Eagles call on Schwab
LB steps up for defense
Boston College weakside linebacker Ty Schwab is a heavy hitter who takes a thinking man’s approach to his position.
Schwab will be calling the plays and aligning the defense when the Eagles (1-3) host Central Michigan (2-2) in a nonleague game today at Alumni Stadium.
“I am very passionate about it and I want to coach someday, so I enjoy learning all aspects of the defense,” said Schwab. “I want to know what the (defensive) line is doing, what the secondary is doing what my Sam linebacker is doing and what the middle linebacker is doing.
“I like the whole concept of knowing everything that is going on around me and it helps me play better. Having the coaches trust me to make the right calls at the right times and the checks and the decision-making is a role that I wear on my sleeve.”
Schwab, a 6-foot, 240-pound senior from Merritt Island, Fla., assumed command of the huddle when senior linebacker Connor Strachan went down with a knee injury prior to the Eagles’ clash with Notre Dame on Sept. 16.
Schwab got rolling with six tackles in his 14th consecutive start in the season opener against Northern Illinois on Sept. 1. Schwab had eight tackles against Wake Forest and then tied a career high with 10 against Notre Dame in consecutive starts. Schwab had a career day with 11 tackles and 1.5 sacks in BC’s 34-7 loss to secondranked Clemson last week.
“Ty is playing very well and he’s got a lot on his plate right now,” said BC coach Steve Addazio. “He is trying to run that whole thing in there and I think he’s done a really good job being a leader and trying to make all the calls and trying to get everybody lined up right.
“It’s not easy because there are guys in there that have not played, so he has to make sure everybody is where they are supposed to be based on all the different formations and sets and everything else.”
Schwab’s role on the field has grown bigger because the BC linebacker unit has been hit hard by injuries. Strachan is out indefinitely while linebacker Max Richardson suffered a season-ending leg injury.
Richardson was replaced by John Lamot, a 6-foot, 235-pound redshirt freshman from Graham, N.C. Lamot held up under Clemson’s fourthquarter onslaught and finished with seven assisted tackles in his first action at middle linebacker. Lamot will start against Central Michigan while strongside linebacker Kevin Bletzer will make his third career start in Strachan’s place.
“John and Max both do a great job,” said Schwab. “Over the summer, Max was recovering from a foot injury that he had in the spring and John was taking all the reps and he did a phenomenal job.
“We all knew John was a good player and he would step up when the time came. He came in and he knew the checks and he knew what he had to do because he prepared like he was going to start.”