Boston College Media Day 2015: Players Press Conference and Reactions

For full quotes, click here to link to the Boston College athletics website:

Quarterback Darius Wade on who he emulates as a QB...

The biggest idol for kids my age was Mike Vick; he was one of the ones in the league that I gravitated toward because he was so exciting. The guy who I see myself playing as is the Steve Young type. Where he was a gritty type of guy, he was aggressive and was able to make all of the throws. He was just a winner and competitor and that is the type of person that I am.

Thankfully, Darius mentioned two ultra-talented left-handed quarterbacks and not Scott Mitchell.

Based on scouting reports, I like the comparison of Wade to Young. Young was an overachiever in college who was an ultimate dual threat. He threw for 7,700 yards and 56 touchdowns while running for 1,000 yards and 18 touchdowns over his career. If Wade can even touch that, I'll kiss the sky.

But let's shy away from physical attributes and look into what Darius said. He's a "gritty type of guy." That indicates a high motor and a heavy competitor who hates losing. You don't have to have all of the physical attributes as long as you "know how to win."

Wade on the running back unit...

It's a great group of guys and they are very exciting. They have some of the best work ethic that I have seen. They all work hard. They are a good group of guys who love football. I just feel like they are in for another great season...They are all versatile players.

One thing I've noticed about the running back unit is how close knit they really are. Marcus "Shake" Outlow is one of the must follows on social media, and both he and Jon Hilliman have vibrant personalities to match their playing styles. On top of it all, you still have Myles Willis and Sherm Alston (who I still view as an RB, even though he's any one of several different positions).

What makes them exciting is that the position is deep and strong with a bunch of guys who love to compete. At the same time, though, you get the vibe that they're working hard against each other, pushing each other to be better. When one guy scores, everyone scores. That's encouraging, and it's obvious in the way the quarterback talks about them.

Senior OL Harris Williams on the upcoming season and returning from injury...

It's great to be back and playing with the guys. Sitting on the sideline is tough; it's more fun being on the field getting yelled at by coaches. I missed it.

I have yet to find a football player who, after spending some time away from the field, doesn't enjoy getting yelled at by the coaches.

Sophomore RB Jon Hilliman on being a leader...

It's definitely a little different. Even though I'm a sophomore - still kind of a young guy - I feel like I've been around with how my freshman experience was. Just being able to push past certain things and get the guys up. Be a little more vocal this year rather than just lead by example.

One of the things I'm really excited about is seeing who steps up into the leadership roles. Guys are either leaders or they're not. For a guy like Hilliman, if he can assume the role of getting into the offensive meeting room and pushing guys around (in a good way, not in a Geno Smith way), he's going to produce that much more on the field.

I agree with one thing in particular - it feels like he's been at BC forever, and he's ONLY A SOPHOMORE.

Senior WR David Dudeck on the team's goals for the season...

When Coach Addazio and his staff got here, we laid out some goals of becoming bowl eligible and going back to a bowl game. We've done that the last two years, but we're really looking to take that next step this year and really have a successful season. It starts with game one so we're really focused on beating Maine.

Translation: we're happy we got to a bowl game the last two years, but we are hungry for that next step.

Junior DE Kevin Kavalec on the defensive line's depth this season...

It's been really nice having the depth and not being the only guy. My first spring here, we had six players and we were taking every single rep. Now we have 16 defensive linemen. It's really fun; you get to fly around with your friends, not taking every rep. It's good.

I remember a story from the Boston Celtics in the 1980s. Their third string center was a guy named Greg Kite, a first round pick out of BYU. Kite rarely played but was considered one of the best players on the team. Why? Because he was absolutely the best at driving his teammates in practice.

When the New England Patriots won the AFC Championship over the Indianapolis Colts in 2004, the recipient of the game ball in the locker room was backup quarterback Damon Huard for his ability to mimic Peyton Manning and prepare the defense for his cadences.

Having depth on the defensive line is huge. Not only are they keeping the top flight guys fresh, but they're challenging the offensive line. Everyone brings something different to the table, and I'm really excited to see what this D-line has in store. It could be one of the deepest and most talented lines yet simply based on how they practice.

Sophomore WR Charlie Callinan on the coaching staff...

Coach Fitch was a wide receivers coach before - he was our wide receivers coach before - and he always had our backs, was sticking up for us and always trying to get us the ball and put us in a position to make plays. Now that he's the offensive coordinator, I feel like still really loves us a receiving corps and has faith in us.

Callinan also talked about some of the other coaches, but I wanted to center on these comments. I love that the coaching staff has faith in the wide receivers, but I mean - he's not exactly going to stand up there and say, "Yeah the coaches didn't think we could get open and thought we all had stone fingers." And let me be clear - that is NOT what I think the coaches thought about the passing game last year at all. I'm just saying that a player is going to deliver a quote supportive of the coaches being supportive of the players. We would have a bigger issue if they didn't.

Like I've said before and I'll say again - having a year of development along with a quarterback that's better at throwing the football is something that's going to be exciting. I really am looking forward to seeing how Steve Addazio and Todd Fitch utilize the passing game, and while we talked so much about Ryan Day, this year is going to be so much different than last year.

The personnel is completely different, developed, and last year is gone. This is a completely different team in a completely different season. Last year, the team had to run the ball as frequently as it did. This year, we're going to see a completely different Eagles team, and that, to me, is exciting.