Boston College has been practicing for weeks, but this weekend BC had their first formal scrimmage, which was of course closed to the public. Under the bubble of Alumni Stadium, and in front of BC alum such as Richie Gunnell, Ifeanyi Momah and Ryan Quigley the new and old Eagles got to adjust to life without Luke Kuechly and tried out Doug Martin's new offense in real time.
Junior quarterback Chase Rettig took the majority of the first-team snaps and completed 10 of 17 attempts. He threw three touchdown passes, all for about 20 yards.
Three touchdowns for Chase, including one to Chris Pantale and two to Spiffy Evans. Rettig looked strong last year during the spring and summer, so I wouldn't take too much stock in this performance. Dave Shinskie, Mike Marscovetra, Josh Bordner and Christian Suntrup also took snaps at QB.
Sophomore Tahj Kimble got the largest share of time at running back, about 60 percent of the plays. Junior Andre Williams took about 30 percent, with Rolandan Finch playing the rest.
Both Kimble and Williams broke through for touchdowns, Kimble with a 20-yard run and Williams a 30-yarder.
Kimble could be a huge xfactor this season. He seems to be the most explosive running back out of the whole group, and without a healthy Montel Harris it may be Kimble, not Andre Williams who may be the change of pace back with Deuce Finch.
The linebacking crew used the predicted rotation of Sean Duggan, Kevin Pierre Louis, and Nick Lifka. The secondary is still thin as reported by the globe. Forget Hampton Hughes, Spaz is throwing kickers out there now.
The three defensive backs who saw the most playing time last year - C.J. Jones, Sean Sylvia, and Manuel Asprilla - were all out, prompting Spaziani to throw redshirt freshman kicker Joey Launceford in at cornerback.
And your for your enjoyment Frank Spaziani ...
On spring practices and scrimmages:
"Spring is about not beating anybody, and not about the team,’’ Spaziani said. "It’s about individuals getting better. We’ve got to have enough guys to line up and then other guys can practice.’
On Brian Miller switching from tight end to wide receiver:
"Brian [Miller]'s got some athletic skills," Spaziani said. "This is the first time he's really scrimmaged since he has had a horrific knee injury. For him to get through this is a big step. We're excited about it."