Fortune Teller: Predicting Boston College Football's Major 2014 Recruiting Targets

A.J: Recently Brian and I began to make Crystal Ball Predictions over at 247Sports. The recruiting site has become one of the major players recently and the Crystal Ball Predictions is a way for different insiders and media folk to make informed guesses on where a recruit may land. After a number of these predictions are made on a recruit, you can usually figure out where a recruit will land. It's an interesting little game, and definitely head over there and see some of the choices I made and the predictions Brian made.

For instance when Christian Lezzer picked Boston College, it was not much of a surprise because the Crystal Ball Prediction had 100% of predictions guessing this outcome. However sometimes these guesses can be wrong. For instance tight end Trey Klock was overwhelmingly predicted to #BeADude, however he ended up at Georgia Tech.

Today, to show how this system works, Brian and I are going to make some predictions of our own. Some of them have already been made, others will be revealed here for the first time.

DUAL D.J. Gillins, Jacksonville, FL (Jean Ribault)

Offers: Arizona, Boston College, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Louisville (no offer)

A.J: So I went on the record here predicting Louisville for the Gillins. Now I am a little hesitant with my pick. According to 247 he attended camp at Louisville, but does not hold an offer from the Cardinals. With Louisville already picking up a commitment from Trinity HS athlete Reggie Bonnafon right there in Louisville, Charlie Strong and the Cards appear set at quarterback. With Darius Wade in the fold already, I find it hard to believe BC will be taking two highly rated QB's. Prediction: Louisville

Brian: Gillins recruitment has been interesting. Once committed to Texas Tech, Gillins is now strongly considering Arizona, Boston College, Wisconsin and Louisville. The snag, as you mentioned, is that Gillins doesn't have an offer from the last school on that list, where he just finished up camp. I'd imagine that if Gillins receives an offer from UofL, he'll commit to the Cardinals. However, the program seems pretty happy with Bonnafon and I'm not sure whether an offer for Gillins materializes.

Boston College and Louisville are actually in very similar positions here. Both have dual quarterbacks already committed in Darius Wade (Middletown, DE) and Reggie Bonnafon (Louisville, KY). I'm not sure about Louisville, but given that the BC staff talks with Gillins "every day," it's pretty clear Addazio/Day are set on bringing in two DUAL QBs in this class. I don't think ratings come into play, nor do I think either Gillins or Wade are afraid of a little competition. What Arizona and Wisconsin have on BC/Louisville is that they don't currently have a QB in the class, so either of Gillins other two leaders could scoop him up based on that. But until an offer from Louisville comes in, or until Gillins names a new leader for his services, I'm going to predict Gillins to BC.

S Matt Morrissey, Lincolnshire, IL (Adlai E Stevenson)

Offers: Boston College, Michigan State, Illinois, Syracuse

Brian: BC looked to be in pretty good shape to land the services of Matt Morrissey, brother of former Eagles LB Mike, and then along came Michigan State. Mike and Matt's father, Jim was a standout in East Lansing before playing nine seasons in the NFL with the Bears and Packers. Matt is visiting Michigan State this weekend and chances are good that the Spartans come out of the weekend with a commitment from the younger Morrissey.

A.J: I have to agree with you here Brian. I was praying that BC could have landed him before Michigan State could offer, but that appears to be too late. I thought that maybe his brother being an alum would have helped, but I think his father's legacy will trump that, unless Addazio really makes a push. It's only a matter of time before Matt follows in his father's footsteps and commits to the Spartans.

ATH Lubern Figaro, Everett, MA (Everett)

Offers: Boston College, Connecticut, Vanderbilt, Michigan State, Syracuse

A.J: Figaro is being recruited in the secondary, a position Boston College is clearly in need of in terms of depth. However I have a bad feeling about how long this process has been dragging out for Figaro. The Everett senior will be deciding his college today at 5pm. Boston College offered to him early, and Figaro said that he wanted to wait to decide where until he made all his visits. Is he just doing his due diligence, or is he waiting for a school that has something that Boston College does not. Call me a pessimist, but I feel we are getting dragged along just like the Trey Klock situation and in the end Figaro will go elsewhere.

Recently he tweeted something out about "whether he wanted to play in the ACC, B10 or SEC". I think he is going to lean towards the Big Ten, where Michigan State is pushing for him hard. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up with the Spartans by July. Interestingly enough though, Figaro has yet to make a visit to either Vanderbilt or Michigan State.

Brian: I'm strangely optimistic about Boston College landing Figaro. I do think he's looking around and hoping for a few more offers, but I'm also hearing that he wants to make a decision by the end of the summer. Right now, with a top four that includes BC, Michigan State, Syracuse and Vanderbilt, I like the Eagles to keep Figaro in state. Call it a hunch.

Let's just hope that another defensive back from Everett doesn't end up at Syracuse. I've seen that movie before. Hated the ending.

TE Ryan Izzo, Sparta, NJ (Pope John Paul XXIII)

Offers: Boston College, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Iowa, Rutgers, Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota, USC, Wisconsin

Brian: Izzo, a 6-foot-6, 220 pound tight end from Sparta, NJ is from the same high school as BC sophomore Malachi Moore. He has an impressive offer sheet, claiming offers from more than a dozen programs including, BC, Florida State, USC and Virginia Tech. BC and Virginia Tech seemed to be out in front with Izzo's commitment, but recent offers from Florida State and USC seem to have piqued his interest. Since taking an unofficial visit to BC, Izzo has hit Iowa's Junior Day and has planned upcoming unofficial visits to Wisconsin and USC.

While both current predictions have BC landing Izzo, I think the fact that the school just offered 2014 TE Tom Sweeney out of Don Bosco indicates that BC is out of the running for the tight end. I'm not ready to make a definitive prediction on Izzo yet other than to guess that he's not going to be playing on the Heights.

A.J: The offers keep pouring in for Izzo, and the odds that Addazio lands him shrinks by the day. However, he has shown that he wanted to come to Boston College, and that is something that the coaching staff has keyed in on with this class. The days BC would immediately lose a target to another BCS program are gone, thank god, and I think BC could push hard to get this kid in the end. He could be one of the biggest surprises in this portion of the recruiting schedule.

Like Brian, I have a feeling Tom Sweeney is going to be the tight end that Boston College goes with here to complement Kevin Cohee. Sweeney falls right into line with what the offense was looking for when they recruited Trey Klock. He is 6'6 and has a gigantic frame that they can fill to whatever size they need.