Max Holloway (56) tries to get to the quarterback as John Wetzel (73) protects him.

The main thing I took away from Saturday’s game, besides terribly sunburnt shoulders, was that Michael Marscovetra should be the starting quarterback in the September 4th game against Weber State.

Marscovetra and Shinskie were the two starting quarterbacks and the 19-year-old sophomore-to-be outshone his 26-year-old fellow sophomore-to-be counterpart.

Marscovetra displayed more accuracy and better decision making than Shinskie. While the much hyped freshman sensation Chase Rettig displayed a rocket launcher for a right arm, Marscovetra had enough zip to find his receivers darting across Alumni field’s turf. Rettig may have better pro potential, but Marscovetra should be the man to start now, as he gives BC the best chance to win football games.

It appears that Shinskie has not progressed as some thought he might. His poor habit of throwing off his back foot and/or throwing into coverage has persisted. While the public has only seen one of the three scrimmages, Saturday indicated that Dr. Jekyll will be making more appearances than Mr. Hyde this fall if Shinskie gets the nod.

The quarterback position was not the only interesting offensive position to take note of on Saturday. The Eagles were extremely short handed at running back with Deuce Finch going under the knife on Friday and Sterlin Phifer in street clothes due to an injury.  Chris Fox and Mike Javorski got the bulk of the carries as Spaziani likely wanted to keep Montel Harris healthy and fresh. Montel is a Cadillac, and there is no need to be wearing tread off those tires in April, as the rest of the ACC will be gunning for him come fall.

Some pass catchers had a dandy day while others preferred to have an unfortunate case of the “dropsies.” Clyde Lee showed great quickness in and out of his cuts and could be a weapon to move the chains on third-and-short. Marscovetra hit the Texan in stride, who in turn burned a few of the Eagle linebackers. Lee is probably the quickest wide-out Gary Tranquill has at his disposal, so look for Clyde the Glide to be lining up opposite Colin Larmond Jr. this fall.

Larmond Jr. was rockin’ the cut-off sweatpants on the sideline, holding out to nurse a nagging injury. He was seen tutoring redshirt freshman-to-be Jonathan Coleman. Coleman is a gangly, young player, who is a bit goofy, but has an enormous ceiling. The coaches rave about him, and I think Coleman could be an X-factor this season. Coleman is an interesting story and did not start playing football until his junior year of high school. He committed to the Eagles and was the first member in his family to go to college.

Highly-touted recruit, quarterback Chase Rettig, drops back to make a pass, finishing 4-for-12 for 48 yards in the spring game.

He wanted to serve as a good role model for his younger sister and felt loyal to Boston College for giving him that opportunity. Even though Jagodzinski bolted right after Coleman committed, the young man honored his commitment and came to the Heights. Coleman is from Radnor, PA, but still turned down the Nittany Lions who came calling after he committed to BC. Nick Saban also called Coleman’s high school coach to see if there would be any interest, but he told Alabama, no thanks.

Coleman should see playing time if he can prove he can handle it, and he did have a few nice catches on Saturday. Ryan Lindsey also turned in a nice performance, including a Lynn Swan-esque full extension dive, which hauled in a 44-yard teardrop from Marscovetra. Tight End Chris Pantale also had a nice afternoon and has progressed a considerable amount. He seems to be a nice option over the middle; the sophomore is a big target, moves well, and has soft hands.

The big uglies up front gave up too many sacks, but one would think that this problem will get worked out before the season, as the Eagles always have excellent lineman. They lost Matt Tennant to graduation and the New Orleans Saints, and were playing without 2011 top-ten draft pick (according to Todd McShay) Anthony Castonzo, so they did not turn in their best performance. I wouldn’t get any anxiety attacks any time soon though over the offensive line. Things will be okay.

Wetzel, Cleary, Richman, etc. were the victims of solid defensive line play on Saturday. Max Holloway, Ifeanyi Chukwu Momah, and Kaleb Ramsey applied pressure all day long. While Holloway probably should not be relied on to replicate his four-sack performance every game, the young man from Florida looked quick off the edge. Number 56 may not be as impressive as the man who famed that number, but he could be one of the better pass rushers this fall. Ifeanyi Momah also was quick off the edge and could pose problems for tackles in the fall, especially on obvious passing situations, as he’s still a bit weak to disengage blockers on running players. Ramsey was also a beast throughout the day and could have a break-out season, something coach Spaz would certainly welcome.

The linebackers were my favorite defensive position to watch, as Luke “the Freak” Kuechly continued to crunch ball carriers as he had all of 2009. Don’t expect Kuechly to slow down, even though he’s taking over in the middle of the defense, opposed to last year when he played the WSLB. Freshman OLB Kevin Pierre-Louis could be the sensational freshman LB this year. This 18-year-old is a man. He is sculpted like a Greek God and hits like a Mac truck. Even though Will Thompson is listed above him on the depth chart, I’d be shocked if KPL doesn’t start right away. Nick Clancy turned in a solid game, as DiSanzo and Herzlich were sidelined.

The secondary looked solid and picked off a few Rettig passes. There is competition at cornerback between Fletcher, Gause and Johnson. Those three should see the most time covering receivers this year. Okoroha, Davis and others seemed good at safety, although Lindsey got behind them for one big gain.

The season is still four months away but there were encouraging signs on Saturday. While there are things to tighten up, this Eagle squad could and I think will have a good season. Besides a September 25th home game against VA Tech, there are no others games that really give me the willies.

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