Good signs for Eagles

When former Boston College coach Tom O'Brien left for North Carolina State, it seemed to signal open season on the 14 recruits who had verbally committed to the Eagles. As BC underwent its coaching change to Jeff Jagodzinski, it was expected that they would lose some recruits.

But Jagodzinski managed to keep the majority of O'Brien's recruits in the fold and landed nine of his own players, including a pair of four-star prospects: Mansfield High defensive end Corey Eason and John Elliott, a 6-foot-4-inch, 288-pound offensive tackle from East Meadow, N.Y.

In all, BC will sign 18 recruits to letters of intent today despite suffering five defections during the coaching transition. The defections include Belmont Hill wide receiver Corey Gatewood of Roslindale, who opted to sign with Stanford and join its new coach, Jim Harbaugh.

"I was definitely concerned," said Thayer Academy offensive lineman Nate Richman, a 6-7, 274-pounder from Braintree who committed to BC last July and is one of five New England prospects who will sign with the Eagles today. "When the coaching staff left, a lot of the guys talked about going with them. We did lose some, but our new coaching staff did a perfect job of figuring out who and what they needed and meshing it with the guys they had."

Jagodzinski assembled a solid class to offset the defections of Gatewood to Stanford, Mount Carmel (Chicago) offensive guard Arthur Ray Jr. to Michigan State, Tampa Jesuit cornerback Michael Peterson to Georgia Tech, Cincinnati Elder defensive end Jeff Reiskamp to N.C. State, and Lawrenceville (N.J.) Prep fullback Devon Ramsey, who was mulling offers from Maryland, North Carolina, N.C. State, Purdue, Syracuse, and Vanderbilt.

Eason and Elliott, who committed on back-to-back days last month, headline BC's class, according to rivals.com.

"Right from the start, as a sophomore, his biggest impact was getting after the quarterback at D-end," Mansfield coach Mike Redding said of the 6-5, 265-pound Eason. "He had a lot of football to learn as a sophomore, but he really had the ability to pressure the quarterback off the edge and he became a really disruptive pass rusher. We ended up going 12-0 that year. The next two years, he developed into more of an all-around football player who could defend the run as well as he rushed the passer.

"He went up and visited with Coach Jags the third week of January. He wanted BC all along for its academics, for its football, and because it was close to home for him. All it was going to take for him was feeling comfortable with the new staff, and when he met with Coach Jags, it was the icing on the cake for him."

When BC went through its coaching turnover, Eason admittedly had concerns.

"It was a big concern of mine because Tom O'Brien was a good coach, and with some teams, if the coaches don't get along, then the program gets messed up," said Eason, who chose BC over Rutgers and Syracuse and spurned late advances from Ohio State and Miami. "When I met with Coach Jags and the rest of the coaches, I felt pretty good about it."

Jagodzinski also will sign the nation's top-rated prep kicker, Billy Bennett of Torrey Pines High in San Diego; a pair of dual-threat quarterbacks in Chris Johnson, a 6-2, 202-pounder from Paterson, N.J., and Dominique Davis, a 6-4, 185-pounder from Lakeland, Fla.; and a group of five offensive linemen rated by rivals.com as the 10th best in the nation, three of whom measure 6-7, with one, Kenny Plue of Rensselaer, N.Y., tipping the scales at 352 pounds.

Jagodzinski maintained BC's roots in New England by landing not only Richman and Eason, but also Bishop Guertin offensive lineman Mark Spinney of Nashua, N.H.; Holy Cross (Waterbury, Conn.) cornerback Dan Mulrooney; and Belmont Hill linebacker Dan Williams of Cambridge.

"Right from the beginning, BC was a good fit for him," Belmont Hill coach Kevin Fleming said of the 6-3, 228-pound Williams. "He was a four-year starter for us and a great player and a great kid.

"He played a little both ways for us this year. Last year we lost the New Englands and this year we won it and went 17-1 in our last 18 games.

"If he stays healthy and keeps a good attitude, he can play beyond BC, I think. He's the best linebacker I've ever coached."

Jeff Comissiong and Ben Sirmans were added to the football staff, Jagodzinski announced yesterday. Comissiong, who was Harvard's defensive line coach last season, will serve in the same capacity with BC. Sirmans, who will coach the running backs, was Michigan State's running backs/specials teams coach last year.