Boston College Football: Meanwhile, At Spring Practice

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The last week or two in Boston College sports have been consumed by basketball and hockey, both men’s and women’s, and there is still much to settle on the ice for each Eagles hockey team. Outdoors, it has remained a little icy, but protected by a bubble (which apparently is not Nemo-proof) is the field at Alumni Stadium. It is in there that the football team and new Boston College Eagles staff are building towards a fresh start in the Fall of 2013.

Spring football has begun all around Division I, and BC is not excluded. Yesterday, Tuesday the 19th, was the opening practice of camp. The Eagles are not making full contact with pads just yet, but yesterday, the pictures and quotes from The Heights show that the team and the new coaches are ready to get to work.

Given how the last few seasons have gone, particularly the last one, BC will need to make every moment count. Addazio admitted in his post-practice interview that the Eagles have “a long way to go,” but two recurring themes from yesterday amongst those involved in this edition of Boston College spring football have been energy and effort. It is not a reach to say from watching BC over the last few years that the effort was there, but for a variety of reasons, the results were not forthcoming. A new system will hopefully bring a renewed vigor and real fight on the part of the Eagles when they take to the field. These opening practices of the spring are all about implementing that system and setting the tone for the team, which the Eagles appear to be doing.

One man in particular about whom there has been much discussion, all in a positive light, is new defensive coordinator Don Brown. Kevin Pierre-Louis remarked about Brown’s energy, telling us what we knew to be true from his days at other schools: that Brown is an intense, bold coordinator who plans to get everything he can out of the eleven guys on the field. Boston College football might not have the depth of talent on defense of some of the top dogs in the ACC, but one can compensate with a combination of effort and smart gameplanning. The first already does not look like it will be a problem, but we will have to wait until August 31 to learn if Brown will come with the latter.

There is still much to do before the annual Jay McGillis Spring Game on April 20 — which is on a much more favorable calendar date than last year’s cold and damp March spring game — and it’s doubtful that anything interesting will happen in these practices. All that BC can do now is lay the groundwork for what they hope are some key improvements. With any luck, those are already taking root.