Different B.C. team headed to Clemson

All summer and into the start of this season, the talk around Chestnut Hill has been the third game on Boston College’s 2009 schedule.

Coach Frank Spaziani admitted there has been some looking ahead to Clemson Sunday in a teleconference with the media. That’s why asked his players to not watch Tigers’ nationally televised game at Georgia Tech on Thursday.

As a matter of fact, he didn’t watch the game that night either.

“We had everybody since the summer talking about our third game of the year before we played our first two,” Spaziani said. “We hadn’t played number two yet and there was still a lot of talk about game number three.

Operating under a two quarterback system against Northeastern and Kent State, Boston College is 2-0. Red-shirt freshman Justin Tuggle and true freshman Dave Shinskie have split the majority of the snaps while Mike Marscovetra has also played in both games.

“We’re still evaluating it here today,” Spaziani said. “Yesterday after the game we had made some progress at that position and a lot of other positions. We need to hone it down and practice less guys (at quarterback).”

Tuggle is the son of former Atlanta Falcon. He’s completed nine of 17 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns.

Shinskie was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the fourth round as a pitcher in the 2003 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He called an end to his baseball career earlier this year while he was with the Toronto Blue Jays Double-A affiliate. So far in the 25-year-old’s first football games since the fall of 2002, he’s completed 16 passes out of 26 for 183 yards and two touchdowns.

Spaziani is not ready to name a starter for Saturday and would prefer to keep who is named as quiet as possible for as long as possible. He sees few differences between the two on the field.

“We may not make it (naming the starter) until Thursday,” he said.

Though he’s unsure about who will get the starting nod on Saturday, Spaziani is sure who won’t be seeing the ball on Boston College kicks off, “unless the situation dictates it”.

“(C.J. Spiller) is a great football player,” he said. “How many years has he been there? It seems like he’s been there forever.”

Simulating the Spiller’s speed in practice this week will be difficult. Though it’s a relatively young team, Spaziani is going to depend on his veterans who’ve played Clemson in the past.

“It’s about the guys that have been on the field and seen it,” he said. “We’re going to try as much as we can to get into their heads that we have to play and where we have to be…I don’t think there’s any way for us to create it.”

Impressed with Clemson quarterback Kyle Parker, Spaziani called him the real deal.

His evaluation of Clemson on film is the “same old, same old.”

“They’re big, fast, tough, skilled and well coached,” he said.

Though he’s got a good idea on what Clemson is all about this year, Spaziani isn’t sure what kind of team he’s got with his team and said he won’t be certain for another four or five week.