Raji set to throw weight around

Slimmed-down senior on mission

By Mark Blaudschun, Globe Staff  |  August 11, 2007

B.J. Raji was part of the contingent of Boston College players made available for yesterday's media day. The senior defensive tackle is one of nine starters coordinator Frank Spaziani has returning. He was also one of a group of linemen that head coach Jeff Jagodzinski said has lost a significant amount of weight.

"Down under 325, I think," Jagodzinski said of Raji, whose playing weight was close to 350 at the end of last season.

But there was something else. "It's a look," said Spaziani. "Something is different. I can't put my finger on it, but there's been a change."

What's different, said Raji, "Is that this is the last go-round. We've been one game away for three years where we could have won it and gone to [a Bowl Championship Series game] or gone to the championship game. For the seniors on this team, this is it. Our last chance. We want to make something happen."

Raji has tried to do that since arriving as an All-State player out of Westwood (N.J.) Regional High School. The Eagles landed Raji after a serious recruiting battle with Rutgers.

"Rutgers coach Greg Schiano was pretty persistent," said Raji, who saw action on the defensive line as a freshman and has been a starter at right defensive tackle the last two years. "They were the first ones to offer me a scholarship, but BC was just something different, especially [linebacker coach Bill McGovern]. He just was very straight with me. He told me that if I came to BC, I had a chance to play right away. We just hit it off."

Raji is raring to go after straightening out some academic issues that forced him to attend night school in the spring and summer school.

"I'm fine now," said Raji, who is looking forward to tonight's first intrasquad scrimmage. "I've got a couple of B's. It's time to get things going."

The first minor snag of the season hit during the afternoon session when Jagodzinski invited his old friend and mentor, former college and NFL offensive line coach Alex Gibbs, to practice.

Gibbs is regarded as the prime innovator of the zone blocking scheme Jagodzinski brought to BC.

Having Gibbs watch practice from the sideline and offer opinions was one thing. But yesterday Gibbs was doing more than that. Wearing BC garb, Gibbs was actively coaching and showing techniques.

Oops. Not allowed, according to NCAA rule 11.7.1114, which states consultants can talk to the coaching staff, but not actively coach players unless they are officially added to the staff.

Jagodzinski was apparently unaware of this regulation, and when school officials saw Gibbs coaching, they realized it was a secondary violation and reported it to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

"I knew Alex was going to be here at some point," said athletic director Gene DeFilippo, "but when this happened we called the ACC offices and self-reported it.

"We handled it. Ignorance of the rule is no excuse though."

Cornerback Reshaude Goodwin, a 5-foot-11-inch, 175-pound redshirt freshman who played at Natick High, has left the team for personal reasons and is in the process of transferring . . . Jagodzinski said most of the team has been together on campus all summer and he likes the results. "This is the first time our kids have been together in both sessions," said Jagodzinski, who offered high praise for strength and conditioning coach Jason Loscalzo. "The best thing we did was to have our kids here all summer. We lost a lot of weight. I asked our guys to lose body fat." . . . Jagodzinski was mostly noncommittal about the freshmen, with the exception of Anthony Castonzo, a 6-7, 260-pound offensive lineman from Illinois via Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy. "He's going to be one of the better offensive linemen that has come through here," said Jagodzinski. The praise surprised Castonzo. "He said that? That's really nice. I hope I can live up to it," he said . . . Kicker Steve Aponavicius celebrated his 21st birthday.

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