2012 Jay McGillis Spring Game: Expectations, Etc.

2012 Boston College football is nowhere near around the corner — some may regard this as a bad thing; others, no — but the spring season is in full swing. On Saturday afternoon, sans Family Fun Day, the Eagles will face themselves in the 20th Annual Jay McGillis Spring Game.

The scoring is weird, the stadium will be mostly empty, and few will have any idea what’s going on, but it is still a chance to evaluate what BC has at this stage, and for whom or what fans should look when the real season comes around. A few things to watch:

Quarterback
Is Bordner the backup going forward?

I don’t believe anyone can make a serious case that Chase Rettig is not, or should not be, the starting quarterback of this team on September 1. Furthermore, there is probably nothing that will happen on Saturday, short of a truly catastrophic injury or other freak accident mustered by malevolent supernatural powers, which will cause him to lose said #1 spot.

The focus, therefore, is on the backup position. Frank Spaziani and his erstwhile offensive coordinator(s) last year became partial to Josh Bordner as Chase Rettig’s second-in-line. Thing is, they used him mostly in very, very obvious situations where he would simply take the option of running it himself. Can he throw it? We may find out.

There are other quarterbacks on the team, as Eagles fans are doubtlessly aware, and we will probably see them all. Look for Bordner, who is #2 on the spring depth chart as it is, to emerge as the probable leader in the clubhouse.

Offense
Is it really going to “open up?”

This is the million-dollar question. Doug Martin has come in to a decent amount of fanfare as BC’s new offensive coordinator, but he is also the fourth offensive coordinator in the last four years. Coaches have come and gone, and nothing really changed offensively for the Eagles. Will we see any signs of improvement?

Even if we do, maintain the perspective that it is the spring game. Boston College is playing against itself and will not see real game action for another five months. Still, even if there is more of a vertical passing game as those in spring camp have recounted, then it is possible this will already be evident.

Linebackers
What does life after Kuechly look like?

With the depth that Boston College apparently has at linebacker, it should be alright. Nevertheless, it will still be a strange sight for Eagles fans to see a defensive unit without Kuechly present.

Sean Duggan is the heir apparent at middle linebacker as he currently resides atop the two-deep. Backing him up at this position will be Nick Lifka.

Duggan is a fine player, but like being the Yankees first baseman right after Don Mattingly or the Broncos quarterback just after John Elway left, no BC player should truly be envied for having to be “the guy who has to fill Luke Kuechly’s shoes.” We may begin to see how he does as the successor on Saturday.

The spring game gets underway at 1pm Eastern. The updated forecast for zip 02467 calls for an awful wet-snowy mess.