Boston College Vs. Maine: Steve Addazio Press Conference Highlights

On Monday, Boston College head coach Steve Addazio conducted his first weekly press conference of the 2015 season. The full transcript can be found by clicking here. Here are some highlights and reaction to what he had to say:

Opening Statement:

[We're] excited and getting ready for that first game against Maine. It's hard to believe the season is here. I was telling the guys today that the biggest thing you suffer from sometimes during the preseason camp mode which is like, 'Okay we have another day of practice today' and the reality of it is that today is the Tuesday of Maine week.

Mike Giacone got hurt early in training camp which is season-ending for him. We will look forward to having Mike back here next year. It is a real tough loss for us and for him. He is a great kid and one of the truly great kids in our program who was looking forward to this season. We will miss him this season but we will be fine and he will be back and be able to redo that year. We've also sustained a couple of injuries [to] a couple of our freshman [sic]. Chris Garrison had surgery today and we will be without him for a couple of weeks, as is Ben Glines. A few of those things have hit us, which affects your depth a little bit. They were all exciting players that we will be without, one for the year, a couple for an extended period of time.

You really catch the drift that the start of the season is coming at exactly the perfect time. The first few days of camp are always exciting, getting back into drills and doing the first couple of runs with helmets on. And you have to think the first scrimmage is exciting because it's the first time the team gets a chance to "play for real" in game-type situations.

Over time, though, the grind of camp becomes exactly that. Players and coaches work hard, but you get the feeling that they're simply going through the motions to an extent. Once they wake up and get back to practice, knowing there's a real game at the end, it becomes something different. Drills become intense again, and I can only imagine what runs through their head as they draw closer to the Friday walkthrough.

As exciting as it is, however, there's the looming shadows of injuries. Three exciting players that could really bring something to the table are out. That hurts, and you can tell Coach Addazio is a guy who is really excited for the start of the season. That a couple of his guys can't experience that excitement pains him, especially because he knows how special they could be in a situation like the ones the players will experience on Saturday.

On injuries:

[Chris Garrison] had a hand injury and had to get that fixed. He [and Ben Glines] will be out for an extended period of time, somewhere in that 6-8 week time frame. Mike Giacone will be out for the year with a lower leg injury. Mike will be able to come back for a fifth year. He didn't redshirt. He has a fifth year. Tim [Joy] is out for a week to two weeks. He just tweaked his knee a little bit. It is not a serious thing at all. He will be back. He wasn't on the two-deep because he is out. We try to have the two deep chart reflect who will be playing in the game.

Well okay. Not much else to see other than an expansion on Coach Addazio's previous points.

On the quarterback situation:

I would say all those guys are battling. Each one of them has done some good things and they are all a snap away. i can't tell you that there is a big divide between any of them, including Darius [Wade]. Obviously we have named Darius the starter; there is a little separation there, but not huge. John Fadule is a talented guy, too. I think that all those guys are in the mix. We moved Elijah [Robinson] out of that mix and put him in the wide receiver, the "X" position, and he looks fantastic. We are very excited about that. We were very excited about Ben Glines and [Chris] Garrison. Those two guys would have played for us right in game one. We are missing those guys. Brendan Nosovitch has done a good job for us. You will probably see him in the first game. He has done a nice job. I think you could see him in the game as well.

I feel like this started out talking about the quarterback situation and just kind of derailed from there. I also think that Coach Addazio is probably sick of answering who his quarterback is going to be each week. The two-deep speaks for itself. Darius Wade is the starter. Jeff Smith and Troy Flutie are backing him up, and John Fadule is in the mix. The end.

On the importance of the O-line gaining trust early in the Maine game:

It's important. It's these first games. We played Maine last year right after we beat USC and we couldn't have played any worse. It was awful out there. We were fumbling it, throwing interceptions, bumbling around. These first games sometimes are not really great definers of anything. It's more of a 'Who cannot turn the ball over and can make a few big plays along the way.' I think with us, we are going to be very careful to not put people in that position that in game one they should not be in.

I realize I've changed my tune a little bit as the season's started coming closer and closer. Over the summer, I would've thought the Eagles would run exactly the same style offense. As the season's gotten closer and closer, I've realized Darius Wade's skill set, the receiving skill set, the coaching mindset - it may all be different. There's no way we can tell what BC will decide to do when it comes to what happens between the lines.

For that reason, again, that's what I believe Saturday will give us. I believe predicting the BC mindset, on both sides of the ball, is something that we do because it's a natural reflex. But the truth is we have no idea what BC will do until they actually do it. So let's take the first game for what it is - the Eagles are going to display what they need to for the players to grow into their comfort level.

On the young offensive line facing pressure:

We face pressure every single day with our defense. That is all we see. We wouldn't know what to do if we didn't to be honest with you. That is the good news that we see it all the time. From every style, every front and every corner. It's not something we should feel worried about. I think there's a fine line between developing confidence and in the big scheme of things, you will become a better team and a better offense when you learn how to handle all that. There is a fine line with confidence. It is much easier for a defense to throw a bunch of blitzes than for an offense to pick them up early.

I'm pretty sure the defense blitzed the ever-living crap out of the offense solely to get them ready for what they might see in a given day. Realizing there's more to the game than just pushing people around, they're trying to develop the offense to get better and better under pressure. I like that mindset. While beating on them with all of the blitzes and the defensive ability, the Eagles are instead doing what they feel is right to instill confidence.

I'm still worried how they will play at certain times, but I'm encouraged by what Coach Addazio had to say. I'm also encouraged that this team will be a work in progress and ultimately get better as the year progresses.

On the first opponent Maine:

Maine has been one of the steadiest teams in FCS football. They've had some great seasons. They are well coached, well put together, tough, physical. They've got some really good players. They are a very fine team. We have a ton of respect for them. Put on the tape from last year. We had just beaten a top-1- overall team and we found ourselves down 7-0 to start the game. What'd we do? First snap of the game we fumble it. Same series we throw a pick. They are on scholarship, they practice all preseason too. It'l be a really good contest and we have a lot of respect for them. That's a good football team. Maine, New Hampshire - those are really good football teams...You can play weak FCS opponents. We're not playing one here.

I talked to a couple of people in FCS this week, and they all had a consensus - Jack Cosgrove is a solid football coach and a good man. Nobody has ever spoken ill of him. Even though this is a game where Boston College is expected to win, I'm looking forward to watching how Maine competes. I'm also looking forward to both teams treating the game with the respect their coaches will command.