Addazio: BC has talent to fill vacancies
The Boston College football program opened training camp yesterday with a job fair.
Coach Steve Addazio and first-year offensive and defensive coordinators, Mike Bajakian and Bill Sheridan, respectively, will be rebuilding at every position except quarterback and tailback before the season opener against Virginia Tech on Aug. 31 at Alumni Stadium.
“Well, in (terms) of pure vacancies, there is a fair amount, but we’ll be better up front on the O-line than a year ago,” said Addazio. “On defense we have a lot of vacancies and we lost some real good talent.
“We are young, but we are very athletic and we got faster. There is speed in the program right now. We are very athletic and we are young. In the back end we are young, and up front we are young.”
The Eagles roster drain from last season’s squad — one that went 7-4 overall and 4-4 in the ACC — was equally measured in quality and quantity. BC sent a schoolrecord seven players to the NFL combine, with four drafted and nine more signed as undrafted free agents. Guard Chris Lindstrom was a first-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons.
Tackle Tanner Karafa and linebacker Max Richardson are the only returning starters on defense from the 2018 season opener against
UMass.
Quarterback Anthony Brown, tailback AJ Dillon, tackle Ben Petrula and tight end Chris Garrison are the returning starters on offense. BC lost All-ACC first-team tight end Tommy Sweeney from Addazio’s two tight end offensive scheme.
Integrating new players with limited experience into the system and getting them game ready for Virginia Tech will require repetitious fundamentals, film study and intense scrimmages.
“Sometimes it can come together pretty quickly, and sometimes it doesn’t come together quickly,” said Addazio. “That is what training camp is, to see how fast we can mature some of the younger players that don’t have a lot of snaps under their belts.
“It also has something to do with them. Some guys mature at a faster pace. It doesn’t mean a guy isn’t going to be a good player, it’s just going to take a little longer.”
The hardest places hit by graduation and defection were the defensive line and secondary. BC lost edge rushers Zach Allen and Wyatt Ray and tackle Ray Smith. The trio accounted for 155 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks.
Richard Yeargin, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound graduate transfer from national champion Clemson, will add depth and experience to the Eagles front four. Defensive ends Marcus Valdez and Brandon Barlow had good showings in spring ball.
The secondary lost safeties Will Harris and Lukas Denis and cornerback Taj Amir-Torres to graduation. All-America cover corner Hamp Cheevers, who tied for the national lead with seven interceptions, declared eligible for the draft after his junior year. Cornerback Brandon Sebastian and safety Michael Palmer are the returning players with game experience.
Dillon is the linchpin of the BC offense, especially in the early games. Dillon rushed for 1,108 yards on 227 attempts with 10 touchdowns despite missing two games with an injured ankle.
Brown is a prototypical ACC dual threat quarterback who will need to upgrade the passing game despite losing four of his top five receivers, Sweeney, Kobay White, Michael Walker and Jeff Smith. Brown completed 158-of-285 passes for 2,121 yards with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Those are good stats in some conferences but not the quarterback-reliant ACC.
Walker is the Eagles biggest special teams’ loss. He led the nation with 1,294 combined punt and kick return yards.