What They're Thankful For: Boston College Athletics Edition

What They’re Thankful For: Boston College Athletics Edition

By: Anthony Iati

With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, WZBC Sports takes a quick look at what some of the Boston College Athletics programs should be most thankful for this year.

Football

  • A Golden Opportunity: Despite their seven-game losing streak, the Eagles (3-8, 0-7 ACC) have a chance to close out the season on a positive note. They visit a Syracuse program (3-8, 1-6 ACC) on Saturday afternoon that is struggling mightily. The Orange are also dealing with a bit of turmoil, as Scott Shafer was fired earlier this week. BC should be thankful that it has a chance to win in Syracuse and avoid entering the long offseason on an eight-game losing skid.
  • Don Brown: What a tremendous job Don Brown (pictured below) has done at Defensive Coordinator for BC, not just this year, but throughout his three years running this unit. Though he has a lot of talent at his disposal (more on that below), Brown has molded this defense into the top ranked one in America. BC holds opponents to 255.6 yards/game and has yielded just 13 touchdowns to opposing offenses.
  • The Seniors: Where would the Eagles be without its senior leaders, particularly on the defensive side of the ball? LB Steven Daniels, DL Mehdi Abdesmad, DT Connor Wujciak, and DB Justin Simmons have played outstanding football this season and have been four-year contributors to this program. Several of them will move on to playing on Sundays, but BC is certainly thankful for their leadership.
    2013 SU FOOTBALL VS BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES

    Defensive Coordinator Don Brown has done an excellent job in his three seasons in his current role.

    Men’s Hockey

  • Jerry York: There are almost too many blessings for BC Hockey to count, so why not start with the winningest coach in NCAA Division-I Hockey history? With a convincing 5-1 win over UConn on Tuesday night, Coach York (pictured below) is just five wins shy of reaching 1,000 in his career to go along with his five national championships (four with BC). The 2015-6 Eagles are also off to their best start in York’s tenure, which is saying something. 
  • Thatcher Demko: Fans of the program knew as early as Demko’s freshman year on the Heights that he is an outstanding goaltender, but he has taken his game to an exceedingly impressive level this year. The Eagles should be thankful for his surgically-repaired hips and desire to pitch a shutout every time he takes the ice. 
  • Freshmen ForwardsJust watch the highlights from BC’s 6-4 win over Michigan State on November 13. Admire Colin White‘s beautiful backhand at the 0:34 mark of the video and Miles Wood‘s game-winner at 1:24. Along with Chris Brown and JD Dudek, White and Wood form a dynamic scoring punch as rookies in the BC lineup. Fans of highlight reel goals should be grateful for that. 
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The countdown to 1,000 wins has reached just 5 for Coach Jerry York.

Men’s Basketball

  • Eli Carter: The fifth-year guard, who transferred from Florida, can step in and assume the role of crunch time go-to shooter. While he isn’t the pure scorer Olivier Hanlan was in his three years at BC, Carter can be the guy to take pressure shots on this extremely young squad. Coach Christian must be grateful to have a transfer to step in and fill those shoes. 
  • Matt MilonRead Andrew Kelley’s take here on the freshman guard’s explosion in the win over Harvard on Sunday. The future may be bright for BC if Milon (pictured below) and fellow freshmen A.J. Turner and Jerome Robinson blossom into ACC starting-caliber players. 
  • The Early-Season Schedule: BC is off to its best start in seven years and has the traditionally soft early schedule to thank for that. Though the 3-0 Eagles look improved, we have yet to see them play a Power 5 conference opponent. Wins over St. Francis Brooklyn and Central Connecticut State don’t mean much, but at least beating Harvard counts for something. Regardless, BC Basketball should be grateful that they head into Thursday night’s matchup with Michigan State undefeated. 
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Matt Milon has helped the Eagles to a 3-0 start to the season.

Tweet to us @WZBCSports and tell us what you’re most thankful for in BC Athletics this Thanksgiving!