Boston College Football: The Foggy Future After Chase Rettig
By Joe Micik
Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Boston College football’s starting quarterback in 2013 will be senior Chase Rettig.
And that’s as much as we know.
When it comes to the offensive leadership of the Eagles from 2014 and beyond, your guess is probably as good as anyone else’s. There is no telling exactly who will be the quarterback for this team following this season, and as a result, there is also no telling how Steve Addazio’s second season will go. At least in 2013, Addazio and company will have a stable of senior talent like Rettig, WR Alex Amidon, and LB Steele Divitto amongst others. Next year, it’s gone, and the race to be the new Eagles signal-caller will be wide open and closely-watched.
The expected roster of quarterbacks will be as follows:
• Josh Bordner, 2014 senior. Current backup quarterback.
• Mackay Lowrie, 2014 sophomore/redshirt freshman. #7 recruit in MA for 2013.
• Austin Lommen, 2014 sophomore. Walk-on.
• Christian Suntrup, 2014 junior. Highly regarded in HS; has fallen off the BC football map.
• Darius Wade, 2014 true freshman. Dual-threat QB from Delaware.
• James Walsh, 2014 sophomore/redshirt freshman. Dual-threat QB from Ohio.
• Myles Willis, 2014 sophomore/redshirt freshman. Triple-option QB and RB; likely to play the latter.
This list excludes Troy Flutie — though he can and does play quarterback, he was not recruited as one.
The conventional wisdom, without knowing a thing about the players or their capabilities, would probably suggest Bordner should get the job with his experience. This is not about experience, however: it is about what’s best for the program both in 2014 and in the next several years after that. In live game action so far, Bordner’s play has left much to be desired. Spring games are nice, but as we’ve seen in recent years, guys can do well in April and crash in September.
If one considers that 2014 may be a difficult season anyway with the ongoing rebuilding process, then it may be in the best interest of Boston College football to look to a new long-term option starting in 2014. In theory, this would give the new starter a year to “take his lumps” without hurting the Eagles’ bottom line. Unlike what Frank Spaziani did with true freshman Chase Rettig in 2010, BC will need to commit to this young man for the whole 2014 season in order to mature, not just half of it.
Assume that Austin Lommen likely won’t get the spot as a walk-on, Myles Willis is probably heading for running back, and Christian Suntrup has been buried so deep on the depth chart that he’s hitting subterranean aquifers, we’re left with Lowrie, Wade, and Walsh. At this stage, it’s impossible to tell who of those players has the upper hand, but any would be a reasonable option. Furthermore, there may yet be another quarterback to come in the 2014 class, which would upset the chemistry of this situation further.
That’s a cloudy future because it lacks certainty. Team sports a year into the future often do, but in the Boston College quarterback situation, there will be no answers any time soon. Even the names excluded from the final cut, including Bordner, will be options for Steve Addazio next year. Based in part on how this season goes, the coaches will have to consider, and possibly weigh against one another, the notions of “who gives us the best chance to win now” and/or “who gives us the best long-term bet.” It may be that one of the underclassman quarterbacks satisfies both criteria, but who is it?
Only time will tell, but our associate editor Mr. Egan has contributed some thoughts:
"I really think that Darius Wade is now the future. While I was a huge supporter of DJ Gillins and the Soaring to Glory community thought we had a good shot at him (38 out of 76 votes), he decided that he couldn’t live up to the pressures of #BeingADude and decided to go to Wisconsin. I’m going to make a hearty prediction right now and project that Darius Wade could do what Tim Tebow did for Florida. The only difference is that I think that Wade has much better mechanics than Ol’ Timmy could ever hope for. Both are southpaw mobile QBs that can spread the offense and play divide-and-conquer on defenses. This is pure Steve Addazio football just oozing from the kid. Pure #BeADude-dom. I think James Walsh is also a good option but boy does Wade have him beat like Darius the Great would have done in Persia."