GREENSBORO, N.C. — Boston College coach Steve Addazio spoke with reporters on Day 2 of the ACC Kickoff. Here are a few nuggets we learned about the Eagles.
•Addazio makes it very clear that he believes the offensive line is the most important position group on the team. And that’s one reason he has optimism heading into this season. “We’re going to be good up front,” he said. “We’re not going to take a step back on the offensive line. That’s not going to happen.”
•Despite the loss of Alex Amidon and a lack of big names in the receiving corps, Addazio believes his wideouts will have the opportunity to make some big plays this season. He notes that due to the Eagles’ tendency to run the ball, opposing defenses try to stack the box and defend receivers one-on-one. He has hopes that Dan Crimmins, Charlie Callinan and Josh Bordner can use their size to take advantage of those matchups.
•Don’t expect the Eagles to get caught up in the trend of high-octane offenses. Addazio said Boston College will maintain a huddle-up, prodding attack. He believes his offensive line is the biggest strength of his offense, and he thinks running more plays at a higher tempo would weaken that advantage.
•It seems like everything in sports centers around advanced metrics and statistics now. Addazio is not down with that trend. “The stat game wears me out,” he said. “This whole stat thing drives me insane. What is the most important stat?” He does think defensive stats are more important than offensive stats, and he believes turnover margin and average field position are the biggest indicators of success.
•Addazio was hesitant to mention any freshmen who he thinks can make a difference this year, but he did note that linebacker Connor Strachan could be one of them. “I love Strachan,” he said. “He’s big, and he’s fast … He’s really talented.”
•The Eagles had nearly 20 players leave the program this offseason, and that’s changed the way they can practice. Addazio said he’s cut practice time down due to the lack of depth. With that lack of depth — and with a small amount of walk-ons — Boston College has to run a lot of drills that pit the first-team offense against the first-team defense. The Eagles don’t have the numbers to piece together a sound scout team.