Revisiting Boston College Football's Recruiting Class And The Big Finish

Brian: National Signing Day 2013 has come and gone and the results were not good for Boston College football. The Eagles finished:

-- 87th overall per Rivals - between Florida Atlantic and Central Michigan and two behind Temple!
-- 91st overall per Scout - between Temple and Middle Tennessee State
-- 91st overall per 247 Sports - between UAB and Texas State

In addition, the Eagles' class ranked last among BCS AQ conference programs by a mile (12 spots below Georgia Tech according to 247 Sports).

Forgetting stars for a moment, BC didn't fare well in head-to-head recruiting battles either. The Eagles lost the head-to-head recruiting battle with 54 Division I-A programs, getting shut out by 43 of those teams.

This was the worst rated class for Boston College football since the national recruiting services started tracking these sorts of things.

I go back to Brad Bates' decision to honor all 17 scholarships for 17 spots which significantly constrained Addazio for this class. That doesn't mean Addazio didn't add anyone to the class. He picked up OT Matt Patchan, RB Tyler Rouse, TE Louie Addazio and DUAL James Walsh, but also lost WR Dan Monteroso, RB LeShun Daniels and QB Tim Boyle.

However, other programs with first year coaches didn't have the same restrictions and they finished with much better recruiting hauls. I appreciate the sentiment but I have to question whether the decision to honor all scholarships will set the program back even further. We all hope that Addazio can coach up this class and rarely does a single recruiting class make or break a program. Still, you have to think there will be some natural roster attrition between now and fall camp, which will likely leave BC with a scholarship count below the 85 allowed by the NCAA.

A few questions:

-- Do you agree with Bates decision to honor all scholarships in this year's class?
-- Would you have liked to have seen Addazio add a few more to the class counting on some natural attrition between now and fall camp?
-- On a scale of 1 to 10, how upset are you that this year's recruiting class ranked dead last in the BCS by a good margin?

Jeff: It is tough to agree with anything BC has done lately as it relates to recruiting because their recruiting class was just so pitifully bad. That said, without considering that the class was atrocious and only considering the question of would I want my alma mater to honor scholarships they have offered, I would say yes, I would want them to honor those scholarships offered. The real problem here is that Spaz was building a terrible recruiting class before he was fired. Spaz did not do that on his own, as he certainly had an entire coaching staff that also recruited with him. This is one of the major reasons that Spaz and most of his staff are all no longer employed in Chestnut Hill.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I am at like a 7 on the pissed off meter. I would be approaching 10 if we had put up this terrible class a few years ago when we were coming off more success. Now, since our lack of success recently and our inability to make a splash with our coaching hire, my expectations were fairly low when recruiting rankings came out.

I don't know if I would have liked to see a few more players offered scholarships. At this point it is probably better for Addazio to save another scholarship for his first full recruiting class should any scholarships open up in the next several months.

Big Finish

Brian: National Signing Day overshadowed a pretty listless performance from BC hoops vs. Miami. With half the ACC regular season to go, are you happy with the level of improvement shown by BC?

Jeff: I am content with what my eyes are seeing but I need to see some Ws the rest of the way.

Jeff: Ryan Anderson is still in the top 5 in the ACC in several key statistical categories. Is he the biggest key to our success in the second half of conference play?

Brian: No. RA's performance is not as important as the play of Hanlan, Rahon and Jackson the rest of the way. Those three in particular need to create for RA. Unless Anderson gets help down low, what he does is less important than the guards creating scoring opportunities.

Brian: BC hoops went 2-7 during the first half of the ACC sched. Will they have a better record in the second half?

Jeff: Yes, I think some close games will go their way and they'll win three of their next nine.

Jeff: Johnny Gaudreau had a quiet game against Harvard, but stars don't stay quiet for long. Do you expect a big game from him Monday?

Brian: I'm thinking #JohnnyHockey breaks out on the big stage against the program he originally committed to. He's been oh so close over the last few games.

Brian: Two Beanpot Championship games next week. Both BC vs. Northeastern. You have the Eagles pulling off the Beanpot sweep?

Jeff: YES, absolutely! BU done so Northeastern won't get in the men's or women's way.

Jeff: After Duke beats BC, will they be ranked #1 with Michigan, Kansas, Florida and Indiana losing this week? And where will Miami move up to with their win over BC this week?

Brian: Duke will be the new #1. Miami will be #4.

Brian: Last one. BC-Duke tonight. Does the game happen, and odds that the Eagles pull off the upset?

Jeff: The game will be played with the Devils flying up this morning and the Eagles have a 3 percent chance of winning.