 |
DAVE SHINSKIEHas to “get faster in general’’ |
BC notebook
New option at QB: Shot for Shinskie?
So who’s the No. 1 quarterback this week? Not that anyone seems to be rushing to grab that role, as the Boston College offense produced a total of 54 yards last week between the starter, redshirt freshman Justin Tuggle, and 25-year-old freshman Dave Shinskie.
All of which prompted coach Frank Spaziani to say there would be a reevaluation this week as the Eagles prepare to face Wake Forest at Alumni Stadium Saturday.
Yesterday, signs pointed to the distinct possibility that Shinskie would start and Tuggle would follow, while Mike Marscovetra, the other true freshman in this trilogy of inexperienced quarterbacks, would also play.
“We’ll practice all the guys just like last week,’’ said Spaziani. “We’ll shuffle them a little bit. Maybe. We’ll find the right way to do it. We’ll decide [today] after practice.’’
Shinskie, who is still trying to scrape off the rust from seven years of minor league baseball, indicated that he had a lot more work to do but that he was making progress.
“There’s no excuse for dropping the ball, making wrong decisions,’’ said Shinskie. “But I have to move forward. I have to get faster in general. It’s tough just coming in and dealing with everything, not just football. Even though I’m older, I’m still a freshman.’’
And he may get his chance as a starter.
“I took a lot more reps [with the first team] yesterday,’’ said Shinskie. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen. I hope I get a chance to start and that I make the best of it. I think they might give me a chance. Hopefully they do and we will see what I do with it.’’
The postmortems from Clemson pointed to breakdowns everywhere on offense.
Yesterday, Shinskie was talking about how the running game needed to improve to make the passing game work better, prompting center Matt Tennant to jokingly respond, “Freshmen.’’
Tennant then explained to Shinskie that the running game would improve if the passing game showed any signs of life.
Spaziani hopes someone emerges at quarterback.
“No one is separating themselves,’’ he said. “I hoped it would be done by now. Maybe in a couple of weeks. The sooner the better.’’
Life of Riley
Wake Forest’s Riley Skinner has developed a reputation as a “fourth-quarter quarterback.’’ When the Deacons beat Stanford, 24-17, Sept. 12, it was the seventh time Skinner had led them to a fourth-quarter comeback. However, he has not had a lot of success against BC. The Eagles have intercepted him seven times - most by any opponent. Skinner threw two picks as a freshman, three as a sophomore, and two last year in a 24-21 loss. He had only three touchdown passes in the three games against the Eagles.Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com. 
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
