's opportunity in the upcoming year. Talk of "potential" that came from recruiting can now turn into the current measures of talent and skill as the team begins its preparations for the season opener against Virginia Tech on August 31.

"There is a sense of hunger," Addazio said. "We prepared so hard for that bowl game, and we were so ready to play that game and felt like the rug came out from under us. But I think it set the stage for a lot of these young guys to get a tremendous amount of work. (Bowl games) give you that extra practice time, and I think we utilized it well this year. I think they're hungry to make their mark."

Transforming the potential into reality is the hallmark of a succession plan that sustainable success creates. While Lindstrom, Allen, Sweeney, Hamp Cheevers, Lukas Denis, Ray Smith and others depart the program, the hope is now steeped in the players who were recruited with the vision to replace them. So while it's true that there's a wide-open competition for starting roles, there's also trust in the process that the "replacement players" will eventually be every bit as good as the players they replaced.

"Hunter Long was phenomenal (in bowl prep)," Addazio said. "Alec Lindstrom - fantastic bowl prep. Anthony Palazzolo did a great job. I thought Elijah Jones did a great job. The DB's back there - Mike Palmer and Tate Haynes. Jehlani Galloway had a chance to really shine as a receiver. I'm really excited about Noah Jordan-Williams at the receiver position. I thought Jaleel Berry was a guy that really came a long way on the defensive front, and Brandon Barlow came a long way at the end of the year. Joe Luchetti had a chance to prepare like a starter in the bowl prep. Those guys all got a lot of work."

When BC was in bowl prep mode, those names remained the names of the future. As they transition into spring practice, they will now become the names of the present. They will augment players already in the pipeline who can compete alongside established starters. Running back David Bailey enjoyed a partial breakout in his freshman season but enters spring practice as a potential complement and future star behind AJ Dillon, and offensive lineman Finn Dirstine trimmed approximately 25 pounds off of his frame as he worked into full college game shape.

But no position will experience more future growth than the quarterback position. Anthony Brown continued his development last season and very quietly finished the season as one of the Eagles' best statistical quarterbacks. He leads a room brimming with depth after the further development of EJ Perry during bowl prep and the addition of Sam Johnson, who will join the Eagles for spring practice as a mid-year enrollee.

"(Anthony) has done an outstanding job, and he had an outstanding year," Addazio said. "But having said that, we're going to compete. When you have new coaches coming in, everybody starts from the same spot. I love that. It creates a really great competition because (Mike Bajakian) is going to evaluate it the way he sees it. I want him to do that.

"If I'm a quarterback right now, I'm excited," he said. "I'm fired up. I've got a chance. I want to show what I can do. And if your quarterback is a guy that wants to rest on what's perceived that he is, then you're not really a true, vicious competitor. You always feel like you've got an edge to you and you've got something to prove. I think all those guys feel that way. It's going to bring out the best in all of them."

The 2018 football season brought success in doses. It was an exciting season and one of the more memorable years to be a fan of Boston College football. But the work doesn't end because the season ended. It begins anew in spring practice, where the hope is that this year sustains that success.

Last year is past. This year is here.

Players Mentioned

Zach Allen

David Bailey

Brandon Barlow

Jaleel Berry

Anthony Brown

Hamp Cheevers

Lukas Denis

AJ Dillon

Finn Dirstine

Jehlani Galloway

Will Harris

Tate Haynes

Sam Johnson III

Elijah Jones

Noah Jordan-Williams

Alec Lindstrom

Chris Lindstrom

Hunter Long

Anthony Palazzolo

Mike Palmer

EJ Perry

Ray Smith

Tommy Sweeney