Anyway, I’ll start with the negative developments, because most people tend to want the bad news first. Number one is the revelation today from the media that Boston College, via Eagle Action, committed a minor recruiting violation, thanks to a slip-up from Luke Kuechly (you know, something you don’t see too often from him on the field). It would seem, however, that the reporter interviewing Kuechly baited him into a recruiting violation (namely speaking publicly about specific recruits) apparently without knowledge that he was doing it. Whatever the case, and despite the fact that it is a minor incident (most SEC coaches would probably have a good belly-laugh listening to us talk about this like it’s notable), it is an incident nevertheless. With these rules in mind, Kuechly should have been less candid, that reporter shouldn’t have asked, and EA should have caught it before the article went live. As if BC needed more headaches, they got this today. There were other elements of this story potentially worth weighing (you know what they are), but for the sake of sparing the program further embarrassment, I'll take a pass.
Number two was backup running back Sterlin Phifer leaving the Eagles, making him the fourth (unless I’m missing someone) player in two seasons to jump from the Good Ship Spaz. The other three, of course, were Justin Tuggle, Josh Haden, and Isaac Johnson. This is a disappointing development for BC, even though Phifer was a back-up. I don’t pretend to know his reasons for leaving, and I’m also not going to pretend that he was a difference-maker on offense (though he did show some talent), but it is quite demoralizing to see a team that should have been rolling go 2-5, and now have players quitting the team. If they haven’t already, I’m sure someone will find a way to blame Jeff Jagodzinski for this.
I have heard one comment from a BC fan, though, that I need to address, because I think we need to eliminate some bogus reasons why this may have happened. This individual I read today believed that this decision to leave the program is nothing more than a normal product of the most recent coaching change. Quite frankly, this argument is a complete load of bullshit. For one thing, the coaching change took place a year and a half ago. Why did it take Phifer so long to leave? Second, most of the coaching staff was held over. This is NOT the same situation with BC basketball where Al Skinner’s entire staff was cast out; Spaziani was hired largely as a continuity move and many of the assistant coaches stayed in place. What happened in the spring of 2009 didn’t suddenly make Phifer want to leave in the fall of 2010, but what did? Can we say at all that Coach Spaz and his men are definitely the reason he’s leaving? How about the fact that BC is tanking? I can’t say that because I don’t know his personal reasons, and I’m not sure I ever will. One thing is for sure, however, and it’s that there is a stale odor surrounding this program right now (though that may just be Gary Tranquill’s cologne), and as the old saying goes, "the fish rots from the head down."
Number three is the injury report for Saturday’s game, and it ain’t good. Wes Davis, as you might expect, is out. Albright, obviously ditto. Gause, wouldn't count on it. Shakim Phillips, a guy who caught one pass in exchange for his redshirt being burned, is also out. I’ve also read through the BC message boards that O’Neal and Newman are only questionable. All of this will downgrade BC’s chances this weekend from not going to win to, um, still not going to win.
Finally, number four does not impact the current state of the program, but is another bad break for a former football Eagle. Mathias Kiwanuka, one of the best BC players of the past decade, was placed on IR by the New York Football Giants after being injured several weeks ago. This is not the first time, unfortunately, that injuries have derailed one of his seasons, as Eagles (and Giants) fans surely know.
The lone positive from today’s BC news is that former Eagle DB Will Blackmon was picked up by the Giants to replace the aforementioned Kiwi on their roster. Though he has taken the spot of a DE, Blackmon will most likely be returning kicks in the place of Darius Reynaud, who has not had a good season at all for Big Blue.
When the best things that happen to your program in several weeks are (1) losing close to a ranked team and (2) a guy who graduated four years ago getting a mid-season deal for an NFL team, you know you’re up a creek. I haven’t been watching this team as long as some of you, but I’ve never seen it in this much disarray. BC football is sinking by the stern, and something’s gotta give.
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