Boston College Football Countdown: 98 Days to Go
By Joe Micik
We’re already a couple days into the countdown, and before you know it, Boston College sports will be here. Football starts on August 31, but the whole 2013-14 season awaits. If things continue on their current trajectories, then this is what might happen:
• BC football picks up a few more wins; starts being exciting again
• BC basketball takes another leap forward; maybe finds the bubble or better
• BC hockey keeps to its even-year tradition and wins national championship
We can hope so, right?
With 98 days until the opening kickoff, here’s what’s up:
Who Wears 98 Now
Max Ricci, DT, junior
Ricci will enter his junior year in 2013, but he was not present on the spring football roster. There could be any number of reasonable explanations for it, and there’s been no news on him in forever, so it’s not worth the worry.
This defensive tackle from Groton was starting on the left side of the interior by season’s end last November, eventually moving ahead of Dominic Appiah on the depth chart. The season finale was one of only two games he started in 2012, though he played in all 12 games. Ricci picked up 20 tackles (15 solo) with 3.5 for a loss.
Notables Who Wore 98
• Alex Albright, DE, 2006-10. Former team captain; Dallas Cowboys undrafted free agent.
• Andy Klare, OG, 1988-91. Another St. X product.
• Lew Reynolds, DE, 1977-80. Mentioned in this old Heights article.
• Mike Willetts, DL, 1996-99. Signed with Cincinnati Bengals after 2000 NFL Draft.
The (19)98 Eagles
…stunk. BC was 4-7 that season and had one of their biggest fourth-quarter meltdowns in program history against Navy, but senior Mike Cloud was extraordinary: he had seven-straight 100+ yard games, and ten out of eleven games total. Cloud would get drafted the following year.
Immortalized in ’98
Doug Flutie (22) and Mike Ruth (68) had their numbers retired by Boston College on October 8, 1998 at Alumni Stadium. The bad news is that BC lost that game to Virginia Tech, 17-0.
Drafted in ’98
• Todd Pollack (New York Giants; 6th round)
• Matt Hasselbeck (Green Bay Packers; 6th round)
Trophied in ’98
Bill Romanowski and Tom Nalen won Super Bowl XXXII with John Elway and the Denver Broncos and got to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.