By Paxton Delany

The Boston College Eagles ended their 2011 season on a high note by edging out Miami 24 -17. But mostly that was it in terms of highlights, leaving Boston College with an overall record of 4-8 and a 3-5 record in the ACC. This was not the season coach Frank Spaziani had hoped for.

The Eagles’ 2011 season started slowly as they lost their first three games to Duke, Central Florida and Northwestern. The Eagles found themselves with a victory against Massachusetts, 45-17. They claimed victories over Maryland (28-17) and NC State (14-10) as well as that glorious finish over Miami to get to four wins.

Even though the Eagles seemed to have found their strength and stride at the end of the season, Coach Spaziani was thinking ahead. He took the offseason to re-evaluate not only his team but his coaching staff as well. As many coaches stepped down, Coach Spaziani was ready with a handful of coaches to throw back into his coaching staff.Jim Bollman was named Offensive Line Coach/Running Game Coordinator. Doug Martin took over as Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach and Mike Poidomani as Strength and Conditioning Coach . Other additions include Sean Dasai, Aaron Smith and Al Washington (former BC linebacker).

Not only did new coaches materialize, but new Eagles did as well. Recruits that committed to Boston College include Andrew Isaacs, a tight end from Manchester, Connecticut, Jack Cottrell, an outside linebacker from Minnesota, and Mackay Lowrie, a quarterback from Massachusetts. Boston College lost a recruiting battle for 2013 with Micah Kiser, a native of Baltimore, <>who has committed to UVa.

Not only are there new recruits but BC returns 19 starting players for the 2012 season, one of the strongest numbers in the ACC at present. Among those returning players are team leaders: junior quarterback Chase Rettig, sophomore quarterback Josh Bordner, junior running backs Rolandan Finch and Andre Williams, senior wide receiver Colin Larmond and junior wide receiver Bobby Swigert.

Not returning to the sidelines this year is two-time all-American linebacker Luke Kuechly, who was drafted to the Carolina Panthers earlier this year. Also not returning to Boston College is all-time rushing leader Montel Harris. Harris missed most of the 2011 season due to a knee injury, yet earlier this year he was asked to leave the team after repeatedly violating team rules. Making up for the loss of these two key players might be tough for the Eagles to overcome.

March 17 marked the first of three spring scrimmages for the Eagles. During the first scrimmage both quarterbacks, Rettig and Bordner, connected with wide receiver Spiffy Evans for his 2 touchdowns. Tahj Kimble also had his own touchdown. The second scrimmage later in March also showed Rettig connecting with more of his receivers as well as Evans once again. Finch scored 2 touchdowns; Williams and Kimble contributed with 1 TD a piece. Also shinning on the field was senior wide receiver Joe Lacorte Jr. with six catches in the game. The Jay McGillis Memorial Spring Scrimmage was the third and final scrimmage for the Eagles. Bordner excelled in that outing with 159 yards and 2 touchdowns while Rettig posted 120 yards and 1 TD. The defense was led by senior linebacker Nick Clancy with 10 tackles and junior linebacker Sean Duggan with 8 tackles. Junior kicker Nate Freese made both of his field goal attempts (27 and 37 yards). “It’s a good start …” Coach Spaziani repeated three times after the first scrimmage – he was commenting on the scrimmage, the new coaches, and the young players.

The Eagles’ schedule also has shifted with different teams at the table. Those teams include Maine, Georgia Tech and Army. BC will not play UCF, Duke, or Massachusetts this time around. The 2012 schedule brings six homes games to vs. seven home games last year. This year the Eagles open their season on Sept. 1 by playing Miami. That game is followed by Maine and Northwestern. Clemson (Sep. 29), Florida State (Oct. 13), Georgia Tech (Oct. 20), Maryland (Oct. 27) and Wake Forest (Nov. 3) are also on the docket as are Notre Dame (Nov. 10), Virginia Tech (Nov. 17), and NC State (Nov. 24).

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 7th, 2012 at 1:49 pm and is filed under The Good Ol Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.