101 Days of BC Football: Joey Launceford, #39

Walk-ons make up a sizable minority of Boston College football’s roster, but there aren’t too many Eagles football players at all from the Pacific Northwest. We do have at least one, and his name is Joey Launceford.

Launceford once had a uniform number in the 80s, but now it’s in the 30s. In fact, once Boston College released the fall roster in mid-July, the entire numerical order was interrupted. No matter: Launceford hails from the Emerald City of Seattle where he attended O’Dea High School, a Catholic boys’ school. He comes to BC as a kicker, his performance at which in high school put him on the All-Metro (Seattle area) second team in his last two years.

That’s not the position he played during the 2012 spring season, however. Launceford appeared in the scrimmages, including the March 31 spring game, as a defensive back. Though there’s no evidence he ever played the position at a lower level, he actually did a nice job. Launceford joined walk-on quarterback Shane Cranmore in the Eagles’ defensive backfield in March, but Launceford managed a pick-six in the spring game off of Dave Shinskie. Now, I’m not entirely sure if this says more about Launceford being talented at this game or the sad state of affairs during spring football, but remember, that’s all it was: spring football.

I doubt he will see any action this season, and if he does, it likely will not be at his listed position. About all I can say is that I approve of the maroon and gold tie he wore for his official photo; it was a nice touch.