Boston College Football Names Mike Knoll As Everyday Kicker

On Monday, Boston College Eagles head football coach Steve Addazio officially announced a switch to Mike Knoll as the team’s regular placekicker.

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Knoll, one of the top kicking recruits in the nation for the 2014 high school class, will make his NCAA debut on Saturday in a crucial game against NC State in Raleigh.

The story was first reported by The Heights during Addazio’s weekly press conference.

Some will see the move to Mike Knoll as long overdue. The true freshman replaces the duo of Alex Howell and Joey Launceford, the former of whom went 3-for-7 on field goals over the first five games of the 2014 season, with the latter having two extra-point misses. Howell will remain in a primary role as the team’s punter; kickoffs are unclear.

The reality is that Knoll probably should have been kicking for this team sooner, and it is a shame that they had to burn his redshirt at approximately the half-way point of the season. It is unfortunate that he will not get the full season to play, yet, to do so any later would have been indefensible. Addazio had to make a final decision about this now, and all at Boston College hope it works for the best.

Mike Knoll is a talented kicker, but the pressure will be on him to perform as a freshman. It will be interesting to see what he can do, and if the Eagles made the right call. Given the results so far, they likely did, but now that the redshirt is burned, they have to stay with Knoll all the way and let him get comfortable with his duties.