Boston College Eagles 2009 Team Preview
June 17th, 2009 by Jeremy Shory
2008 overall record: 9-5
2008 conference record: 5-3, Atlantic Division co-champions
Returning starters Offense: 7, Defense: 7, Punter/Kicker: 2
Top returns: LE Alex Albright, LB Mike McLaughlin, FS Wes Davis, WR Rich Gunnell, LT Anthony Castonzo, C Matt Tennant, TB Montel Harris
Key losses: Coach Jeff Jagodzinski, LB Brian Toal, SS Paul Anderson, WR Brandon Robinson, DT B.J. Raji, DT Ron Brace, LB Mark Herzlich
Fall Fantasy Question
Quarterback. Last year, the question was how the Eagles would look without Matt Ryan. This year, it’s how they’ll look, period. Dominique Davis just requested his transfer after being suspended. That leaves inexperienced Justin Tuggle and Codi Boek who will join the team in the fall.
Team Breakdown
Quarterback – Even Boston College head coach Frank Spaziani says, “Quarterback is the biggest question mark on our team right now.” After being suspended by the team, sophomore Dominique Davis decided to transfer and redshirt freshman Justin Tuggle may be the starter this season. The Eagles just signed 25 year old David Shinskie, as a quarterback to add some depth and possibly compete for playing time. Spaziani has a real challenge at this position.
2008 Stats: None to supply for any player.
ACC Rank – 12
Running Back – The Eagles have one of the youngest backfields, but don’t get that confused with lack of experience or talent. True freshman Josh Haden and Montel Harris combined for 1,379 yards last year and six touchdowns. Harris had the better year in terms of yards with 900, but Haden held his own as he ran for over 450 yards. Senior Jeff Smith provides running back experience and had 192 yards rushing last year on 37 carries.
2008 Stats:
Harris – 179 rushes for 900 yards, 5 TDs, 20 receptions for 160 yards, 1 TD.
Haden – 120 rushes for 479 yards, 1 TD, 13 receptions for 100 yards.
ACC Rank – 8
Wide Receiver – The Eagles have some talent returning at the receiving position. The real question is more of who is going to throw the ball to them. Senior Rich Gunnell returns after catching 49 passes last year for 551 yards and four scores. He is joined by 6-5 senior Justin Jarvis and 6-6 junior Ifeanyi Momah. The Eagles hope Clarence Megwa recovers fully from last year’s leg fracture which will add some depth to the wide receivers crew.
2008 Stats:
Gunnell – 49 for 551 yards, 4 TDs.
Jarvis – 25 for 274 yards, 3 TDs.
Momah – 11 for 149 yards, 3 TDs.
ACC Rank – 3
Tight End – Lars Anderson is the likely starting TE, but only caught nine passes last year.
2008 Stats:
Anderson – 9 for 84, 1 TD.
ACC Rank – 7
Defense - Defensive Coordinator Frank Spaziani takes over as head coach which means a new coordinator is going to come in with a new system to learn. The biggest loss for this team was clearly in the front seven as defensive tackles B.J. Raji and Ron Brace were drafter into the NFL, as well as a major loss in linebackers Brian Toal and Mark Herzlich who was just diagnosed with cancer. Look for Spaziani to be pretty active with the defense still, but the loss that Boston College took in terms of players is going to be too much to overcome.
ACC Rank – 8
Kicker/Special Teams - Boston College has one of the better kickers in the conference returning in Steve Aponavicius. In his junior campaign, he had 100% accuracy on extra points and 67% accuracy on field goals with most of the missed field goals coming beyond 35 yards out. Rich Gunnell held on pretty well in kick and punt return duty and should look to maintain that position this year.
2008 Stats:
Aponavicius – 41 for 41 extra points, 14 for 21 field goals, longest field goal was 36 yards.
Gunnell – 1 Punt return for TD.
ACC Rank – 3
2009 Schedule
Sept. 5 Northeastern
Sept. 12 Kent State
Sept. 19 at Clemson
Sept. 26 Wake Forest
Oct. 3 Florida State
Oct. 10 at Virginia Tech
Oct. 17 NC State
Oct. 24 at Notre Dame
Oct. 31 Central Michigan
Nov. 14 at Virginia
Nov. 21 North Carolina
Nov. 28 at Maryland
Related posts:
