Boston College 45 Richmond 13: Stock Report
Boston College took care of business yesterday against Richmond, showing off a strong run game and a pretty solid defense. Today's stock report is going to be a little tempered because we are going to put a giant asterisk next to this entire report because again this was an FCS squad, and Steve Addazio said during his press conference that BC held back some of their playbook. Because of the opponent and the way that BC planned for this game, it's hard to put stock in much of what happened on the field. However, here are some stocks that rose and some that fell.
Stocks Up
David Bailey: Addazio spoke highly of the sophomore at the beginning of the season, and for good reason. The slimmed down Bailey looks great, hitting the holes with authority and showing a really good bit of speed. I think one of the biggest worries amongst BC fans has been what happens if AJ Dillon goes down. God forbid that it happens, but if it does, David Bailey looks ready.
Max Richardson: The junior linebacker has really come into his own the past two games. He only had five tackles yesterday, down from his 10 against VT, but two were big tackles for losses. When BC was struggling against the option it was Richardson who had some big hits to slow down drives.
AJ Dillon: Had a long 30 yard run and finished the game with 87 yards. But it was his catch for the touchdown that lands him on this list. We have seen some glimpses of what he can do in the throw game (UMass last year), but he could really become a multi-dimensional weapon if he continues to make catches like this.
Zay Flowers: Every time he touches the ball your eyes are glued to him. What struck me in yesterday's game was that he of course had that big touchdown run for 52 yards, but how effortlessly he looks doing it, and that he changes direction seemingly without losing his speed. He already has a pair of touchdowns this season, and I don't think it's unfair to believe he will have many more before the end of the year.
Gameday Experience: Let me pivot here to give a huge kudos to all the changes that BC made with game experience. Police and GameOps seemed much friendlier, the lines for the craft beer was minimal at halftime, and I liked the addition of the DJ. This is no disrespect to the band, I am married to a former band member, I just think switching it up between music and the band is so much more engaging and gets more energy out of the fans.
Stock Down:
Defense Against A Mobile QB: BC clearly had a better team than Richmond, but there were spots where Joe Mancuso was able to move the ball effectively. He moved the chains on a few long 3rd down plays, and broke multiple tackles. BC has had trouble in the past against mobile QBs, and yesterday showed they need to tighten that up before they face off against better competition. Richmond finished yesterday with 364 yards of offense, not numbers you would want to see from an FCS squad.
Mike Palmer: One of the biggest questions heading into the season was the play of the young secondary. For the most part they have answered, and yesterday was no difference with turnovers from Tate Haynes and Nolan Borgersen. However, Mike Palmer is a player that hasn't clicked yet. He seems like he's just a step behind on passing plays, and that has been challenging, especially since this has been the second week in a row that the QB appears to have been targeting Palmer's side of the field. Again, he's a younger player, and there will be a learning curve, let's just hope he smooths out his play moving forward.
Stock Remains The Same:
Anthony Brown: Thought he had his moments in yesterday's game. He hit his targets on the play action, but again it was hard to gauge given that Addazio put most of the play book away and had BC running the ball on a majority of the plays. Next week should be a better litmus test for the QB. You can see more about what Brown had to say about focus and his weapons this year in the video below
