Why OG Finn Dirstine Is BC’s Most Important Recruiting Target For 2018

Over the weekend, 2018 Belmont WR Jake Bobo committed to the Duke Blue Devils, choosing them over Wake Forest and Boston College. The 3* recruit is just another higher level local recruit that has chosen to leave the New England area in order to play collegiate football. Of course we all know that when he was hired Steve Addazio said that he was going to build a wall around New England, and he has had mixed results when it comes to this promise. He has landed highly regarded local recruits like Chris Lindstrom, Connor Strachan, Zach Allen and last year he landed prized RB AJ Dillon. But he also has had some major misses.

Enter 4* offensive guard Finn Dirstine. Already recruited by Boston College, Miami, Illinois with Penn State, Alabama and others showing interest and having him camp there, he is going to be a must land recruit for Boston College in the upcoming recruiting cycle. At 6’5 320, he is the #2 recruit in Massachusetts, #347 overall in the country and would easily be one of the highest rated OL recruited by Addazio since he started his tenure at Boston College.

BC needs to continue to build depth at the offensive line as Chris Lindstrom, Aaron Monteiro and Jon Baker are getting even closer to graduation and would be seniors when Dirstine would hit campus. Add on that BC technically only recruited one offensive linemen this past year in Ben Petrula (of course there could be a position change thrown in there), and Dirstine seems like a must have recruit. Given his size and apparent talent, he could be further along the development scale then some of the other recruits Addazio brings in.

Secondly, from an overall recruiting perspective Addazio can not let Dirstine out of the state. Coming from an offensive line coach background, Dirstine is the type of elite recruit that should be right in Addazio’s wheelhouse. Letting position players like Bobo leave is certainly disheartening, but given the state of the offense, and the style difference between Duke and BC, it’s not a surprise he chose the Blue Devils. But offensive linemen, Addazio can sell BC’s history of producing NFL caliber players at the position, his “expertise” at the position, along with all the usual Boston College selling points (including the new IPF which hopefully will be done when he steps on campus).

Finally, Finn plays at Lawrence Academy, a school Addazio has had good recent success recruiting at. Of course 4* RB AJ Dillon attended there, and will be coming to BC next season, but he has also brought in WR Chris Garrison and freshman LB Doug Rodier. It appears the BC staff has a good relationship with the Lawrence staff, and hopefully Addazio and Co. can use that to get to the top of Dirstine’s list.

Local recruits are going to leave, that is just a fact of life, but Lawrence Academy OG Finn Dirstine has to be a priority for Steve Addazio and his staff. Letting a highly sought after recruit leave the state , especially at that position, would be unacceptable. Addazio has to bring Dirstine to Boston College.