At Boston College last spring there were questions about stability within the program. Coach Jagodzinski had been fired only two months before, and a career assistant subsequently headed the Boston College program.

With the whirlwind surrounding the coaching situation as well as an offensive quarterback situation (Only four games of starting experience at the college level between three candidates) yet to subside, but Boston College and new head coach Frank Spaziani felt that there was a least one constant in their football program; their defense.

As stars like Mike McLaughlin (Achilles) and Mark Herzlich (Cancer) started to fall out of starting positions, chaos ensued in and around Alumni Stadium.

2009 ended for the Eagles with an eight-win season. The fall was filled with multiple cases of surprising underclassmen who stepped into key leadership roles during the 2009 campaign. The Eagles head into 2010 with eight returning starters on both sides of the ball, and look to build off of what many analysts call a comeback season for the ages.

By March 15, the Eagles will begin their 2010 spring practices. As many would expect, the spotlight is on Mark Herzlich.

Herzlich is coming back from a seemingly impossible journey from a cancer patient, to a cancer survivor. If he is able to return to the form he possessed in 2008, the Eagles should have high expectations once again for their defense. Herzlich provides strength to every player on Boston College and has given them motivation to work as hard as he has worked for the past year.

Ambition and courage are just two characteristics Herzlich brings to the table, and as he hopes, out onto the field. If that occurs, Herzlich’s starting position at linebacker is all but secure.

But for many other players vying for a starting spot on the team, the battle has only just begun. Here are some position battles that I believe will make some waves with BC coaches and fans alike.

Quarterback: Dave Shinskie vs. Chase Rettig

The battle of the 26-year-old sophomore vs. the 18-year-old freshman. Landing the starting job after a strong performance against Wake Forest last year, Dave Shinskie had a season similar to the Superman rollercoaster at Six Flags.

Shinskie and the Eagles have soared in great performances against Florida State and Central Michigan, but had their wings clipped in games against Clemson and USC. The USC game left a bad taste in a BC fan’s mouth, and many are looking for change.

That change could very well come in the form of freshman Chase Rettig. Arriving here in January and having a great showing at the Under Armour All-American game catapulted Rettig from a contender to a favorite for the job as field general.

Strong Safety: Okechukwu Okoroha vs. Jim Noel

In the 2009 season, BC had a rock in their secondary named Marcellus Bowman. Marcellus delivered mind-blowing hits every single Saturday (including one on Kent State’s Eugene Jarvis). Bowman has now graduated, and it is time for another safety to step up in his place.

Jim Noel will be a true sophomore next season and received more playing time than Okoroha did. With Noel’s lanky yet athletic 6’5" frame, I believe he has the upper hand on Okoroha at this point.

Okechukwu did come to the Heights with what many thought to be a huge ceiling. It will be very interesting to see how these common interest stories and position battles shake out for the next few weeks.

Recruit: Miles Shuler Position / High School / Hometown: ATH / Long Branch / Long Branch, NJ Measurables: 5-11 / 173 / 4.38 Videos: [1] [2] Rankings and Profiles: - Rivals: UNR - Scout: - ESPN: UNR Other Schools: California, Connecticut, Duke, Maryland, Michigan, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Stanford, UCLA, Virginia

Miles attends Long Beach High School in New Jersey, and thrives at both football and track. Coming into his senior season, Miles has created an astounding amount of buzz because of his great junior film, which numerous D-1 programs have gotten a hold of.

I had the privilege of watching his tape. I was taken aback at his ability to make a play out of nothing. Quentin Gause, who I evaluated prior to Miles, uses more of a brute type strength to get past defenders. Miles uses his shiftiness and fluent cutbacks to break through the defense.

His coaches at Long Beach use Miles at the quarterback position because every play starts with him. At first, I underestimated his throwing credentials but I quickly ate my words when I saw the first pass. He possesses a decent arm but uses his speed well while throwing. His passes don’t have much zip but he still has great accuracy with the majority of his throws.

With Shuler's type of speed and playmaking ability, there was no doubt the LBHS coaches would keep his talents restricted to just passing plays. For about 70% of the plays on his tape, Miles was running out of the backfield instead of passing from it.

This proved to be a wise decision because Shuler is as elusive as they come. As he juked and sliced every defender he faced, it became apparent that even the best defenses in the league could only hope to contain him. To add to his lateral quickness, Shuler is also the proud owner of a (4.2) 40 time.

Verdict: With countless offers coming in for Shuler, he will have to start to narrow down his college choices. After attending many junior days already, coaches have had a chance to woo him even before an official visit may be made by the star junior. In the upcoming months, Shuler will have to make some important decisions, but I don’t doubt they’ll be the right ones for him.

Ed note: Promoting story to the front page.

Recruit: Quentin Gause Position / High School / Hometown: ATH / Bishop Kearny HS / Rochester, NY Measurables: 6-2 / 215 / 4.5 Videos: [1] Rankings and Profiles: - Rivals: UNR - Scout: - ESPN: UNR Other Schools: Akron, Miami (FL), Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia Tech

In recruiting data around the Internet, Quentin Gause is labeled as an athlete. Athlete by definition is "a person possessing the natural or acquired traits or talents." Because of these talents, he is not subjected to one single position on the Bishop Kearney football team. Instead, he plays running back, wide receiver, linebacker and kick returner. Quentin has all the right tools to be great at each of these positions.

Below is an analysis of how he stacks up for each of these positions.

Running Back. Although at times it seemed he looked a little awkward running with the ball from the backfield, Gause still has the speed and monstrous strength to negate any tendencies that may have overlapped from other positions. Quentin’s speed is unrivaled out of the backfield in many of his runs. On film, he doesn’t seem overwhelmingly fast. But, do not be fooled by his long stride and upright stance, he is the real deal in terms of running the ball.

Wide Receiver.  The discomfort that Gause seem to have running the football that I had made a note of during his running back portion of the film seems to disappear when looking at him catching the ball. Catching routes 20+ yards downfield is extremely impressive, but his screen plays absolutely amaze me. Screens that seem to be dead at the line of scrimmage are quickly revived once the ball is shoveled to Gause. His vision downfield is exceptional during these plays as well.

Linebacker. Playing offensive positions such as running back and wide receiver greatly help a defensive player. The same is true for Gause, who has the unique ability to scan the beginning of an opposing teams play and explode toward the ball. If Quentin ever misses a read (rarely happens) he has that same speed used on the offensive side of the ball to make up ground that usually leads to some rattling hits set on the opposition.

Kick Return. Every talent Quentin Gause possesses is used to the maximum when returning kicks. He uses his speed to blow past defenders, brute strength to topple defenders and has the vision up field to find that perfect seam to make a big play.

Verdict: Quentin Gause is easily one of the best overall athletes in the 2011 class. If Bishop Kearney needs him on almost every single down of their games, I know for a fact that he will find his place with a top-tier Division I program. It will be interesting to see what position he plans on playing in college and what the coaches recruiting him want Gause to play. This determination could play a huge factor into the direction of his commitment. You can never go wrong with a non-stop playmaker like Quentin Gause in your program.

Grade: A-

Hey guys I just made a Recruiting Wrap-Up for the Orange. Let me know what you think

On November 17, 2008, Syracuse University football coach Greg Robinson was fired two games before the season ended. The decision to fire coach Robinson left the Syracuse football program in utter turmoil.

A month later, SU decided to hire first time head coach Doug Marrone to try and rebuild this program from the ground up. With a decent recruiting class that was bolstered by the signing of former Duke University point guard Greg Paulus, Syracuse looked like a team on the way up in the always unpredictable Big East.

In 2009, the Orangemen posted a 4-8 record which is actually quite good by the standard that had been set the past few years under Williams.

