Boston College 2012 Recruiting

2011 Boston College Eagles ... Head Coach: Frank Spaziani

Boston College Eagles

2011 Record: 4-8

Sept. 3 Northwestern L 24-17
Sept. 10 at UCF L 30-3
Sept. 17 Duke L 20-19
Sept. 24 Massachusetts W 45-17
Oct. 1 Wake Forest L 27-19
Oct. 8 at Clemson L 36-14
Oct. 15 OPEN DATE
Oct. 22 at Virginia Tech L 30-14
Oct. 29 at Maryland W 28-17
Nov. 3 Florida State L 38-7
Nov. 12 NC State W 12-10
Nov. 19 at Notre Dame L 16-14
Nov. 26 at Miami W 24-17

2010 CFN Prediction: 8-4
2010 Record: 7-6

Sept. 4 Weber State W 38-20
Sept. 11 Kent State W 26-13
Sept. 18 OPEN DATE
Sept. 25 Virginia Tech L 19-0
Oct. 2 Notre Dame L 31-13
Oct. 9 at NC State L 44-17
Oct. 16 at Florida St L 24-19
Oct. 23 Maryland L 24-21
Oct. 30 Clemson W 16-10
Nov. 6 at Wake Forest W 23-13
Nov. 13 at Duke W 21-16
Nov. 20 Virginia W 17-13
Nov. 27 at Syracuse W 16-7
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
Jan. 9 Nevada L 20-13

 The Entire 2012 Recruiting Class

Top 5 Boston College Recruits To Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. TE Michael Giacone
6-5, 230, Scout.com 28th ranked, three-star tight end. Giacone is a surprisingly smooth athlete for his size and has excellent body control. He can get his footing after the catch and quickly cut up field to pick up extra yards. Giacone also has absolutely excellent hands, catching everything away from his body and then tucking it into his pads to protect it. He has continued to add the size and strength he'll need at the collegiate level. While he's not a burner, his speed is adequate.

2. LB Mike Strizak
6-3, 225, Scout.com 38th ranked, three-star middle linebacker.

3. TE Dan Crimmins
6-5, 225, Scout.com 46th ranked, three-star tight end.

4. LB Bobby Wolford
6-3, 225, Scout.com 61st ranked three-star middle linebacker. Wolford finished the season with 122 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, two interceptions including one for a touchdowns, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He also had 11 receptions and five touchdowns from his tight end position.

5. OG Frank Taylor
6-3, 285, Scout.com 57th ranked, three-star guard. Taylor is a tenacious blocker who finishes his blocks and goes until he hears the whistle. He is solid in pass pro and run blocking. He keeps a nice low pad level and gets under the defender and uses leverage well. Shows good footwork getting to the second level.

The 2012 Class Was Heavy On... Linebackers. Is BC the new Linebacker U.? With Mark Herzlich and Luke Kuechly, the tradition of spectacular linebacker play continues, and now the program needs to load up on more options for the middle. The position is fine for now, but the class will be looking three years ahead. Upgrading the receiver talent would be a bonus.

Team Concerns For 2012: The offense has to find more pop. 2010 might have been a dud, but this was a young team in several areas and now comes back loaded with talent. Replacing Kuechly is next to impossible, and backup in the middle Will Thompson is also gone. The last few classes have solidified an O line that should be deep and strong for the next few seasons. All the key skill players were sophomores, and now the have to start doing far more.

Looking Ahead To The 2012 Season: The Eagles came on late winning three of the final five games after a disastrous start, but the only hope of improving and getting back into the ACC title chase is to get more out of an offense that finished 112th in the nation in total yards and scoring. Center Mark Spinney is gone, but ten other offensive starters return. QB Chase Rettig is back, and he gets all his top receivers including Bobby Swigert and Alex Amidon. Rolandan Finch took over the running duties, but Andre Williams is strong enough to carry some of the load. The defense loses end Max Holloway and Butkus winner Luke Kuechly a year early to the NFL, but eight starters return from a group that was a rock against the run. Kevin Pierre-Louis needs to be the new top tackler, and someone has to start getting into the backfield.

