It was a sunny day, almost 60 degrees. The Mods were buzzing before noon, there was a moonwalk outside the Plex, and there was a stream of Superfan shirts migrating toward Alumni Stadium.
It was time for football again.
Yes, it is almost May, and classes are wrapping up for the year, and the Eagles were playing against each other instead of Florida State or Notre Dame, but there was still life inside Alumni for the first time since the Eagles took down Miami in sub-zero post-Thanksgiving weather.
Things looked a little different than they did in November, though. For the first time in my Boston College career, there was no No. 12 wearing a green jersey, taking the snaps. That No. 12 was in New York, preparing to redeem a franchise whose old quarterback has 18 months left in the slammer before he ever gets to see the light of a football field ever again.
He was wearing a Falcons hat, and he looked a little shell-shocked and overwhelmed, but it was still the same old Matty Ice with the same old tunnel vision. You say "Atlanta," he says "Winning games." Literally.
So while one quarterback became acquainted with the future in the Big Apple, another four quarterbacks got their first glimpses of the future - and of the Eagles' defense - back at home. The good news is that, judging by Saturday's match-up, next year's secondary is looking pretty damn good. The bad news, obviously, is that they looked good by intercepting their own quarterbacks three times.
From far away, Chris Crane could've passed for Matt Ryan. Same build, same height. Then, of course, Crane started running.
Overall, he looked pretty good. He connected with Rich Gunnell on a typical Rich Gunnell play - an "Oh-my-God-he's-open, Oh-my-God-he-caught-it" (see: Clemson) - and that provided some pretty encouraging evidence that the offense is still intact.
It's hard to judge a spring football game. The final score says that the defense dominated, 48-34, but the point system is kind of like the surgical point system from last week's Grey's Anatomy, and the defense solved the 80-point medical mystery when Razzie Smith (I think) picked off Dominique Davis and returned the ball for a touchdown. (I say "I think" because after the play, I spent the remainder of the half trying to figure out who No. 21 was. It looked like A.J. Brooks, but he's not on the team anymore, and on the roster, backup QB John Lowell is listed as No. 21. It definitely wasn't him. So there was a consensus decision that Razzie Smith was the logical option.)
Anyway, the defense played well. They knocked down a bunch of balls and they almost intercepted three consecutive passes in one series at one point. Plus, Brian Toal was back. But how do you judge an offense that rotated between four different quarterbacks for 60 minutes?
One thing's for sure. Next year won't be like this year. No Heisman-type quarterback, no grizzled vets at tailback, no Dumpster-digging powerhouse at safety. But next year, there will be a quarterback who I've heard will be the best one-year starter in the history of Boston College, there will be a rookie-sensation running back who's supposed to light up the backfield, and there will be a linebacking core led by a guy who's been dying to get back on the field since the second he went down last spring.
They look a little different, but they're still the same guys - kind of like Matt Ryan. And next September, when it's really time for football again, they'll prove it.
Spring Break
