Boston College Football Countdown: 19 Days to Go
By Joe Micik
We’re in the teens! There are just nineteen days remaining until Boston College football starts, and it’s so close you can practically taste the tailgate cooking in the Edmonds parking lot.
Who Wears 19 Now
Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Sean Sylvia, DB, junior
Sylvia is entering his third year of eligibility at Boston College. Over the course of his first two seasons, Sylvia has totaled 124 tackles; he saw a big jump in 2012 when he posted 86, third-best on the team. As the projected starter at free safety, in a defensive backfield that has had its ups and downs over the years, Sylvia will be a crucial component. If he does well in the new defensive system, it will be a huge boost to the defense as a whole.
Austin Lommen, QB, redshirt freshman
This is one of several double-dip numbers on the Eagles roster. Lommen comes from the frosty north of Minnesota; he joined the Eagles last season as a preferred walk-on. Lommen redshirted last season and enters his first season of eligibility in 2013. We don’t know much about him in the present, but we do know that Lommen was a star quarterback at the Breck School where he broke the team record with 88 touchdown passes.
Notables Who Wore 19
• Paul Anderson, DB, 2005-08. Appeared in 51 games for the Eagles.
• Peter Shean, CB, 2001-04. Local who played in several dozen games.
• John Donahue, T, 1922-25. 1925 team captain.
The Departed
Now-former Eagle Bryan Murray registered 19 tackles last season as a senior, making it his most productive season.
Symmetry
Two Eagle receivers, Donte Elliott and Brian Miller, had season-long 19-yard receptions last season.
Chip Shot
Nate Freese’s shortest field goal last season was a 19-yarder. If you do the math and the researh then yes, BC kicked a field goal on the 2-yard line in the final week of a season where they were already 2-9.
Bowling
In Boston College’s first-ever bowl victory, the 1941 Sugar Bowl, the Eagles scored 19 points in defeating Tennessee (19-13).
Bowling II
Matt Ryan threw 19 completions in Boston College’s win over Boise State in the 2005 MPC Computers Bowl.
Punching In
Darnell Campbell is second in team history with 19 rushing touchdowns in a single season (1993).
When I Turned 19
I lived on Newton and, having just won the Super Bowl that night, a crowd of jubilant Patriots fans from my floor rushed into my room at midnight and sang me happy birthday.