This morning, Eagle in Atlanta reported that incoming freshman ILB Steven Daniels will not be playing at Boston College this fall due to academics. This loss definitely puts another damper on a recruiting class that was stacked with talented linebackers (remember we lost Graham Stewart to Florida back in January). This leaves BC with Sean Duggan as the only LB recruit entering this season. Compounded with the loss of Mark Herzlich and Mike Morrissey, and Alexander DiSanzo to graduation, leaves many questions about the Eagles' future depth at linebacker.
All in all losing Daniels won't be a huge loss for BC who have arguably the best linebacking duo in the country in Luke Kuechly and Kevin Pierre-Louis. But (knock wood) what if one goes down to injury? What will the linebacking depth chart look like and what holes may arise as players graduate?
| Position | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLB 1 | Steele Divitto | Steele Divitto | Steele Divitto |
| SLB 2 | Nick Clancy | Nick Clancy | |
| MLB 1 | Luke Kuechly | Luke Kuechly | |
| MLB 2 | Will Thompson | ||
| WLB 1 | Kevin Pierre-Louis | Kevin Pierre-Louis | Kevin Pierre-Louis |
| WLB 2 | Sean Duggan | Sean Duggan | Sean Duggan |
Other possible linebackers on the roster include Andre Lawrence, Connor Galligan, Jake Sinkovec, and 2012 recruit Timothy Joy.
Just looking at the potential depth chart is pretty scary. To start off, on the plus side KPL isn't going anywhere, solidifying one LB position for the foreseeable future. Well, unless BC wins an ACC Championship in 2011. Also, I assume that with the lack of depth Spaz won't redshirt Sean Duggan.
What scares me is the worst case scenario. If Luke Kuechly decides to go to the NFL after this season -- praying at my Doug Flutie altar that he doesn't -- we have nothing at MLB next season. Looking at Spaz's "considering" list for recruits, there are none on there either. Spaz might need to be creative if that happens, maybe slotting Sean Duggan at MLB if need be.
The loss of Steven Daniels is a tough one for BC, but hopefully they can re recruit him for the 2012 season. Right now BC has a strong starting crew, but little in terms of depth. Spaz is going to need to either try and get Daniels back or really take a strong look at other linebacking recruits for the class of 2012.