Now that we have all processed the injury to Andre Williams, let's take a quick look at how the rest of yesterday's scrimmage went. Other injuries and dings kept many potential starters out of the practice. The linebacking corps was especially thin as Kevin Pierre-Louis sat out after suffering a concussion on Wednesday and freshman Sean Duggan walking the sidelines in a boot. Kaleb Ramsey (shoulder) and Brian Murray also missed the scrimmage due to injury.
Injuries also took a toll on the offensive line, as Nathan Richman was out with back issues, something that may cause concern for BC fans as this injury has been lingering all training camp. Mark Spinney shifted from center to left guard, and Andy Gallik took over as the center. Not a big fan of moving around the entire line to fix one injury, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Richman's injury is definitely something we should be keeping an eye on as we get closer to the Northwestern game.
Coach Frank Spaziani has been all over the defense this past week, calling them soft after they were torn apart by the offense in previous scrimmages. Yesterday the D appeared to be much stronger, led by a strong performance by linebacker Nick Clancy. Clancy who has been battling for a starting job with Steele Divitto had 5 tackles yesterday, including four for a loss. That the kind of effort that wins starting jobs. Asked if the defense showed the teeth he wanted this season, Spaz was quick to say:
"Not the teeth that I want to see. We still need to be a lot better over there."
On the offensive side of the ball Chase Rettig wasn't as dominant as he had been in previous scrimmages. Rettig finished the day 11-22 passing attempts for 180 yards, with one touchdown and one pick. The offensive highlight of the day was a 44 yard bomb from Rettig to Alex Amidon that ended with a touchdown. After Andre Wiliams left the game with the ankle injury, Tahj Kimble and Rolandan Finch took over and didn't do much rushing, with Finch having the better scrimmage (13 rushes for 44 yards).
Also, Nate Freese does have some range, kicking a 52 yard field goal to end the scrimmage.
What can we take away from this scrimmage? Not a lot. Rettig looked a lot more human than he had previously this fall and we lost another running back. The defense has started to click, and Nick Clancy appears to be the front runner for the SLB starting gig. And lots of injuries all over the field.