Steve Addazio said the sense of urgency will be the same. So, too, will the anxiety.
It never changes. Not from the first time he led his football team out of the tunnel and into Alumni Stadium as Boston College head coach two years ago.
It won’t be any different Saturday when he leads the charge in BC’s season opener against Maine.
“I feel the same sense of urgency every year wherever I’ve been — high school, college, Florida, here,’’ said Addazio, the architect of back-to-back seven-win bowl seasons at BC. “You’re totally invested in your program, invested in everything. I carry a lot of anxiety.’’
Advertisement
Much of that anxiety stems from the fact that Addazio will be unveiling a new starter at quarterback, BC’s third in as many years, and a retooled offensive line that lost all five starters from last year’s squad.
Then there is the fact that Addazio will be rolling out a young squad, with 63 players on the 96-man roster underclassmen (true freshmen, redshirt freshmen, and sophomores).
“You’re anxious about the unknowns, the things out of your control,’’ Addazio said. “You don’t know what you’re going to see.”
Sophomore Darius Wade will start at quarterback, taking the reins from Florida graduate transfer Tyler Murphy, a dual threat who last season ranked as the Eagles’ leader in rushing (1,184 yards, 11 touchdowns) and passing (1,623 yards, 13 TDs).
But Wade will not be expected to duplicate Murphy’s production in his first season at the helm. Offensive coordinator Todd Fitch, who takes over as the play-caller-in-chief after the departure of Ryan Day to the Philadelphia Eagles, laid out two objectives for Wade in Game 1.
“Manage the game and take care of the ball,’’ Fitch said. “I don’t care what quarterback you have. If we do that, then we’ll be in good shape.’’
Advertisement
It won’t matter if Maine attempts to rattle Wade by throwing all sorts of blitz packages at the 6-foot, 204-pound sophomore southpaw.
“We’ve got a young line and a young quarterback,’’ Fitch observed. “As I told the guys, ‘Don’t be shocked if they come off the bus throwing stuff at us, just to test us and see how we handle it.’ So I’m anticipating that.’’
During preseason camp, Wade was prepared for such a scenario by Don Brown’s marauding defense, which returns its top two tacklers in senior free safety Justin Simmons (76 tackles, 63 unassisted) and senior middle linebacker Steven Daniels (72 tackles, 44 solo).
“We face pressure every single day with our defense — that’s all we see,’’ Addazio said. “We wouldn’t know what to do if we didn’t, to be honest with you. That is the good news.
“It is not something we should feel worried about. I think there’s a fine line between developing confidence and, in the big scheme of things, you will become a better team and a better offense when you learn how to handle all that.’’
Addazio said Wade has “seen more blitzes in preseason training camp than some teams see in three years,’’ and that will make him a better decision-maker in game situations.
Although he will be protected by a line with four new starters and one sixth-year player (right guard Harris Williams, who suffered a season-ending ankle fracture in last year’s opener vs. UMass), Wade will have a talented backfield led by sophomore workhorse Jon Hilliman, who ranks as BC’s leading returning rusher after carrying 210 times for 860 yards and a team-leading 13 TDs last season.
Advertisement
“We have to be prepared to go out and play a great football game,’’ Addazio said. “What, to me, is that defined as in Game 1? It’s taking care of the football on offense, that’s playing great defense and not letting up big plays, and being sound in your special teams.”
Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.