Final Scrimmage

Hello, hello all.

Last scrimmage in the books, 9 days 'til kickoff, hooray!

First update which I tweeted first on the WZBC Sports twitter is that Herzy may start working on Saturday which would put him in for some snaps against the fearsome Wildcats from Utah (Weber State)

It monsooned today, but the weather calmed down to a drizzle for the last scrimmage of the summer.

Let's recap:

Shinskie and Marscovetra are close, I think it's Shinskies job...for now. Spaz says it's like last year with the competition, but both guys are better. Shinskie had a low completion percentage today and the rain and drops didn't help that, but Marscovetra still is quite efficient. Both guys are visibly looking defenders off and finding their check down routes which I love.

Sterlin Phifer broke off a nice 19 yard TD run today and showed that he can be more than a power back. Tajh Kimble seems to have taken the lead on the third RB spot despite the fact that Williams had a great first scrimmage.

13 guys caught passes today with Bobby Swiggert tying with Tajh Kimble with four receptions. He'll be a valuable second string slot guy and have an immediate impact as a freshman. Spaz says he likes what the kid's doing but he's still got a ways to go.

For those emailing me about Momah's lack of hands I say to you, he's fixed that problem. He only caught three passes today, but when he did, he used his size to shield the defender and hung onto the ball. Clyde Lee had the longest reception of the day with a 26 yard grab.

The defensive line looked a little different today with Albright, Ramsey, Scafe, and Newman out (those are the projected starters when healthy). Holloway and Edebali played end today and if they ever have to play with the first team, I like them as backups. Murray, Quinn, and O'Neal got reps with the first team at DT and all three have a little something different. Murray is good with his hands, Quinn just pushes hard into the backfield, and O'Neal seems to have a sweet little spin move.

Linebackers lit up the field today. Kuechly and Clancy tied with 10 tackles and Thompson completed the trio at the other LB spot. Kuechly's hitting harder than last year, which excites me. Morrissey anchored the second string guys with Kevin Pierre-Louis and Steele Divitto playing extremely well. Watch out for those guys in the future.

Seconday played well, were quick to the ball, and hit hard. Isaac Johnson had a very good breakup on a pass to Momah.

Though Shinskie led some drives down field, the red-zone defense turned up the pressure and did not allow a touchdown inside the 20 in the second half. In the first half, the first team offense played the second team defense and vice versa, which is when Phifer and Harris got their TD runs.

Frozen Leg missed a 48 yarder that banged off the cross bar and converted on a 47 yarder. Spaz smiles when he talks about Nate Freese.

Well the scrimmages are officially over which means I'll give you my young guys to watch this coming season:

Watch out for:#85 Nate Freese, #86 Bobby Swiggert, #80 Johnathan Coleman, #92 Dillon Quinn, #91 Kasim Edebali, and...#40 Luke Kuechly because he's going to be miles better (scary I know).

Thanks so much for following WZBC Sports both here and on twitter.com/wzbcsports.

We'll be bringing you EVERY game live on 90.3 WZBC Newton FM as well as streaming anywhere on planet Earth at www.wzbc.org.

I'm Adam Rose, it's been a blast, and I'll blog you soon.

Scrimmage Three

With Albright, Holloway, Herzlich, Scafe, Amidon, Flutie, Phillips, Quigley, Ian White, and most importantly, Colin Larmond Jr. out with injuries, the scrimmage today was cut in the half (the weather played a part in this as well).

Dave Shinskie's first pass was tipped by Kasim Edebali, who has looked good during the scrimmages, and picked off by Dom LeGrande. Shinskie bounced back pretty well and ended the day completing 9-14 attempts for 116 yards. He threaded the needle a few times but completed those passes. Marscovetra was a perfect 12-12 on the day or 90 yards and a TD to Bobby Swiggert. The lack of hitting the QB helped Marscovetra in a few situations, but he had crisp passes and also threaded the needle once or twice.

