11 for '11: Which Boston College Freshmen Will Immediately Contribute?

As fall camp is underway, this series explores 11 topics and themes related to the 2011 Boston College Eagles football season. Previously in this series we covered The Maturation of Chase Rettig, Consistency in the Secondary, Starting the Season Strong and The Health Of Montel Harris.

Don't look now the season is only 17 days away, so it's time to examine some of the freshmen class and see who could be an immediate contributor for Boston College. Each year it seems someone rises from the recruiting class and becomes a starter, or even better a star. Look at 2010, Kevin Pierre Louis was expected to be to be good, but did anyone think he would have finished second on the team in tackles? His contributions were invaluable to the team. Who will be this years Kevin Pierre Louis?

When thinking of immediate impact most fans would probably guess Al Louis Jean. The local boy, ex-Miami recruit  comes in as Frank Spaziani's gem of the 2011 recruiting class  With questions in the secondary, ALJ could immediately jump in opposite Donnie Fletcher, or come in as the nickleback in passing situations. Okechukwu Okoroha CJ Jones is projected as the CB2. The depth in secondary is thin, could ALJ see more playing time if god forbid there is an injury?

Another player that could be on the fast track to increased playing time on defense are linebacker Sean Duggan and defensive lineman Mehdi Abdesmad. Both players come in with the possibility to fill in an areas that are particularly thin. There are a lot of questions up front. Can Dillon Quinn be effective? Who is going to play if Max Holloway gets hurt? Abdesmad, from Canada, could be the guy that answers those questions. And in the LB corp, Duggan's name hasn't surfaced much, but if Steele Divitto and Jake Sinkovec can't cut it, we will hear more about Duggan as the year progresses.

Another name -- and by far the coolest on the team -- that might pop up is Spiffy Evans, a wide receiver from Florida. With Shakim Phillips and Clyde Lee gone, the depth chart at wide out shrunk by two and the two players that might benefit from it most are Hampton Hughes and Evans. Like the other positions, injuries are going to key and if a Bobby Swiggert or Alex Amidon go down, it most likely will be Evans who will play. And I hope he does, because I love the name Spiffy.

Finally, in a doom and gloom possibility there is another player that can help us and that is Christian Suntrup. We all hope that this year we use Dave Shinskie as a backup, Mike Marscovetra as an emergency and redshirt Suntrup. But what if god forbid Rettig falls on his face or misses a large chunk of the season due to injury? Would you really want to see the Dave Shinksie show again? Maybe, maybe not. What if Spaz sees something in Suntrup and decides he would make a better starter this year? Could happen.

Did I leave anyone out? Is there a freshman this year that you think could contribute? Leave your thoughts in the comments.