As strange as this might sound, there are actually things to talk about in the world of college football right now besides the Ponzi-schemin’, strip-club hangin’, extra benefit takin’ Miami Hurricanes. Camps are open, jobs are being won and lost, and injuries are altering how we feel about specific teams.
That is certainly the case up in Chestnut Hill, MA, where Boston College was dealt a crippling blow yesterday, as coach Frank Spaziani announced that All-ACC running back Montel Harris would missed 3-4 weeks after undergoing knee surgery. It was the same left knee that abruptly ended his 2010 season with two games to go, and had been bothering him since. Harris was expected to play in the Eagles bowl game last January, but suffered a setback during his recovery, and still wasn’t 100 percent by the spring.
Now Boston College’s best player will miss the Eagles September 3 opener against Northwestern, if not more time.
“He was fine for a few days, and then he came out at practice yesterday and said that it doesn’t feel right,’’ said Spaziani. “So we shut him down and said, “Let’s go to the doctor,’ who looked at it again. They took an MRI and they said they were going to scope him.’’
Understand that Harris isn’t just some good running back, but was quite literally one of the best in the country last season. The junior rushed for 1,243 yards last season, with eight games of over 100+ yards, including six in a row before his knee injury. Harris was voted by conference coaches as the ACC Preseason Player of the Year.
Luckily for the Eagles, Harris does have a capable replacement in back-up Andre Williams. Williams burst onto the scene with 108 yards against Virginia last season, and then followed it up with 185 against Syracuse in the season finale. The sophomore from Pennsylvania was expected to see increased time alongside Harris, but now it appears the bulk of the carries are his.
But despite Boston College apparently being set at the running back position, it hardly changes the fact that they were nothing short of woeful everywhere else on offense last year. The Eagles averaged just 18.5 points per game, ranking them 109th in the country, thanks in large part to a passing attack that would be described by some as “bad,” others as “anemic,” and by most as simply “unwatchable.” Spaziani’s club played three different quarterbacks, with true freshman Chase Rettig eventually winning the job, if only by default after struggles by Dave Schinskie and Matt Marscovetra. Even then Rettig struggled, completing just 51 percent of his passes, and throwing six touchdowns to nine interceptions. It probably doesn’t help that the Eagles also lost the anchor of their offensive line, Anthony Costanzo, who was a first round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in June’s NFL Draft.
And it’s for that reason exactly that this injury is so concerning. Even if Williams did emerge as a competent second back late last year, this offense is young in the wrong places, and was still likely to revolve heavily around the ball-carrying of Harris.
Things especially won’t be easy for the Eagles, as they open up with two of the more underrated teams in college football to start their season. They play Northwestern on September 3 at home, before traveling down to Central Florida, to take on a wildly underrated Golden Knights team a week later.
Harris has the option to redshirt this year, although Spaziani did not indicate if he would at this point or not.
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