Deciding on QB is top priority
The depth chart is written in pencil, not pen. But make no mistake. Until further notice, 25-year-old David Shinskie is the No. 1 Boston College quarterback as the Eagles begin summer training camp tomorrow morning, preparing for a season that is less than a month away.For first-year head coach Frank Spaziani, finding someone to run the offense is the primary task of this camp as the Eagles begin the countdown for their opener against Northeastern Sept. 5.
?We?ve got to do a lot of things,?? said Spaziani. ?But QB is obviously a key issue. And right now it?s Shinskie.??
The problem may not be talent as much as lack of experience.
?None of them have been in pressure situations,?? said offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill, who will spend the next month tweaking the system to see what works and what doesn?t work as Shinskie, Codi Boek, Justin Tuggle, Michael Marscovetra, and even Billy Flutie receive consideration at QB.
Shinskie is the wild card of the group, having arrived on campus in June after a six-year minor league baseball career ran in its course.
?He understands everything,?? said Tranquill, who makes it clear there is still much more to learn, especially over the first week of training camp.
?We?re going to install everything in the first five days of practice,?? said Tranquill. ?We?re going to throw it at them quickly and see what they can handle.
?It?s going to be a little trial and error at the beginning. But we don?t have the luxury of time. We?re going to have to do what we can do and see how well we can execute it.??
The expectation meter is down this season at The Heights after back-to-back ACC Atlantic Division titles. In last month?s preseason media poll, the Eagles were picked not first but last in the Atlantic Division.
Spaziani, who replaced Jeff Jagodzinski in January, has spent the past eight months putting his stamp on the program.
?Everybody is on the same page,?? said Spaziani. ?We?ll see what we?ve got.??
Quarterback is obviously an issue of concern. So is defense, where new coordinator Billy McGovern takes over from Spaziani and must find replacements for linemen B.J. Raji and Ron Brace, who have moved on to the NFL, and linebacker Mark Herzlich, who is battling cancer. Linebacker Mike McLaughlin, the defensive captain, also is a question mark as he returns from an offseason in which he tore his Achilles? tendon.
Although the quarterback position will draw the most attention this month, Tranquill, looking at the big picture, sees some solid things.
?I feel pretty good about the rest of the offense,?? said Tranquill. ?We?ll be a lot stronger up front. At tight end, Chris Pantale really came on in the spring, which will give us depth there. We?ve got a solid player in Rich Gunnell at wide receiver and we need to find a couple of others, and our running backs are very good. We?re just missing size.
?We have a chance to be solid. We?ll have to see what happens at QB. I?m anxious to get going.??
Spaziani, Tranquill, and the rest of the staff have been tweaking the game plans for months. Spaziani has maintained his low-key, ?Jersey guy?? approach as he makes his head coaching debut at age 61. Expectations may not be high, but the patience factor among Eagle fans - who have enjoyed a decade-long streak of bowl appearances - will have its limits.
The Eagles will be able to ease into the season with home games against Northeastern and Kent State, but then comes a six-week string - at Clemson, vs. Wake Forest, vs. Florida State, at Virginia Tech, vs. North Carolina State, and at Notre Dame - that will define their season.
For now, the Eagles are defending division champions and ready to begin work for the season.
The depth chart is written in pencil, not pen. But make no mistake. Until further notice, 25-year-old David Shinskie is the No. 1 Boston College quarterback as the Eagles begin summer training camp tomorrow morning, preparing for a season that is less than a month away.For first-year head coach Frank Spaziani, finding someone to run the offense is the primary task of this camp as the Eagles begin the countdown for their opener against Northeastern Sept. 5.
?We?ve got to do a lot of things,?? said Spaziani. ?But QB is obviously a key issue. And right now it?s Shinskie.??
The problem may not be talent as much as lack of experience.
?None of them have been in pressure situations,?? said offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill, who will spend the next month tweaking the system to see what works and what doesn?t work as Shinskie, Codi Boek, Justin Tuggle, Michael Marscovetra, and even Billy Flutie receive consideration at QB.
Shinskie is the wild card of the group, having arrived on campus in June after a six-year minor league baseball career ran in its course.
?He understands everything,?? said Tranquill, who makes it clear there is still much more to learn, especially over the first week of training camp.
?We?re going to install everything in the first five days of practice,?? said Tranquill. ?We?re going to throw it at them quickly and see what they can handle.
?It?s going to be a little trial and error at the beginning. But we don?t have the luxury of time. We?re going to have to do what we can do and see how well we can execute it.??
The expectation meter is down this season at The Heights after back-to-back ACC Atlantic Division titles. In last month?s preseason media poll, the Eagles were picked not first but last in the Atlantic Division.
Spaziani, who replaced Jeff Jagodzinski in January, has spent the past eight months putting his stamp on the program.
?Everybody is on the same page,?? said Spaziani. ?We?ll see what we?ve got.??
Quarterback is obviously an issue of concern. So is defense, where new coordinator Billy McGovern takes over from Spaziani and must find replacements for linemen B.J. Raji and Ron Brace, who have moved on to the NFL, and linebacker Mark Herzlich, who is battling cancer. Linebacker Mike McLaughlin, the defensive captain, also is a question mark as he returns from an offseason in which he tore his Achilles? tendon.
Although the quarterback position will draw the most attention this month, Tranquill, looking at the big picture, sees some solid things.
?I feel pretty good about the rest of the offense,?? said Tranquill. ?We?ll be a lot stronger up front. At tight end, Chris Pantale really came on in the spring, which will give us depth there. We?ve got a solid player in Rich Gunnell at wide receiver and we need to find a couple of others, and our running backs are very good. We?re just missing size.
?We have a chance to be solid. We?ll have to see what happens at QB. I?m anxious to get going.??
Spaziani, Tranquill, and the rest of the staff have been tweaking the game plans for months. Spaziani has maintained his low-key, ?Jersey guy?? approach as he makes his head coaching debut at age 61. Expectations may not be high, but the patience factor among Eagle fans - who have enjoyed a decade-long streak of bowl appearances - will have its limits.
The Eagles will be able to ease into the season with home games against Northeastern and Kent State, but then comes a six-week string - at Clemson, vs. Wake Forest, vs. Florida State, at Virginia Tech, vs. North Carolina State, and at Notre Dame - that will define their season.
For now, the Eagles are defending division champions and ready to begin work for the season.