As the Paulus experiment became officially over, it was very apparent to the orange faithful that the 2010 recruiting class would need a signal caller. Syracuse ended up receiving a commitment from Jonny Miller of Denver.

Miller is ranked near the top of almost every scout’s board as a quarterback recruit from J. K. Mullen HS and is known for his great pocket presence as well as his leg ability. With much more work on his throwing technique, Miller has a great opportunity to compete for the Syracuse starting job heading into team practices.

Miller’s height is also an issue that scared many teams away from offering him during the recruiting season, but he has a chance to silence any and all critics once he starts performing at Syracuse this spring.

When a coach is trying to restructure a program, it is always essential to start on defense. At the end of the 2009 season, Syracuse was ranked at the bottom of the Big East in almost every defensive category.

To add insult to injury, the Orangemen defense gave up an average of 24 points per game. Heading into the final stretch before National Signing Day, Coach Marrone and his staff knew they had to meet their most pressing issue: the defense.

To bolster a very leaky defense, Syracuse received pledges from cornerback Jeremi Wilkes and defensive end Max Beaulieu. Both prospects are from Florida and bring hope up to New York. Wilkes used his remarkable footwork along with great instincts to become one of the best cornerback recruits in the nation.

Beaulieu also received a great amount of high profile offers but opted to go to Syracuse to help rebuild the defense. Beaulieu has great potential as a defensive end at the next level. With better conditioning, he could make great plays for the Orange at a consistent rate.

In Syracuse, it is evident that the Robinson regime may still affect the football program for a few more years. While that sadly may be true, Doug Marrone and the brass of the football program are making a concerted effort to move this football team out of the cellar in the Big East Standings.

Heres an Eval I did of Khairi Fortt. Amazing player overall

Khairi Fortt-

As Penn State’s most celebrated prospect, I will be evaluating exactly what makes Khairi better than the rest of the linebackers in the nation. From the first play on his game tape, Khairi impressed the most with his burst through the offensive line. He was able to get into the backfield and at the quarterback before he could even look downfield. The tantalizing combination of quickness and strength helps make almost all of the plays Khairi is in on. Fortt possess great instinct but in the plays that his instinct is wrong and leaves puts his body one step behind the runner. This would be an issue for most inside linebackers, but Fortt just turns to another gear and gets right back on the play. Even though his duties at Penn State through the years will be mostly as in blitz package because of his superior play, he possesses the uncanny ability as an ILB to cover tight ends around the field and clog up the middle of the field for slot receivers. In the very conservative play of the Big Ten, this characteristic will be essential to the successfulness of both Fortt’s play but the Nittany Lion’s defense as a whole. One of the most sought after traits colleges look for in a linebacker is the ability to be blocked, then in an instant, shed the block and make the quick tackle. This feature was used many times in this game film which impressed me the most. Of course it helps to be a running back on the other side of the ball as well. If Khairi Fortt can work to his potential during his tenure at Penn State, there is no doubt that we will soon see him at the top of draft boards all over the country.

Grade: A

I'm not a PSU fan but I created this for my website. I only included the stars of the class because its a more general article but I personally think that PSU's class was the best class in the Big Ten. Let me know what you think,

Penn State- Defense has constantly been a staple at Penn State ever since Joe Paterno took the reigns over at University Park, PA. That was forty years ago yet the old adage “Offense sells tickets, Defense win championships” has been reinforced by Penn State’s remarkable track record. Heading into the 2010 season, Joe Pa and the Nittany faithful knew they had some key spots to fill on their depth chart. By the end of National Signing Day, Penn State held arguably the best class in the Big Ten. Signing the likes of Khairi Fortt and Evan Hailes became just the top of the iceberg in terms of the Lions recruiting class. Some other big names on the defensive front that are headed to University Park are as follows: Kyle Baublitz, Dakota Royer, C.J. Olaniyan, and Mike Hull. Out of those six names mentioned, all six are ranked on tharinger.com top 500 2010 recruits. And of those six, two players participated in the Under Armour All-American Game. Leading the pack in many respects is Khairi Fortt. Fortt, a Connecticut native and inside linebacker, is considered by many to be the best inside linebacker in the whole country. Although the signing of these great defensive players is sure to be a great help down the road for Penn State University, those types of signings are known to be status quo by now for the Nittany Lions.

