BC may be just a year away at quarterback
The Quarterback's routine has not varied much since January. Workouts before school three times at a week, starting at 6:30 a.m. Through the bitter cold of a Michigan winter and through the spring, the focus has not changed. Get better as quickly as possible, learn new schemes, new faces, new surroundings.
This week, with the end of the school year, it has changed. Now there are seven-on-seven drills in the afternoon. Film study, conditioning drills, preparing for a season that The Quarterback knows will be upon him faster than a full-scale blitz. He also knows that he must prove himself to a new group of peers who are wondering what makes this quarterback better than the others already at Boston College.
The Quarterback's name is Joe Boisture.
Small problem: BC doesn't have him yet. Not quite.
Boisture's routine is taking place in Michigan, at Saline High School, as he prepares for his senior scholastic season. But the 6-foot-6-inch Boisture announced his commitment to BC in March. By December, he will have graduated. The plan is for Boisture to be enrolled at BC by January.
Boisture is a four-star recruit who opted for BC rather than UCLA or Michigan. He probably would have been a slam dunk for Michigan had not the Wolverines changed coaches. Rich Rodriguez brought in an offensive system that didn't fit most of the skills Boisture has as a classic drop-back passer.
BC coach Frank Spaziani and his staff may have found an aspirin for their headache at quarterback by signing 25-year-old Dave Shinskie last week. But there are no guarantees on the former minor league baseball pitcher who has not taken a snap in a game in more than six years.
BC's connection with Boisture is much more long term, dating to last fall when recruiting coordinator Mike Siravo first matched a name with a face and a personality on the constantly changing recruiting depth chart.
By the time Spaziani and new offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill moved into their slots in January, Boisture had developed what he called a "comfort level" with Siravo, which continued with Spaziani and Tranquill.
"I feel comfortable around them," said Boisture by phone from his home in Michigan. "They were the first ones to get in touch with me. When I took my visit, it felt like home."
Boisture's "home" changed over the winter. He had grown up in the Flint, Mich., area and was developing as a prospect at Goodrich High School, where football coach Tom Alward watched him mature and develop.
"I first saw him in middle school," said Alward. "He was a very large talent."
It was a talent-in-waiting when Boisture broke his elbow in his sophomore season.
"He came back from that fine," said Alward, who watched Boisture throw for 1,700 yards and 13 touchdowns. "He's big and talented and has a very strong arm. He's the whole package."
But the "package" had to move, as Michigan's sagging economy forced Boisture's father to move his modular-home company south to the Detroit/Ann
"We're 10 minutes from the University of Michigan - Coach Rod's kids go to school here," said Saline coach Mike Glennie. "We're deeply ingrained in Michigan football.
"[Saline High] seems like a perfect fit that will allow him to be pushed."
Glennie was also looking for a new starter.
"He will fit right in," said Glennie. "Since he's gotten here, he's been throwing, he put on 12 pounds and is getting stronger as he works three days a week with our QB coach doing film study and in the weight room."
Boisture said the transition has been smooth. He also says there will be no waffling this fall about his decision to come to BC.
"I had some pretty good offers from UCLA and Cincinnati," said Boisture. "And it was fun while it lasted. But I knew I wanted to come to BC.
"This takes a lot of weight off my shoulders. I'm going to graduate early and plan on being at BC in January."
When Boisture arrives, he knows there will be no guarantees. Although the BC quarterback situation is very fluid right now, a season of experience for any of the current ones on campus could change that.
Or it could become even murkier if no one steps in and gets the job done.
If that is the case, The Quarterback says he will be ready for his next challenge.
Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com. 
