Eagles ?D? to tackle option offense
A different animal will be arriving in Chestnut Hill on Saturday when first-year Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson and his triple-option offensive system come to Alumni Stadium.
When Johnson was at Navy two years ago, he and his Midshipmen gave the Eagles all they could handle in the Meineke Car Care Bowl before Steve Aponavicius won the game for BC with a last-second field goal.
?Paul does a great job down there and he?s won every place he?s been, Georgia Southern and Navy,? second-year Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski said. ?And he?s taken players that he?s inherited and put them in his system and I think he?s going to be real successful there. It?s wishbone football is what it is and we have to be very assignment-sound.
?Somebody?s got to be on the quarterback, somebody?s got to be on the dive and somebody?s got to be on the pitch. And if there?s not, that?s where you?re problems are.?
Defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani, who was the interim head coach in the wake of Tom O?Brien?s departure, and linebackers coach Bill McGovern were on the Eagles staff for the 2007 bowl game, but Jagodzinski thinks there will be only so much carry-over with regard to Johnson?s offense.
?The coaches have seen it and coached against it, but the thing that?s hard to simulate when you?re playing a wishbone team is the speed at which it comes at you, the cut blocks and all that kind of thing,? Jagodzinski said. ?You can?t simulate that in practice. It may take a series or two for our guys to get acclimated to it. A lot of times it?s really high risk, too, with the ball coming out of each other?s hands, the quarterback to the fullback.
?I?m glad we?re getting Georgia Tech when we?ve got them and not later in the season when they really get it humming.?
Hang time
One of the more underrated losses for the Eagles from the 2007 team was the graduation of four-year punter Johnny Ayers. However, freshman Ryan Quigley acquitted himself well in the ?08 opener, averaging 40.5 yards on four punts in a 21-0 win against Kent State.
?I feel a lot more confident going into this week than I felt last week,? Quigley said. ?I just have to be consistent and go out and do the same thing this weekend. Overall, I felt like it was a pretty good start.?
Quigley, who has been sharing some of the duties with sophomore Billy Flutie, was entrusted with an attempt deep in his own territory late in the game in Cleveland.
?Coach told me to get in and kick and I was like, ?OK, let?s go,? ? Quigley said. ?Those are the most important ones because you know they?re going to bring pressure. I had a great snap from Jack (Geiser), great blocking and I was able to get it off.?
Room to grow
Quarterback Chris Crane went 12-for-18 for 106 yards against Kent State, but Jagodzinski estimated yesterday there were 120 passing yards left on the field. On one play, Crane missed wide-open receiver Rich Gunnell running down the sideline for what would have been an easy six points.
?I knew what my mistakes were and what I need to work on,? Crane said. ?I probably could have completed every single pass, but I never could get into a rhythm in the game and I think that?s what caused some of the incompletions. But it?s definitely something we?re going to improve on and hopefully be ready for Georgia Tech.? . . .
There were no significant updates on the injury front. Cornerback DeLeon Gause (ankle) was in full pads at practice, though running back Jeff Smith (shoulder) and guard Clif Ramsey (undisclosed) were unable to participate.
Georgia Tech linebacker Brad Jefferson (arm) has been ruled out for the game.
A different animal will be arriving in Chestnut Hill on Saturday when first-year Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson and his triple-option offensive system come to Alumni Stadium.
When Johnson was at Navy two years ago, he and his Midshipmen gave the Eagles all they could handle in the Meineke Car Care Bowl before Steve Aponavicius won the game for BC with a last-second field goal.
?Paul does a great job down there and he?s won every place he?s been, Georgia Southern and Navy,? second-year Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski said. ?And he?s taken players that he?s inherited and put them in his system and I think he?s going to be real successful there. It?s wishbone football is what it is and we have to be very assignment-sound.
?Somebody?s got to be on the quarterback, somebody?s got to be on the dive and somebody?s got to be on the pitch. And if there?s not, that?s where you?re problems are.?
Defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani, who was the interim head coach in the wake of Tom O?Brien?s departure, and linebackers coach Bill McGovern were on the Eagles staff for the 2007 bowl game, but Jagodzinski thinks there will be only so much carry-over with regard to Johnson?s offense.
?The coaches have seen it and coached against it, but the thing that?s hard to simulate when you?re playing a wishbone team is the speed at which it comes at you, the cut blocks and all that kind of thing,? Jagodzinski said. ?You can?t simulate that in practice. It may take a series or two for our guys to get acclimated to it. A lot of times it?s really high risk, too, with the ball coming out of each other?s hands, the quarterback to the fullback.
?I?m glad we?re getting Georgia Tech when we?ve got them and not later in the season when they really get it humming.?
Hang time
One of the more underrated losses for the Eagles from the 2007 team was the graduation of four-year punter Johnny Ayers. However, freshman Ryan Quigley acquitted himself well in the ?08 opener, averaging 40.5 yards on four punts in a 21-0 win against Kent State.
?I feel a lot more confident going into this week than I felt last week,? Quigley said. ?I just have to be consistent and go out and do the same thing this weekend. Overall, I felt like it was a pretty good start.?
Quigley, who has been sharing some of the duties with sophomore Billy Flutie, was entrusted with an attempt deep in his own territory late in the game in Cleveland.
?Coach told me to get in and kick and I was like, ?OK, let?s go,? ? Quigley said. ?Those are the most important ones because you know they?re going to bring pressure. I had a great snap from Jack (Geiser), great blocking and I was able to get it off.?
Room to grow
Quarterback Chris Crane went 12-for-18 for 106 yards against Kent State, but Jagodzinski estimated yesterday there were 120 passing yards left on the field. On one play, Crane missed wide-open receiver Rich Gunnell running down the sideline for what would have been an easy six points.
?I knew what my mistakes were and what I need to work on,? Crane said. ?I probably could have completed every single pass, but I never could get into a rhythm in the game and I think that?s what caused some of the incompletions. But it?s definitely something we?re going to improve on and hopefully be ready for Georgia Tech.? . . .
There were no significant updates on the injury front. Cornerback DeLeon Gause (ankle) was in full pads at practice, though running back Jeff Smith (shoulder) and guard Clif Ramsey (undisclosed) were unable to participate.
Georgia Tech linebacker Brad Jefferson (arm) has been ruled out for the game.