The more surprising commits came on the offensive side of the ball in the 2010 class. After losing their dynamic senior leader in Daryll Clark, the coaching staff made quarterback a necessity for this class. As usual, the staff delivered, and delivered in a huge way. Robert Bolden is ranked extremely high in the quarterback category through out the whole country and has signed his letter of intent to Penn State. Having much of the same traits Clark had during his tenure at PSU, it is obvious that they are expecting great things from the incoming freshman. Joining him in the backfield is The King & Low Heywood Thomas School product, Silas Redd. With enough toughness to compliment his quick burst into the open field, Silas is sure to fit into the very conservative style of offense Penn State is known for.

The Nittany Lions are sure to have great playmaking ability on defense and offense for years to come because of this near perfect recruiting class. The players on tap to join an already vast core of talent at PSU are sure to add even more depth and ability to this storied program.

 Headliner: Khairi Fortt, LB

Sleeper: Brad Bars, LB

Grade: A

Ed note: Promoting story to the front page.

Shakim Phillips
Position: Wide Receiver
Hometown: Wayne, NJ
High School: DePaul Catholic
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 191 lbs.

Early Enrolled: No

Rivals.com position rank: 21
Scout.com position rank: 29 
Stars: 4* (Rivals) / 3* (Scout)

The Buzz:

Coming into the 2009 season, the Boston College Eagles were undergoing coaching changes while trying to deal with internal team losses.

Sophomore quarterback Dominique Davis had transferred out of Boston College due to grades and star linebackers were not projected to have a chance playing in 2009. The coaching staff scrambled to find another quarterback to add to the 2009 recruiting class.

They found that quarterback in 25 year old, ex minor league baseball player, Dave Shinskie. While many believed that he was far too displaced from the game, others thought he had all the tools to be successful for his whole career at the heights. Would Shinskie be a prominent ACC quarterback for years to come for the Eagles? Only time could tell.

Arguably the best thing Shinskie had going for him was BC’s experienced and talented wide receiving corps. With four seniors, including the much hyped Rich Gunnell, it was believed that Shinskie would receive as much help as he needed coming into the season.

The 2009 season came and went, and the Eagles went 8-5, including an Emerald Bowl loss to the USC Trojans. While many observers viewed their record as a success, the team as a whole was not satisfied with the final result.

Dave Shinskie had a mediocre season to most. He was known to use Gunnell as a crutch during many games while many other receivers seemed invisible on the field.

Coming into the offseason this was an immediate concern for Coach Spaziani because Rich Gunnell was graduating. While Colin Larmond Jr. had a breakout sophomore year and is projected to be a great deep threat this season, the depth and incoming talent on the roster was still an issue.

Enter Shakim Phillips. Once considered a long shot for the Eagles because of so many other offers from prominent programs (20 to count), he committed to the program in early September because of what he put as “a great balance of football tradition and education."

For Shakim, the stress had finally been lifted from trying to make a final decision of where to play football. He was an Eagle. After finishing his high school career at DePaul Catholic School in New Jersey where they went 7-3 which included a playoff run, he knew he needed to get ready for ACC football. He believed that his speed was the biggest void he needed to fill before coming to Chestnut Hill.

All off season he worked specifically on agility and speed drills in order to become a major threat on the team next year. While trying to stay away from directly recruiting players to join him up at BC, Shakim has become familiar with many incoming recruits as well as players currently on the roster.

Shakim said that when he met Colin Larmond Jr. on his official visit, the two hit it off immediately. They have spoken since then and Shakim said they have built a good friendship.

