Okechukwu Okoroha dismissed; the hits keep on coming

No, seriously, does anything else want to go wrong in BC football? Aside from Shakim Phillips bailing out, the offseason had been going pretty well until about a week ago.

First, we learned less than a week ago that Montel Harris would be out for upwards of a month because of his second knee surgery in less than a year. Depending on the speed of his comeback and his potential effectiveness, that may mean a medical redshirt is in his future.

Second, Andre Williams, Montel’s backup, was injured. Granted, it does not appear as though he will be in danger of missing any time, but it gave Eagles fans quite a scare. We’ve also learned recently that Boston College is dealing with injuries to OL Nate Richman and LB Sean Duggan, amongst other players.

So now, it should come as no surprise to learn that the Eagles’ ranks have thinned out again. As reported by Eric Hoffses, one of the best BC beat writers around, projected free safety starter Okechukwu Okoroha, a junior, has been dismissed from Boston College football for disciplinary reasons. Last year, he appeared in 12 games, made 27 tackles and forced a fumble.

This is not the first time he has had a disciplinary issue with Boston College: late in the 2009 season, his freshman year, he was suspended for a violation of team rules. Being a repeat offender is not likely to get you in the good graces of your coaches or athletic department, given that the school has a reputation to uphold. I do not know the specific circumstances of his dismissal from the team and I will not speculate, either.

All we know is that he is officially off the team, and as such, the Eagles will have to compensate. Okoroha’s backup on the two-deep depth chart was Sean Sylvia. I think he is an option, but I think it is more likely that Jim Noel will move back to safety. He played strong safety last year after Dominick LeGrande missed time, but this year was slotted in as a second-string corner. Noel has experience as a starter in the secondary and with Okoroha gone, I think he’s probably the best bet.