The 2011 Class Was Heavy On … Offensive linemen. BC has a thing for loading up on lots and lots and lots of linemen. Considering how good the front five has been over the years, the plan works, but a huge class of offensive linemen last year didn’t seem to deter anyone in this year’s class with six true tackle prospect including Paul Gaughan, a strong athlete with the potential to be the next great Eagle blocker. Looking to be the next in line in the recent tradition of tremendous linebackers are Sean Duggan, Steven Daniels, and Nick Lifka, but the star defensive prospect is safety Albert Louis-Jean, who has All-ACC written all over him.

2010 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 45. That Class Was Heavy On ... Offensive linemen. The Eagles needed quarterbacks after several issues last year, and they got two strong ones in Chase Retting out of California and Josh Bordner from Maryland. Andre Williams should eventually be a key running back, and Shakim Phillips is a No. 1 wide receiver who'll be used in a big role next year. But the strength is on the offensive line with Seth Betancourt one of the ACC's top tackle recruits and Andy Gallik and Harris Williams two good-looking guards. Defensively, Steele Divitto should be the team's next great linebacker.

2009 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 74. That Class Was Heavy On ... big bodies. As is often the case at Boston College, the school added a considerable amount of girth to the offensive and defensive lines. The Eagles’ success has long been built in the trenches, so it makes sense to continue to stockpile big bodies from the Northeast. The new staff is going to love DT Dillon Quinn, an uncommon blend of size, strength, and quickness. At a school being ravaged by graduation at the position, his arrival could not come at a more opportune time.

Nov. 25 Boston College 24 … at Miami 17
CFN Analysis: Most teams would’ve quit after starting out the year 1-6 with the lone win coming against UMass. Instead, BC fought its way to a strong 3-2 finish including a great fight in the 16-14 loss to Notre Dame. Against Miami, the team came up with its best win of the year considering the circumstances and how much the Canes wanted the W. … Chase Rettig finished completed 13-of-17 passes for 196 yards and two score. … The Butkus Award should be retired if Luke Kuechly doesn’t win it. He just missed on the 200 tackle mark, finishing with 191, but once again he showed how much of a difference maker he is with nine tackles and a 45-yard pick six. … Punter Ryan Quigley was a godsend for the defense putting five of his six kicks inside the 20. 

(AP) MIAMI -- Luke Kuechly ran an interception back for a touchdown and became Boston College's all-time tackles leader, and the Eagles picked Jacory Harris off four times in his final college game en route to beating Miami 24-17 on Friday.

For Miami, the biggest news wasn't the outcome in the season finale for both teams. It announced during the fourth quarter that coach Al Golden has agreed to a four-year extension through Feb. 1, 2020.

Chase Rettig threw two touchdown passes to Chris Pantale for Boston College (4-8, 3-5 Atlantic Coast Conference). Kuechly also topped his single-season ACC record for tackles, passing the mark of 183 he set last year.

Lamar Miller had a 79-yard touchdown run for Miami (6-6, 3-5), the longest carry by a Hurricane since 2000.

Kuechly is widely considered to be a first-round lock if he decides to leave school early for the NFL draft, and he added to his impressive resume Friday.

He became Boston College's all-time tackle leader in the first half with the 525th stop of his career. Kuechly's 45-yard interception return with 14:48 remaining -- he read Harris perfectly, jumping in front of the pass and sprinting down the right sideline to the end zone -- essentially wrapped up the win for the Eagles.

Harris had thrown five interceptions all season entering the day. He matched a career-worst with the four on Friday, hardly the way the Miami Northwestern product wanted to see his career end.

Miami's day was tinged with emotion, with a few players tearing up on the pregame "Hurricane Walk" through the crowd. JoJo Nicholas, whose son died shortly after being prematurely born earlier this season, walked particularly slowly to soak the scene in, while receiver Tommy Streeter shook hands with two well-wishers and tousled one boy's hair.

Linebacker Sean Spence and Harris were the last two seniors to be introduced in a pregame ceremony, and once the game started the tributes continued. Harris found classmate Travis Benjamin for a 60-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage, and that drive ended with a 7-yard touchdown pass to LaRon Byrd, another senior who got into the end zone for the first time this season.

