Freshman Bennett will get to tee off on Wolfpack

The contest took place after practice Tuesday. Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski wasn't asking for much. "If you can keep it between the lines, you've got the job," he told freshman Billy Bennett and junior Steve Aponavicius before watching a series of kickoffs from his two kickers and wide receiver Brandon Robinson, who was looking to expand his duties.

And the winner?

"We're going to go with Billy," said Jagodzinski, who simply wants someone who can put the ball near the end zone on kickoffs, something that was lacking in last Saturday's 38-28 win over Wake Forest, in which Aponavicius had three go out of bounds.

Jagodzinski said Aponavicius will handle field goals and extra points Saturday against North Carolina State, and Bennett will kick off.

Bennett was clearly the kicker of the future when he made an early commitment to BC last fall - before coach Tom O'Brien left for N.C. State.

When Jagodzinski took over, Bennett, who came out of Torrey Pines High School in San Diego with a reputation for having a strong leg, retained his commitment to BC because he liked the school and the people he met, including Aponavicius.

"They said whoever is going to kick better is going to have the job," said Bennett. "[Aponavicius] has the field goal job now, I have the kickoff job, but that could change both ways.

"The coaches held us after practice and they had Brandon Robinson, too," added Bennett, who missed some practice time prior to the season with a lower-back strain. "[Robinson] shanked his first one and Jags told him to get off the field."

Bennett came to BC expecting to get the job, even though Aponavicius had earned his way from a walk-on to a scholarship player last season, including a winning, last-second field goal against Navy in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. But the competition has been friendly.

In high school, Bennett set the bar high. "My first attempt in junior year was 52 yards and I never made anything longer than that," said Bennett, who said he has kicked a 63-yard field goal in practice.

Bennett committed early, but when O'Brien left, some schools checked to see if he had changed his mind. "Notre Dame came after me during the coaching change, but I was already committed," he said.

Awaiting word on Raji

School officials could receive a decision from the NCAA on the status of defensive tackle B.J. Raji by tomorrow. Raji was suspended last week because he had fallen three credits short in his academic progress. BC's stance is that the school made a mistake in counting the credits and Raji shouldn't be penalized because of it. An NCAA committee in Indianapolis will discuss the matter and history suggests that when an appeal is made about an athlete in season, the NCAA is aware of the time constraints. Playing against N.C. State seems unlikely, but Raji could be available for next week's game against Georgia Tech, if the NCAA rules in his favor . . . Freshman right tackle Anthony Castonzo missed practice yesterday because of an injury. "Just a tweak," said Castonzo. "I will be fine." . . . L.V. Whitworth (hamstring) practiced and fellow running back Jeff Smith (concussion) attended but did not practice. Whitworth is expected to play against the Wolfpack, while Smith could be available on kickoffs.

Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.