101 Days of BC Football: Jim Noel, #23

Boston College’s secondary, for the most part, is young. Not all of the players are inexperienced, though. Such is the case with Jim Noel, a senior from Everett who is now essentially the elder statesman of the defensive backfield for the Eagles.

BC will need his experience and will need him to come up bigger than he did last year. During the 2011 campaign, he only got into nine games, but registered 30 tackles, three tackles for a loss (nobody in the secondary had more), a sack, an interception, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hit. Noel did a little bit of everything, but this year in moving back to the starting position at strong safety, it’s possible that we just might get that extra production out of him.

Noel is not the kind of player that will amaze you, but he is nevertheless a reliable safety who can make plays when plays are needed and shows some toughness out on the field. If you were to assume that Noel will have a respectable 2012 season, you’d probably be right. Experience does not necessarily equal being good, but Noel has been solid throughout his BC career, and I would expect the same in his senior year.

So, what does this mean for his future? Some BC fans have been thinking ahead to the 2013 NFL Draft and wonder if Noel will be one of the guys scooped up next spring. If you asked me right now, I would probably say no, but it is possible, especially if he has a season better than Donnie Fletcher did last year (and I bring up Fletcher because he was hit-or-miss in 2011, which probably cost him a draft pick).

What happens in April 2013 is of little concern to Boston College right now, though. What matters is how Noel performs now and if he can continue his good play until the end of his college career, because our defense will need it.