Pantale caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Rettig on the ensuing Boston College drive, tying the score. Less than a minute later, Miller waited for a hole to open on the right side of the line, bounced through and sprinted free on a 79-yard touchdown run -- Miami's longest play of the year and the longest carry by a Hurricane since Clinton Portis' 82-yard scamper against McNeese State on Aug. 31, 2000.

Eventually, the defenses settled down.

Kuechly was credited with his second tackle early in the second quarter, his 184th stop of the season -- one more than the ACC single-season record he established in 2010, and one more than what had been the Boston College all-time record of 524 by Stephen Boyd from 1991-94.

Pantale put the Eagles on top for good with a 32-yard touchdown catch with 12:08 left in the third quarter. Jake Wieclaw's field goal with 14 seconds left got the Hurricanes within seven, but Boston College took possession after the ensuing onside-kick attempt went out of bounds.

Nov. 19 at Notre Dame 16 … Boston College 14
CFN Analysis: The season might be dead, but the team keeps fighting. There’s no running game, a worse passing attack, and there’s little from the pass rush, but still, the Eagles almost came up with the win over the Irish. … Finally, Luke Kuechly is starting to receive the national attention he deserves, making 14 tackles with a tackle for loss and a broken up pass. … Chase Rettig tried to get the passing attack moving, but his receivers struggled to get open. He completed just 18-of-38 passes for 170 yards and a score. … Miami’s offense might not be doing much, but next week’s game against the Canes is going to be a problem. They’re choosing to not go bowling, so BC is it. The Eagles have to prepare for a focused, intense team, and the offense will have to take several chances to have any shot at pulling out a win to close. 

Nov. 12 at Boston College 14 … NC State 10
CFN Analysis: The Eagles are still fighting. The offense might not be doing much of anything, but the defense was dominant after the first drive and kept the game alive. With nothing to play for, they came up with their second win in three games. Never underestimate the power of Senior Day. … Chase Rettig was never going to bomb away, but he completed 9-of-13 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown with a pick to give the offense something. The running game didn’t work with the NC State pressure too much to deal with. … This might be a disastrous season, but if the defense can continue to get third down stops and get off the field in a hurry, the road trips to Notre Dame and Miami might be a total wash. It’ll take more than 190 yards, though, to come up with another win. 

Nov. 3 Florida State 38 … at Boston College 7
CFN Analysis: Luke Kuechly made 20 tackles, but that was about all that went right for the Eagles. The pass rush is non-existent, and the secondary didn’t get any breaks as FSU’s E.J. Manuel was able to throw at will. There wasn’t any BC downfield passing game to make the Seminoles worry, with Chase Rettig throwing for just 76 yards and not getting much time to operate. The Eagles had to get off to a hot start, didn’t and then turned the ball over four times in the blowout. With NC State – who’s 12th in the nation in turnover margin - up next, the Eagles have to start holding on to the ball and have to force mistakes to have any shot. 

Oct. 29 Boston College 28 … at Maryland 17
CFN Analysis: In the lousy, sloppy conditions, Boston College finally got the running game going like it’s supposed to. The Eagles came into the game ranked 102nd in the nation on the ground, but they controlled the game from the start with Rolandan Finch cranking out 243 of the teams’ 372 rushing yards. This wasn’t a game for the passing attack, and Chase Rettig didn’t have to do too much, throwing for just 32 yards, with everything working on the ground. BC controlled the clock on offense, while the defense came up with four turnovers and stopped the Terps time and again for the first win all year against an FBS team. There’s something positive to build on going into home games against Florida State and NC State, and while it’ll be tough to come up with any more wins, at least there are some good young sophomore runners to get excited about.

Oct. 22 at Virginia Tech 30 … Boston College 14
CFN Analysis: The Eagles played a tough game and did what they could defensively in the first half, but the offensive pop wasn’t there after taking an early lead. Up 7-6 at halftime, the run defense couldn’t handle David Wilson and the Hokie ground attack and the offense couldn’t answer. Last in the ACC in yards, scoring, and passing efficiency, there’s no pop to the attack whatsoever. Rolandan Finch ran well, taking off for 92 yards, but he didn’t get any help from Chase Retting and a passing game that completed 13-of-30 passes. 

