Boston College Football Spring Game: Some Observations

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Boston College football’s Jay McGillis Memorial Spring Game is always a fun time to get out of the house during the spring months and see a scrimmage.

Today, the Soaring to Glory team pulled double-duty, moving over to Shea Field to call the baseball game. Still, we all saw a good half of the festivities at Alumni Stadium. (Spending most of your day at Boston College is far from the worst thing in the world.)

Bullet-point format seems the most ideal to evaluate the spring game:

• I liked Tyler Murphy’s overall game. (I say that as though the spring game actually matters; it doesn’t, but indulge me.) This was my first time seeing him, and he appears to have some poise and good moves with his feet. Murphy isn’t afraid to dance around and take the ball himself, and he’s got the speed to execute. It wasn’t a perfect 10/10 but based on a very narrow evaluation, at least a solid 8. His decision-making was good overall and he’s clearly got some talent. I would be happy with him as the starter.
• Darius Wade looks alright to me, but compared to Murphy he’s not necessarily ready yet. This only confirmed in my mind why landing Murphy was such a dynamic-changer for the Eagles, in that he can take the reins this year and Wade can redshirt and grow for 2015. I expect great things from him down the road.
• The offensive line looks good and that’s a very good sign. I have maintained throughout that if the offensive line holds it together, we’re going to be fine next season.
• Myles Willis is terrific. He took the opening kick to the house and broke off several good runs. Willis is a different kind of back than Andre Williams but I look forward to him being the lead guy. Nevertheless, it certainly looks like we’re going to be stacked talent-wise here going forward (Willis, Outlow, Hilliman, et al.).
• At wide receiver…not so much. “To whom will Murphy throw the ball?” is something we’ll be asking until August 30. However, I thought Charlie Callinan did a good job today.
• Josh Keyes had a good spring game and Sean Duggan put a huge hit on one of his own teammates (save some for the Fall, guys).
• I was totally bummed out when I saw Harold Landry in sweats. Really wanted to see him play.
• I thoroughly appreciate how intense Don Brown was during the game. He was coaching the kids up like crazy. You have to respect that these guys are making the most of every play of the spring.
• Speaking of coaches, Addazio watched the plays from the middle of the field to evaluate. Everybody was very much into it and I like the hard-working mentality. Addazio also crossed the field to personally compliment the national anthem singer, which I thought was a very nice thing for him to do.

My read is that this Boston College team, even given that there are a few holes in the roster, is not going to suffer a major drop-off despite the turnover in several key areas. Considering that the schedule is very manageable and there are some competent playmakers present, there might not be much of a drop-off at all.

Of course, there is still a long way to go before training camp even opens, but Boston College football fans have a few things about which to feel good today.