Isaiah McDuffie "Real Close" To Returning
One of the biggest question marks this season has been the health of injured linebacker Isaiah McDuffie. The junior, who was third on the team in tackles last year, has missed the first seven games due to a lower body injury that he sustained in the Spring Game this year.
"He's better every week. Yes, the simple answer is he is practicing." said Steve Addazio during his weekly press conference. But the head coach was not ready to say whether hee will be ready or not this week "I want to make sure that he's super healthy and everybody's crossed the Ts and dotted the Is. But he's doing fantastic" he further explained. "All I can tell you is it's not an exact science"
In McDuffie's place the Eagles have mostly relied on Joseph Sparacio, a redshirt freshman. While he has made some plays, recording recording 35 tackles and making a big interception against Virginia Tech, Sparacio also has struggled at times which is completely normal for an underclassmen. He has had difficulty against in pass coverage, and struggled against the run. Recently defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan started throwing out more nickelback coverage, starting Josh DeBerry this week, and using Shitta Sillah as the third linebacker.
Boston College's defense could drastically change with McDuffie back, but Addazio did not say whether he would play or not, but based on his comments it doesn't sound like it will be against Clemson "Will he be back? Can I tell you 100 percent? Probably no, but in my mind, yes, he will be back this season" the head coach told reporters. "So I would anticipate that we're getting real close. He's real close. I would say we will see him certainly at some point before this season comes to a close."