Oct. 8 at Clemson 36 … Boston College 14
CFN Analysis: Boston College didn’t have Montel Harris, who hurt his knee again last week. While he wouldn’t have been the difference against Clemson, the offense could’ve used someone to add some punch to the offense. Chase Rettig tried to throw, but he couldn’t loosen up the Tiger defense and Rolandan Finch, while fine, only broke free for a 20-yard touchdown run but couldn’t keep the chains moving. The defense didn’t pick up the slack in any way allowing 500 yards, but Clemson is ripping up everyone. With a road trip to Virginia Tech up next, forget about turning the season around mostly because the lines aren’t working. BC still has to find a pass rush of some sort. 

Oct. 1 Wake Forest 27 … at Boston College 19
CFN Analysis: Montel Harris is back and carrying the offense with a workmanlike 108-yard day, but the passing game couldn’t find any pop. Chase Rettig threw 47 times for a mere 188 yards, and while he did a decent job of getting the team back in the game late, the offense didn’t do enough early on and the two turnovers turned out to be a problem. Luke Kuechly continues to be fantastic with 14 tackles and two tackles for loss, but the rest of the defense didn’t get enough help from the offense over the first three quarters. With road trips ahead against Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Maryland, up next, and with Florida State and road trips at Notre Dame still to deal with, just getting to three wins could be a problem.

Sept. 24 at Boston College 45 … Massachusetts 17
CFN Analysis: At least for this week, the Eagle found a running game – at least a little bit. The 193 yards were solid, but the ground attack only averaged 3.9 yards per carry. UMass isn’t a bad FCS team and it moved the ball a little bit after getting down early, but BC never let it get interesting with four takeaways and great ball control. The defense didn’t give up a touchdown until the fourth quarter when the game was well out of reach, and the offense looked like it needed this easy tune-up. After losing to Duke, this should help before getting a hot Wake Forest. 

Sept. 17 Duke 20 … at Boston College 19
CFN Analysis: BC desperately missed Montel Harris. The running game can’t get going, and for a program that lives off of great offensive line play and controlling the ball, not being able to run is a killer. Even though Duke dominated the game and even though the BC secondary got blown away, there were still several chances to win the game. Nate Freese connected on field goals for 43 and 47 yards away, but he missed the game-winning chip shot off of one post, after missing an extra point late in the second by hitting the other post. Yes, the Eagles are 0-3, but they aren’t that far off from being 3-0. They just need some offensive punch. 

Sept. 10 at UCF 30 … Boston College 3
CFN Analysis: Montel Harris is missed. The Eagles don’t have a running game without him, and unlike the battle against Northwestern, they didn’t get a passing day out of Chase Retting. The O line has been unBC-like allowing six sacks so far, while the offense can’t put points on the board. Chase Retting only completed 10-of-23 passes for 70 yards with two picks, while Andre Williams led the way on the ground with 59 yards. Luke Kuechly was Luke Kuechly with 17 tackles and a tackle for loss. Fortunately, the season should take a positive turn with Duke and UMass up next, but to make any noise in the ACC, the offense has to find something that works on a consistent basis.

Sept. 3 Northwestern 24 … at Boston College 17
CFN Analysis: The Eagles got the offense, and they got the production needed from Chase Rettig and the passing game along with Andre Williams, who filled in for an injured Montel Harris, and the ground attack, but the points were too hard to come by. The offensive line didn’t have its best game and the sustained drives weren’t there on a consistent basis, but the Eagles didn’t take advantage of all their chances. This isn’t going to be an explosive offense, and it can’t come up with empty drives; Nate Freese has to hit all his field goal attempts. With UCF up next, BC has to turn the passing game into points, and that should happen if Ifeanyi Momah can come up with more games like this one – catching eight passes for 157 yards. 

The 2011 Recruiting Class Is Heavy On … Offensive linemen. BC has a thing for loading up on lots and lots and lots of linemen. Considering how good the front five has been over the years, the plan works, but a huge class of offensive linemen last year didn’t seem to deter anyone in this year’s class with six true tackle prospect including Paul Gaughan, a strong athlete with the potential to be the next great Eagle blocker. Looking to be the next in line in the recent tradition of tremendous linebackers are Sean Duggan, Steven Daniels, and Nick Lifka, but the star defensive prospect is safety Albert Louis-Jean, who has All-ACC written all over him.