Another fresh face for Eagles
QB Perry gets an opportunity
Through the first 10 games of the Boston College season, freshman quarterback EJ Perry of Andover was never himself.
Perry made use of his redshirt arrangement to serve as the Eagles’ scout team quarterback. The task required Perry to provide the first defense with a serviceable impersonation of Wake Forest’s John Wolford, Kelly Bryant of Clemson, Notre Dame’s Brandon Wimbush and Lamar Jackson of Louisville.
Perry’s job description changed when starting quarterback Anthony Brown, a redshirt freshman, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the second quarter of a loss to North Carolina State on Nov. 11 at Alumni Stadium.
Perry was elevated to backup behind Darius Wade and will see significant action when the Eagles (6-5) close the regular season against Syracuse (47) on Saturday at the Carrier Dome.
“It’s pretty good, and it’s been fun and exciting to get those reps, and I’ve made a nice transition in the past couple of weeks,” said Perry, who took snaps with first offense in practice yesterday at Alumni Stadium. “I’ve been throwing with the same guys since I got in here in January with 7-on7s and spring practice and whatnot. We are throwing every day.”
BC coach Steve Addazio decided to burn Perry’s redshirt prior to last Saturday’s 39-16 victory against Connecticut for short- and long-term reasons.
Perry needed to learn and operate the system in the event that Wade might suffer the same fate as Brown against UConn or Syracuse, and could be called into service if Brown isn’t ready to start next season.
“These guys around here just go and EJ has some fire to him and they love that,” said Addazio. “He is one snap away from running this whole operation and that is a tall order, and that (is) why you just have to get him in the game.
“He has to get a feel. He has to get a lot of reps (because) with one snap and it’s all on him.”
The Eagles attained bowl eligibility by beating the Huskies at Fenway Park and the bonus 15 extra practice sessions in December that come with postseason play.
Perry made his college debut in relief of Wade in the fourth quarter against UConn. BC had the game locked down and Perry was limited to handing the ball off and burning time off the clock.
“I knew coming into the season (offensive coordinator Scot) Loeffler told me, ‘We want to redshirt you, but if the time comes, you’ll play,’” said Perry. “So I just do what they tell me to do. It was a pleasant surprise because every competitor wants to play, so to get that opportunity last Saturday was exciting. But I just plan on getting better every day and doing what they tell me to do.”
Perry learned the position playing for his father, EJ Perry III, at Andover High. The two-time Herald All-Scholastic tied the state record for touchdown passes in a season (47) his senior year. His college timeline was advanced because of Brown’s injury and he’s making progress competing on this level.
“I thought EJ had a good day out here today and he is starting to get a little more comfortable, and that is all part of it,” said Addazio. “It’s a process, just like it was when Anthony first started playing, and that is why it is hard on young freshman quarterbacks with the enormity of it all.”