BC’s Lindstrom moves down line
Chris Lindstrom started all 13 games at right guard for Boston College last season as a sophomore, and he the team’s final nine games in his freshman campaign.
Before coming to The Heights, Lindstrom was a standout guard at Shepherd Hill High School in Dudley. He was named to the Massachusetts Football Coaches All-State team his senior season and was the Division 4 offensive player of the year as a junior.
Now a college junior, Lindstrom is being asked to step out of his comfort zone and move to right tackle for the first time in his career. Jimmy Lowery played right tackle last season for BC, but he graduated in the spring, leaving a void that needed to be filled with a strong player.
The 6-foot-4, 305-pound Lindstrom’s first lesson at tackle came on the first day of training camp. He’s had three weeks of practices, some scrimmage experience, and with the season opener at Northern Illinois less than two weeks away, he’s confident he can handle his new position.
“(The adjustment) has been pretty good,” Lindstrom said. “I got the whole spring (to work on it), and so at camp now, I’m flipping back and forth (between tackle and guard), and at this point (I’m) just trying to master my technique at both.”
BC coach Steve Addazio has taken notice of Lindstrom’s play during camp.
“Chris has worked real hard,” he said. “He’s really developed into a really good football player.”
Chris’ brother, Alec, is one of two freshmen joining the Eagles offensive line this season. Their uncle, Eric, was a defensive lineman at BC from 1985-88. Their father, Chris, was a defensive lineman down the road at Boston University, where he is in the Hall of Fame, and later spent three seasons in the NFL.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience being with my brother at this level,” Lindstrom said. “I’m trying to help him along the way. Every time he’s working on something, or he has a struggle with something, I’ve been there before so I help him out. But he’s doing a lot of it himself, and he’s doing a great job.”
Boston College is known for producing NFL-ready players along the offensive line. Since 2000, 13 Eagles offensive linemen have been selected in the NFL draft including three firstrounders: Marc Colombo (29th overall, 2002), Gosder Cherilus (17th overall, 2008) and Anthony Castonzo (22nd overall, 2011).
Now Lindstrom has his chance to show NFL scouts what he can do at two different positions. And he’ll still have one more year to hone his craft before moving on to the next step in his football career.
“He’s going to be one of the better offensive linemen in the conference,” Addazio said. “We’ve got high expectations for Chris.”
When asked if his approach to training camp has been any different than in years past with learning a new position, Lindstrom just said he’s glad to be back with his fellow linemen.
“Not really,” he said. “I love our unit and love the guys next to me, and I’m just really excited to play with them.”