Boston College
Eagles

Boston College Team Report

Updated: February 03, 2012 03:14 EST

The aftermath of the first losing season in the last 13 was still being felt around the program, which underwent more change during the winter and was officially hit with the loss of All-American linebacker Luke Kuechly.

In a surprise to no one, Kuechly opted to leave a year early for the NFL draft, where he is projected anywhere from 10 to 20 in the first round. His loss will be felt, but BC should be just fine at linebacker, where the Eagles are deep.

After the final play of the season, director of athletics Gene DeFilippo, who is also dealing with a rebuilding basketball team, gave coach Frank Spaziani a vote of confidence. The AD said he never considered a change.

But Spaziani will have his third offensive coordinator in the past several months as former Kent State coach Doug Martin takes over the offense.

There was good news on the roster front, though, as star running back Montel Harris, defensive line staple Kaleb Ramsey and valuable wide receiver Ifeanyi Momah were all granted medical hardships to play another year. This was major news for the 2012 football team.

On signing day, BC unveiled a class of 16 that was not highly rated. Nothing new to the Eagles, who have always taken under-recruited players and gotten so much out of them. BC deals with a different type of athlete and the school's academic standards keep them out of the mix on many big names, but the Eagles did go to 12 straight bowl games with players other schools didn't want.

Rivals.com had BC ranked 11th in the 12-team ACC, while Scout.com had the Eagles last, and 72nd in the country.

As always, we won't know what BC or anyone else has until they get the players on the field.

"An important day, a significant day,'' said Spaziani. "We'll find out in four or five years just how good it was.''

TOP OF THE CLASS

LB Steve Daniels (Worcester Academy, from Cincinnati) -- Luke Kuechly has left BC but Daniels is a kid who can help take his place. The Eagles wanted him last year, out of Kuechly's high school (St. Xavier has been a BC pipeline). Rivals.com had him as a four-star recruit, and a slew of big-name programs wanted him. Daniels was reportedly still dealing with academic issues.

OL Win Homer (Christchurch School, Christchurch, Va.) -- The Eagles, long with a tradition as "O-Line U.," are trying to hit a homer with this 6-5, 245-pounder who also was recruited by North Carolina State, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

TE Mike Giacone (Saint Peter's Prep, Jersey City, N.J.) -- Maryland, Connecticut and Rutgers were also reportedly in the picture for the 6-5, 245-pound target/blocker. He caught 16 passes, two for touchdowns, in 2011.

"We are very, very happy he joined up, and that was a big addition at the end," coach Frank Spaziani said. "It's a position we are very excited about."

--The saga of the BC offensive coordinator was apparently finally settled when former Kent State coach Doug Martin was hired to replace Kevin Rogers, the latter leaving early last season in what was reported as a health issue but now reportedly stemmed from a serious argument with coach Frank Spaziani.

"Doug Martin is an excellent addition to our staff," Spaziani said in a statement. "He brings a wealth of experience, not only as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach but as a head coach as well. Doug's record of success, particularly in mentoring young quarterbacks, is impressive."

There are some who felt Martin could be a head coach-in-waiting if things don't turn around. But for now, he'll run an offense that has to be helped by the return of star running back Montel Harris and wide receiver Ifeanyi Momah.

Martin is regarded as an ace quarterbacks mentor, which has to be a help to junior-to-be Chase Rettig.

--Jim Bollman was hired as offensive line coach/running game coordinator, while former BC strength man Mike Poidomani was brought back into the BC fold.

--There were six former Eagles on the rosters of the two Super Bowl teams, four of them on the Giants.

--Remember AstroTurf, the original artificial surface? Well, the newest design of the artificial field is being installed at Alumni Stadium.

--BC's 2012 game with Army has been switched to West Point, with the Black Knights coming to Chestnut Hill in 2013.

SPRING SNAPSHOT:

Practice begins/ends: Feb. 18/March 31

Practice priorities: Somehow, some way, the Eagles have to find some kind of consistent offensive attack. Doug Martin is the new coordinator and is regarded as a quarterback guru, which has to help Chase Rettig as he continues to try to develop. Having running back Montel Harris and wide receiver Ifeanyi Momah back via medical hardship should be a major boost to the offense, and the spring will be a time to get this thing together.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "This recruiting class, the 16 players we have, were evaluated under the same microscope and guidelines that we evaluated those six. I'm not saying this 16 are going to wind up on Super Bowl rosters. The point is we evaluate them the same way and we plan to develop them the same way to find out how good they are." -- coach Frank Spaziani, on the six former BC players on the two Super Bowl rosters.

KEY LOSSES: You start with an All-American linebacker and you can see what the Eagles lose heading into 2012. One of the best players in the school's history, Luke Kuechly passed up his final year of eligibility to enter the first round of the NFL draft. Steele Divitto and Kevin Pierre-Louis take over the leadership of the linebackers, and four members of the 16-player recruiting class play the position. The Eagles also lose offensive linemen Mark Spinney and Nate Richman, but didn't have a great year on the offensive line in 2011 anyway, as Richman dealt with a bad back. Cornerback Donnie Fletcher will be replaced by Al Louis-Jean.

PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2012:

RB Montel Harris -- He was granted an extra year because of medical hardship and there have to be questions about his injured knee. If he returns to form, he's one of the best runners in the country.

QB Chase Rettig -- He finished off his sophomore season with a 13-for-17, two-touchdown game at Miami and ended the season with a 53.6 completion rate, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. There's work to be done, but there's talent here, as well. "The thing I am going to work hardest in the offseason is accountability," he said. "Becoming more of a leader. I want to have a good offseason."

LB Steele Divitto -- He clearly emerged as a sophomore and is now being counted on to fill the leadership role with Luke Kuechly gone. "I'm excited," Divitto told the Boston Globe. "There are no excuses. Either we do it or we don't. Last year was definitely hard. One of the better things about what we learned was that everyone is going into this season ticked off about what happened last year."

DT Kaleb Ramsey -- His absence from the defensive line for virtually the entire season proved to be a major problem, and he's also back via medical hardship.

LB Kevin Pierre-Louis -- This kid, also a junior to be, showed how special he can be.

PLAYER NOTES

--The Eagles were loaded with players rehabbing injuries, with three of them, RB Montel Harris, WR Ifeanyi Momah and DT Kaleb Ramsey all getting word from the NCAA that they will get an extra year because of injury.

--Junior-to-be CB C.J. Jones, like Momah, was lost to a knee injury in the first game of the season, and he was also granted an extra year, as was defensive lineman Connor Wujciak (a freshman last season).

--LB Steele Divitto, still angry over the end of the bowl streak, has had a busy winter. He told the Boston Globe he flew to New Orleans and helped build houses, came back home to Connecticut for a day, then flew to Arizona for a two-week training session at Athletes Performance in Phoenix. "I wanted to get a different outlook on training," he told the paper, talking about the workouts, which included a new nutritional plan. "Part of it was that I was frustrated that we didn't make a bowl game," he said. "I wanted to spend my time wisely."

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