Football Preview: Protecting The Tradition

They were too slow. They were too heavy or too light. Their highlight videos weren't impressive enough. They were all two-star recruits, according to Scout.com.

They are the Boston College offensive linemen, and they make up one of the best lines in the country. Anthony Castonzo, Nate Richman, Matt Tennant, Thomas Claiborne, and Rich Lapham paved the way for Montel Harris to run for 1,457 yards and 14 scores last season. Now that Tennant has graduated, Richman has shifted to center, and Emmett Cleary has seized the left guard spot, the offensive line will once again be asked to shine.

But how did these underappreciated high school recruits slip through the cracks? And how was BC able to identify their talent when other schools couldn't?

These questions are difficult to answer because BC has gone through three coaching staffs in the last four years. Tom O'Brien, Jeff Jagodzinski, and Frank Spaziani offer three distinct recruiting and coaching philosophies. O'Brien liked to redshirt all recruits, whereas Spaziani plays recruits if they're ready. Jagodzinski emphasized zone blocking, but Spaziani's Eagles do more man blocking.

"Our offensive line right now is a mish-mash of different recruiting techniques because we've been recruited by three different coaching staffs," Castonzo said. "One thing stays the same: They were looking for smart guys. Guys who were willing to work hard and stop at nothing to get the job done."

"Looks are a big part, too," Richman said, grinning. "We're probably the handsomest line in the ACC."

Lapham, who arrived to the interview with Claiborne five minutes later than the other three starters, offers up his own take on what BC looks for in recruits.

"I think we're the best-looking line in the country," he exclaimed.

"That's what we just said!" Castonzo yelled.

"Well, I'd like to reinforce that comment," Lapham said, smiling wider this time. "We're the best-looking line in the ACC, and that's a big recruiting point."

The men of the best-looking line in the ACC are growing out their beards together. They haven't shaved in the three weeks since posing for team photos.

"We had to shave for pictures," Castonzo said with a twinge of disappointment in his voice. "We're trying to grow our beards back, trying to look good for the season."

The line is unified by more than just facial hair, though. During summer camp, the linemen roomed together and spent most of their free time in each other's company.

"In the locker room, we call it ‘O-Line Row' because it's ours, 60 through 79, and the majority of those kids are offensive linemen, so we're always together," Lapham said. "Whenever we go to meetings, we walk together. Whenever we go to practice, we walk together."

They lived together. They do everything together. They even look alike, with the beards. But the men of the BC offensive line are very much their own people. The unflappable confidence they have in themselves and each other makes this unit one of the best in college football.

The Geek

He came to BC as a 6-foot-7, 240-pound recruit who completed a postgraduate year at Fort Union Military Academy because no major college football program offered him a scholarship after his senior season.

Three years and 68 pounds later, left tackle Anthony Castonzo projects as a first-round pick in next year's NFL draft.

He's got all the tools. He's strong, athletic, instinctive, and brilliant – incredibly brilliant. He's a biochemistry major with a 3.5 GPA who hopes to cure cancer. In the spring, Castonzo was nominated for a Rhodes scholarship. He's been working on the application throughout the summer.

Castonzo is starting the third draft of his personal statement, a 1,000-word autobiographical essay. Over a thousand candidates submit essays and letters of recommendation, hoping to reach the interview round. Thirty-two of these students are selected as Rhodes scholars from the United States.

"Geek," Claiborne whispered under his breath, to the laughter of his teammates.

Castonzo has heard all the jokes before. Do the guys on the team always give him a hard time for being so smart?

"No," Claiborne said, "we applaud him for it."

"You're a liar," Castonzo countered, with a smile. "But it's all in good fun."

"We respect it 100 percent," Richman said, "but when we're all talking like, ‘Do you guys want to hang out tonight?' Anthony's always like, ‘I have to write a new draft of my Rhodes scholar essay. I don't think I'll have time.'"

Castonzo doesn't know if he would take the scholarship or not. He's not taking anything for granted. "It would be a good decision to have to make" between football and the Rhodes scholarship, he said.

He does know that his football career has an expiration date, though. He blew out his knee sophomore year of high school, so he understands what it's like to lose a season. That's why he prioritizes academics over football. In April, he said that, if he had to choose between the Rhodes scholarship and the NFL, he would choose the NFL because he has his whole life to study. Now, he's starting to reconsider his stance.

"Like I said, you have the rest of your life for academics," Castonzo said. "Well, the rest of your life can come quicker than you think it will."

The New Guy

The newest member of BC's starting offensive line comes from halfway around the world. Emmett Cleary, the Eagles' left guard, was born in Tokyo, Japan, a fact about which teammates are often curious.