Boston College Vs. NC State: Steve Addazio Press Conference Highlights

For the whole transcript, head on over to the BC athletics website.

Addazio on John Fadule's performance...

I kind of felt that was going to happen, but you never know. It's hard to say that you can take what you see in practice and parlay it into a game. The actual game just brings about so many unknown things that can happen. Can he throw it? Yes. Can he run it? Yes. Is he an intelligent guy? Is he a competitive guy? Can he compete? Just check the marks across the board. Yes, yes and yes. But until you get on the field, it's hard to see how guys react. I thought he reacted well.

I'll be honest and admit I never thought Fadule's performance would be that great. It took a half or so for him to get acclimated, but BC really moved the ball well in the second half (where "well" is relative to the rest of the season, of course). He showed an ability to read down a defense, check off, and make a play.

I also think BC changed its mentality throughout the second half of play. Like I said in the film study prior to the game, his "compete level" (or grittiness, perseverance, whatever you want to call it) is off the charts. He loves to hit, and he loves to get hit. He's undersized, but he's strong. He's muscular and thick. He's the type of guy who looks at a defender and says, "Bring it on." That's an attitude BC, at times, played without - at least visibly.

In watching Fadule, I really saw a quarterback with a low risk that can be a good enough QB for the rest of this year. I think he's earned another look. At some point, he's going to take some steps back and face adversity, but I can't help being a little curious to see how he handles it.

On Fadule's mechanics...

He throws the ball well. He throws a tight spiral, he's got a pretty strong arm and he's got a pretty quick release. He kept his eyes down the field and made some plays. I think he's got to get used to the pocket, which this year, it's been a challenge to begin with because sometimes the pocket isn't always what it should be. But there were times where we had a good pocket. It's just about hanging in there and being comfortable and taking some reps. But as far as finding open receivers and making plays down the field? He can do all that.

Part of Fadule's ability to make plays is his willingness to stand in there and get hit. When there are guys around him, he stood in there and made the play. When the play broke down, he didn't run for his life; he ran to make the play. Instead of going down or taking a bad shot, he did the little things right. In the second half, he was able to find open receivers with presnap reads, get the ball, and make a quick throw before the offensive line had a chance to break down. It didn't hurt that BC changed some of their plays to cut receivers into the middle of the field.

This doesn't anoint Fadule as the savior of the offense. Sometimes his first check down went to the run, and there were times when you saw him get caught up in the game. I thought the first half wasn't a shining beacon of work. It means, short term, in one game, he did well enough to warrant a second look. I'm not looking any further than just this past Saturday and what that means for this coming Saturday if he sees time against an NC State defense that is downright nasty good.

On Fadule's progression...

He had a chance to go play football at Harvard on scholarship, but he wanted to play Power 5 football. He was willing to walk-on and earn a scholarship [at Boston College]. That really impressed me. Here's a guy that's willing to give up that opportunity so he can have the chance to be a walk-on. All he wanted was a fair shot to earn a scholarship. I think that tells you a lot about a guy. I had great appreciation for that. He came in here, kept his mouth shut and went about his business. He wasn't getting a lot of reps in training camp. Then by the end of training camp you could begin to see that he had some ability in terms of throwing the ball. But it was inconsistent and we [were focused] on getting Darius Wade ready. But little by little, we built up a bank of watching him. I think what caught my attention was against our defense he was making plays without much in front of him. After that we started filtering him in on 7-on-7's and different things. He made all the throws and we kept increasing his reps little by little.

One day, a month ago maybe, I grabbed him and said, 'I'm not sure that you can't play here.' That emotionally touched him and you could tell how much that meant to the guy. That impacted me. I was like, 'Wow, there's something to this here.' Then I wanted him to start taking some reps.

I love a good story like that. This is an FCS quarterback who wanted to play at BC. He wanted to just take a chance at it and see what would happen. He fought and clawed for everything he had, and once he got to a point where he could show what he could do, the coaches noticed him. This doesn't make him a savior, but it means he needed all the time until Saturday to show he could make plays.

Should Addazio have been starting him from Day One, like some people have said? I don't believe so. I think he needed to work his way up to develop and get caught up. He needed to see what scholarship athletes can do in raw ability. He needed to give the coaches a sample size in practice. They needed to fix mechanics, work on progressions in practice. Then he needed to earn his time with the scout team. Then take the next step. And then take the next one after that. Had he been thrown in front from the start, we would be wondering why they gave him a uniform.

There's really something to needing time and reps. I really believe that. At some point, Fadule's going to take some big steps back and find things to fix. That's the key to these next few weeks.

Side note - how does Harvard offer scholarships? I thought the Ivy League didn't offer athletic scholarships. In fact, it's typed in bold on the Ivy League website. This is just me going nuts.

On Fadule's play as a breath of fresh air...

He was lowering his shoulder on people and making some plays. I like to see all of those things, but I also know that one game doesn't make a career or make a season. I've been around long enough. So let's just let it go a little bit. He's still a young guy and he's still a freshman. He hasn't played a lot of football. I don't care who you are, there's going to be a rollercoaster ride. We've been on it several times this year.

Exactly what I've been saying. One game is one game. He's going to make some mistakes at some point. When he does, he'll face the wrath of a crowd clamoring to put back in Jeff Smith or Troy Flutie. Then again, everyone can just probably blame the coaching staff so I guess he's playing with house money.

Joking aside, I really think Fadule's play is a "breath of fresh air." I think that it becomes a major topic of conversation because we're into November, and it's really the first highlight of the offense this year. It's a good feeling to watch a BC quarterback exceed expectations. That's not really saying much because expectations are in the tank these days, but it feels good to feel good again about something.