BC in two-QB set
Wade, Brown under center at scrimmage
Boston College football coach Steve Addazio got what he expected from his first units on offense and defense during yesterday’s intersquad scrimmage at Alumni Stadium.
“I thought we had a great day of work here today,” Addazio said. “We came out here trying to keep it into quarters, and we wanted the (starting offense and defense) to come out of here with about 65-70 snaps, and they took 65 snaps today. That’s a lot, but it’s good, and it kind of was the first time we tried to keep it in some kind of a game flow. I was really pleased with that, and obviously we ended the game healthy. We had really good moments throughout the scrimmage.”
Addazio gave his competing quarterbacks — senior Darius Wade and redshirt freshman Anthony Brown — equal access to the first and second units. Both QBs performed well at times.
Neither field general has much game experience to draw from in their competitive battle to replace Patrick Towles. Wade was the starter to open the season in 2015 against lower-division opponents Maine and Howard before suffering a broken ankle against Florida State in the third contest. Brown hasn’t played since high school.
In the scrimmage, Wade cut through the defense with three completions on the opening drive, including a touchdown pass to tight end Tommy Sweeney. Brown connected on a 60yard bomb to Kobay White in the second quarter but did his best work in the third.
“They both looked like they had their moments where they looked good,” Addazio said. “Those quarterbacks are constantly rotating who they are working with, and I kind of lose track of who is in each series, so it is tough for me to assess that now.”
Junior John Fadule and true freshman E.J. Perry took limited snaps at QB.
Addazio will hold another scrimmage Friday and has sufficient practice time remaining before the Sept. 1 season opener at Northern Illinois. The Eagles coach intends to let the competitive process play out before choosing a starting quarterback.
“I don’t feel a sense of urgency with that because I think they are both playing at a pretty high level right now,” Addazio said. “I look at it as that’s not a bad thing, that’s a good thing and keep that going. The more you do that, the more development there is because there is push and competition. So, I’m not ready to settle in right now. It’s not necessary, and it is not affecting in any way shape or form our team.”
Wade and Brown are both dual-threat quarterbacks in offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler’s uptempo system.
“I feel like tempo is definitely an advantage,” Wade said. “It is good way to get the defense off-balance and put the pressure on them, and it’s a lot of fun because you get to run around. You make all the calls at the line, and you get to play football.”