Bobby Swiggert stepped up today in the absence of Larmond and Flutie and showed he could play at this level. he tied for the lead with five receptions for 29 yards. Clyde Lee also had five receptions for 43 yards. Momah only caught two balls, but shows he's ready to step up this year as well, he stiff armed Donnie Fletcher and got a nice 22 yard gain down the sideline.

The running backs are playing a bigger part in the passing game, Montel didn't play much today but I wouldn't be too worried. Marscovetra and Shinskie both agreed that they are more comfortable with the offense and using their checkdown routes more.

Kuechly lead defense in tackles, no surprise there. Dillon Quinn continues to impress at DT, he gets great push off the ball and I think fans should watch out for him.

I keep saying it, but Freese can kick. He connected from 39 yards and get this, a 51 yarder that bounced in off the cross bar. I asked Santa for a FG kicker last year for Christmas and it looks like we found one. He missed on a 47 yarder that had plenty of distance but clanged off the upright, Spaz said it got tipped at the line.

Speaking of the Mustached leader of the Eagles, he said that the team as behind where they needed to be and addressed the fact that depth is an issue at many many positions, hence the shortened scrimmage. Let's all hope Colin's injury isn't as serious as some believe and that those who sat out today can get back in.

The last scrimmage of the fall is on Wednesday at 3:30, so look for a new blog then.

Women's Soccer Vs. Stanford

The crowd tonight at the Newton Soccer was filled to capacity as they watched a rematch of the 2009 quarterfinal matchup. Alison Foley said her team was excited to play the Cardinal on their own turf because they felt like it would give them a little something extra. "This is our house," Natalie Crutchfield said. The game ended after two overtime periods with a score of 1-1.

Stanford was very aggressive as their attack was lead by Christen Press who Foley called, "one of the best forwards in the country." Countering Press was Eagles goalkeeper Jill Mastroianni who played fantastically tonight. Stanford's shots had Jill diving to each side, jumping and punching them and everything in between. The one goal she gave up to Lindsay Taylor was a magnificent strike by Taylor as she curled it right towards the right post and it went in.

Kristen Mewis, who played will in the UConn scrimmage, was noticeably absent from today's game, though she did provide an assist on the one BC goal, scored by Natalie Crutchfield. Foley said she anticipated Stanford playing lockdown on Mewis who she calls, "one of the best players in the country if not the world".

Stanford controlled the ball for most of the game and BC didn't register a shot in OT, but Alaina Beyar and the defense played well and didn't allow an easy shot.

This solid performance should give the girls good momentum going into the season, here's my recap written for The Heights.

Second Scrimmage

Alrighty folks, second scrimmage in the books. Let's recap!

Mark Herzlich was back in PA getting a Ewing's Sarcoma checkup and his team continued without him. Some wonder if 94's return on 9/4 will really happen. I really still believe that he will be back this season but if he doesn't see any action in the next two scrimmages, the time table is a little in question. The Globe will make a big deal out of it, but I'm not going to because there's on field stuff we can talk about.

There were lots of people out including Colin Larmond Jr., Mike Goodman, Wes Davis, Nate Richman, and Ryan Quigley.

So some stats are here from athletics and you can interpret what you'd like.

Here are my observations:

Momah and the tight ends are going to be very valuable options for the QB's this year. All show great pass catching abilities and they all worked hard after the first hit to gain a few more yards.

Rettig looked for Momah on an end zone fade, which I think we'll see a lot of but it was broken up by the defense.

Montel's going to be better and that's not a surprise. He got more carries tonight and showed fantastic vision and good cutting ability. He's also going to become a bigger factor in the passing game. I didn't have a lot of faith in his hands last year but he held onto each ball that was thrown his way.

Kaleb Ramsey looked good in his first action back to the team. If he can stay healthy and Scafe can get back, the line will be strong. Plus, the second team d-line looks very good as well.

McGovern will be bringing more pressure. Gause frequently came on the blitz and Kuechly and Morrissey got into the backfield numerous times.

Freese can kick...the end.

Scrimmage

First full scrimmage of the fall was yesterday at 6. I was lucky enough to be able to cover it as a member of the media, since it was closed to the public.

