Back when Everett's John Montelus committed to Notre Dame, I noted Xavier DT Maurice Hurst Jr. as one of the top uncommitted Massachusetts recruits (Tevin Montgomery the other) up for grabs. I thought that BC's ability to close on both Hurst Jr. and Montgomery, particularly given the need at DT, would be a tell as to how successful this coaching staff will be in 2013.
Earlier this week, Hurst Jr. became the latest local recruit that Boston College football missed on. Hurst Jr. was even high on the Eagles during the beginning of his recruitment, telling ESPN:
"At first I thought I was gonna commit to BC, then I thought I was gonna go to Virginia. Then Michigan came along, and I knew this was the school I wanted to go to."
In the same Q&A, Hurst Jr. offers up arguably one of the most damning indictments of the Frank Spaziani era of Boston College football (emphasis mine).
On the amount of Bay Staters heading to top-tier Midwestern programs in the past two years (Everett junior offensive tackle John Montelus is also committed to Notre Dame): "It's really great, but I also think it's sad that all of us are from this area and none of us are going to BC. For Massachusetts players, it's kind of something you wouldn't believe you'd be able to do, going to some of these schools that you see on TV -- Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, all the really big schools no one expects to play for. Even when I walk around campuses, people are like 'Where are you from?' I tell them I'm from Massachusetts and they're like, 'I didn't know they play football there.'
Hurst Jr. is just one top prospect in a recent string of top recruits to leave the Bay State. It was only a few years ago when BC had built a fence around the top 10 Massachusetts prospects. Now, BC is lucky to land one of the state's top 10 prospects. Yet another trend that Boston College football is trending the wrong way.