As for incoming freshmen, Shakim has become most familiar with C.J. Jones from Delaware who will vie for a spot on the Eagles secondary this year. Phillips said that he continues to remind C.J. which of the two was selected to play in the Army All-American game in San Antonio. While he joked about it often, Shakim said that it was “a privilege and an honor to be selected to play in this prestigious game.”

In San Antonio, he was able to work with great coaches as well as quarterback talent he was not usually accustomed to. He very well may be able to retain that sensation when he hits the field as an Eagle next year because prominent California product Chase Rettig is in the 2010 class as well.

As expected by any wide receiver, Shakim is extremely happy to have a quarterback with as much potential as Chase Rettig come to BC as well. As Shakim put it, “It’s great to have that type of player to put your faith into as a receiver. It just makes everything on the field easier for us [receivers]” With Chase already beginning his career at Boston College, Shakim has to wait until graduation before he can officially practice for the Eagles.

He’s counting down the days to National Signing day so he can finally put on his BC hat and end all stress accumulated his senior year. While he is still debatable whether or not BC’s 2010 class will reach its full potential, one thing definitely is for certain; Shakim Phillips is one player who won’t allow his talent and his promising future at Boston College to go to waste.

As Phillips stated “The doubters can speculate all they want, but at the end of the day, it’s going to be my work and passion for the game that will get me to where I want to be.” A determined player for a determined program.

Ed note: Promoting story to the front page. Feel free to add your comments below.

After a roller coaster 2009 season, Boston College coach Frank Spaziani has his first full recruiting class under his belt. Unlike last year, there were not too many gaping holes to fill this year.

Last year, Luke Keuchly (Freshman All-American) was pressed into action because of injuries to all three starting linebackers, although this seemed to work out extremely well as Keuchly went on to have the second most tackles in all of college football.

Spaziani knew that this type of luck couldn’t last forever, and the coaching staff started establishing their 2010 class. Their first commitment of this class ultimately became their highest-ranked player.

Kevin Pierre-Louis is from The King & Low Heywood Thomas School in Connecticut and first committed to BC under the Jeff Jagodzinski regime, but withdrew that commitment after Jagodzinski was fired last January. He soon recommitted to Boston College after building a great relationship with the new coaching staff. Along with Pierre-Louis, the Eagles received pledges from other great defensive players like Steele Divitto, Dominic Appiah, and C.J. Jones.

Pierre-Louis and Divitto received a great amount of fanfare coming to the Heights, but we must not forget about some great talent on offense. Having two different starters in the 2009 season, the quarterback situation looked bleak for the Eagles.

In July of 2009, Chase Rettig of San Clemente, California committed to Boston College. Rettig is known to have exceptional velocity when he releases the ball, but still has to try and hone his accuracy in order to vie for the starting slot come September.

Another great offensive playmaker the Eagles were able to sign was Shakim Phillips of New Jersey.

After receiving nearly 20 offers from college programs, it was apparent that Shakim had some sorting out to do. It actually came as a surprise to many BC fans that Shakim displayed his loyalty to the Eagles.

Shakim played special teams and wide receiver at DePaul Catholic HS and was a playmaking threat every time he touched the ball. For Eagle fans hoping to see the likes of Matt Ryan and a new breed of wideouts at Alumni Stadium, they may very well get their wish as soon as next year.

Without any National Signing Day publicity, like many other top tier programs had, Boston College quietly put away Spaziani’s first class as a head coach. The Eagles did receive some great talent to fill necessary holes for next year, but they did fail to sign some great players they had atop their board.

That being said, only losing three starters on both sides of the ball this past year will be a great way to slowly get these new recruits in the process. This 2010 class doesn’t feel the same type of urgency that the 2009 class felt a year earlier, and I am confident that fans of Boston College hope that will translate to success immediately, as well as a few years down the road.

Headliner: Chase Rettig, QB

Sleeper: Josh Bordner, QB/LB

Grade: B+