There's plenty to read about it including stuff in the Herald and Globe.

Beyond the stats, I think the players who made a big splash were Quinn, Williams, and Freese.

After being redshirted last year, the 6' 6" Quinn got into the backfield constantly (though it was against the second o-line). Spaz said he liked what he saw from Quinn.

Williams could be moving up the depth chart as a true freshman as he showed speed, power up the middle, and agility to get outside.

Freese will add a scoring threat from beyond 30 yards away so that should excite all BC fans.

The 46 yard kick had plenty of height and missed just left.

Next scrimmage is Wednesday, see you all then.

Oh, and for those who are members over at Eagle Action, you can read my full notebook about the game here.

Media Day-Thoughts on Offense

So today the Eagles took part in media day. 16 players came out and talked to members of the press (including me) and while nothing earth shattering came out, there were some good signs and interesting story lines.

I now present them to you:

Wide Receivers will be fun to watch-

Talking to Colin Larmond Jr. and Momah, they're both really excited about the group of guys. With a planned rotation of six wideouts, there are spots up for grabs. "Everyone's working hard because they're fighting for those spots," Larmond said.

The one constant in all the scenarios is number 10 who says he's ready to be a leader. He also assured me that he wouldn't change the laid back guy he is, but he's going out and working as hard as he can to set a good example for the new guys. "If I drop a ball, everyone will say oh he dropped a pass so it's okay, well no it's not."

Johnathan Coleman has impressed so far and Colin reaped all sorts of praise on true Freshman, Bobby Swiggert's work ethic and natural ability. "He takes what we learn in film immediately out to practice"

(Stay tuned to see who gets the start at slot receiver)

I think Momah gives Dave a good big target guy and am more than pleased he's back on the offensive side of the ball ( he hasn't taken any snaps on d yet this fall).

Dave Shinskie is going to be fun to watch this year-

Literally every player I talked to mentioned Dave's improvement and something tells me they're not just randomly saying that. He's spent a ton of time in the film room, with his teammates in the summer and the evidence of weight room work is there. Let's not forget, he set a freshman record and I expect big things out of him.

Helping those big things will be an expanded play book which the receivers and Montel talked about. Second year under Tranquill's system leads to more variety.

Montel is still awesome-

He cut his hair, he's still carefree and we're all excited about this.

The Offensive Line is good to go-

Nate Richman takes over for Matt Tennant, "I had to learn how to snap the ball and it was all completely new," he said. He's ready after spending the spring and fall adjusting and his line mates have faith in him. Claiborne is still full of energy, expects to continue his reputation as the first guy into the endzone to celebrate and has declared "O-line U is back". Costanzo the scholar anchors the left and there are a ton of links talking about his potential future.

Only gave up 19 sacks in 13 games last year, they want to do better.

Tight Ends- Pantale and Lars will do well, especially since Dave has learned to use his check down routes more, according to Colin and Thomas.

Defensive post comes tomrrow after the scrimmage.

Comment!

New Depth Chart Out and Other Notes From Day 1

So the biggest news out of the first day of fall practices is that Herzlich's comeback was hampered...because of a foot injury. While there's no cause for utter panic yet, you can read the Globe's Mark Blaudschun's article about the injury here.

A depth chart has been released on bceagles.com and there are some interesting things to note, many of which have already been pointed out by members of the media:

The Nephew looks like he's going to start camp as a number one receiver
Clyde Lee is not on the two deep
Kasim Edeballi and Dillon Quinn, two big red-shirted freshman, are in on the defensive side.
Will Thompson will get the start it seems on the weak side.
Momah is listed as a WR again (Thank God) although Spaz says he'll be a situational third-down pass rusher.

Scafe is not listed due to a nagging back injury and Kaleb Ramsey did not report to camp. Ramsey attempted to transfer to Pitt during the Summer, but it seems as if things have gotten a little mess up somewhere along the way.

Let's here your thoughts on the depth chart and lets all rejoice in the start of BC Football.