Addazio decisions sparkle in opener
QB, kicker calls pay dividends
Steve Addazio made two personnel decisions at the end of training camp that led directly to Boston College’s 23-20 victory at Northern Illinois in Friday night’s season opener.
The first and most obvious was the coach’s decision to start redshirt freshman Anthony Brown at quarterback. Brown — just the second freshman QB in school history to start a season opener — won a spirited battle with Darius Wade in training camp and threw for two touchdowns in his debut.
“He graded out the highest in preseason camp,” said Addazio, who waited until gametime to reveal his choice. “We took the body of work . . . they both did very well.”
The second was tabbing Colton Lichtenberg at kicker over incumbent Mike Knoll despite a spotty college resume. Lichtenberg missed two field goals in last season’s opener, a 1714 loss to Georgia Tech in Dublin, and was benched for Knoll.
He was a clear favorite to retain his position after going 12-of-14 on field goals and 27-of-30 on PATs, but when neither Lichtenberg nor Knoll distinguished themselves in camp, Addazio played a hunch and went with the junior from Savannah, Ga.
After Lichtenberg hit three field goals on Friday, including a 37-yarder with 2:13 left to break a 20-20 tie, Addazio’s gut looked a genius.
“When it counted and when it mattered most, Colton Lichtenberg needed a confidence boost,” said Addazio. “He has got all the talent. He has a great leg and he has the talent, but like anybody else, he needed a confidence boost.”
So did the Eagles as a whole, and Brown helped deliver it, completing 26-of-42 passes for 191 yards, those two first-half scores and an interception. Addazio and offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler designed a short and intermediate passing scheme for Brown and he flourished, hitting eight different receivers.
Speedy split Michael Walker had a game-high eight receptions for 50 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown to put BC up 1310 at the half.
Redshirt freshman Kobay White had six catches for 76 yards. Reserve tight end Ray Marten’s first career reception was a 4-yard touchdown to put BC up 20-10 midway through the third.
“It was the first game, so there were a little nerves, but it was slowly starting to come to me,” said Brown. “Fortunately I have a great young receiver in Kobay White.
“Me and Kobay have been working since we got here. Last year he redshirted and so did I, but we knew that we would have to be in tune with each other so we just kept working all summer.”
Their work, plus that of the coaches on down, will propel the Eagles into next week’s home opener against Wake Forest with a chance for their first 2-0 start against FBS competition since 2007, Matt Ryan’s final year at The Heights.