Boston College Football Will Lean on Local Talent in 2017

BC's offensive line will be led by local products Aaron Monteiro (67), Chris Lindstrom (75) and Jon Baker (77) this season.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Football season is here for Boston College, as the Eagles open up their 2017 campaign tonight at 9:30 pm at Northern Illinois.

Opinions and predictions for this season are… varying, and an antsy fan base has plenty of questions for coach Steve Addazio and his guys.

But, whatever your thoughts on the 2017 Eagles, it's clear that they will need big contributions from Massachusetts natives if they hope to succeed.

BC has had an interesting recruiting relationship with its home state. Some cycles the Eagles will bring in a flood of Bay State talent, and other years just a few players from within the Commonwealth's borders. The current coaching staff hit the Mass recruiting trail hard in 2014 and 2015, pulling in 14 local recruits over that two-year span, and now 12 former MA players will be starters or regular contributors for BC.

Let's take a look at the local talent BC hopes will carry it to a successful season.

Top Massachusetts Football Prospects See Unique Opportunity in the Ivy League

King Phillip senior Shane Frommer helped lead the Warriors to a Division 1A state title in 2016, and will head to Yale next fall.

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612)

When the high school football season officially gets underway on September 8th, a number of the top players in all of Massachusetts will take the field under the Friday night lights, looking to showcase their full potential for all in attendance.

Some of the state's most dynamic play makers have already decided where their collegiate careers will take place and, while a number of high profile offers were thrown their way, the chance to play at an Ivy League school was too difficult to turn down for several players across the Commonwealth.

It’s followed a pattern that has developed over the last handful of seasons, as Massachusetts has seen some of its most highly-regarded talents turn down larger programs and schools for the chance to play competitively, while receiving a top-tier education.

No, You Shouldn't Feel Bad for Aaron Hernandez, But Don't Forget Who Enabled Him

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

I must admit, I didn't know how to react yesterday when I learned that Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots and Florida Gators star turned convicted murderer, had hanged himself in his jail cell overnight.

While I don't think I've ever been happy to hear someone died, especially when they have taken their own life, I also couldn't summon any sympathy for Hernandez, a guy who, thanks to his immense athletic gifts, had the world at his fingertips.

Yet, for whatever reason, the 27-year old former All-American's temper and temperament led him to a life of aggressive crime, including a murder conviction in the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd, and being tried with a 2012 double-homicide in Boston. Hernandez was, ultimately, found not guilty of those two murders earlier this week, but has also settled out of court with a former friend who accused Hernandez of shooting him in the face outside of a Miami strip club in 2013, and police are still looking into a 2007 Gainesville double-shooting that a young Hernandez may have been involved in.

In the coming days, we're going to hear all the theories as to why Hernandez threw it all away to become a violent criminal.

His father died when he was a teenager, causing him to resist authority at every turn. This is true. He fell in with the wrong crowd, both in his hometown of Bristol, Connecticut, and on the roster of a late 2000s Florida Gator team that is looking dirtier by the day. Also true.

But guess what? Tons of athletes come from troubled backgrounds where they lost parents, or had parents walk out on them, and not all of them became murderers. You can look into every "troubled" part of his background but, at the end of the day, Hernandez was a murderous psychopath who seemed to respond to every bit of adversity with violence, just as he did in 2007 when he punched a bar employee in the face after being asked to leave.

It's okay to not feel bad for him. In fact, I'd say it's a perfectly human response.

2017 Massachusetts Football Recruiting Database

It should be a very busy National Signing Day for Dartmouth OL commit Jake Guidone and the rest of his Xaverian teammates.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

SuiteSports is proud to unveil its 2017 Massachusetts Football Recruiting Database, and we aim to cover every player in the Commonwealth who is going on to play college football at every level.

As you might imagine, that's quite a task, which is why our list will be constantly updated, even beyond National Signing Day on Wednesday, to reflect any new commitments brought to our attention, or any changes of heart.

As always, if we missed anybody, got anything wrong, or don't have the most up to date info on a recruit, Tweet me, or shoot me an email to jparello86@gmail.com.

Here we go!

Your NCAA Football Week 5 Primer (With Picks!)

Jarbill Peppers and No. 4 Michigan will host No. 8 Wisconsin in The Big House Saturday.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Holy cow, do we have a great week on tap.

Six of the Top-10 teams in the country are playing each other, with a Top-10 match up taking place in the Pac 12, Big Ten and ACC.

Catch up, SEC, you're slacking! Don't worry Big 12, we know it just isn't your year. Maybe if you had invited Houston last year...

But it isn't just about those three massive games, as almost every other ranked team is in action against a league opponent or major conference foe (Arkansas, of the SEC, and San Diego State being the only exceptions).

So, let's not waste any more time, let's get into this week's picks.

Your NCAA Football Week 4 Primer (With Picks!)

Louisville sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson introduced himself to the country with a massive game against Florida State last week.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

After three weeks, it seems like we have three teams that have separated themselves from the pack a bit.

All due respect to Clemson for getting back on track last night against a pretty good Georgia Tech team, but Louisville showed it was the team to be feared in the ACC. The Cardinals put 63 points on then-No. 2 Florida State, and quarterback Lamar Jackson asserted himself as the early Heisman Trophy favorite.


With a cannon arm and ridiculous athleticism, the sophomore from Boynton Beach, Florida looks like the second-coming of Mike Vick (or was he still Michael Vick back then?).

The Cardinals' defense was equally impressive, holding FSU's Deondre Francois to 7/18 passing for just 101 yards, and negative 34 yards on the ground. Yeah, it was utter domination on both sides of the ball by Louisville.

Alabama had to come back to beat an Ole Miss team they always seem to struggle with, but the Tide are still undefeated, and as long as they are, it's hard not to call them a national title favorite. In the Big Ten, Ohio State looks great again, and the Buckeyes' domination of Oklahoma gives them a slight edge (in my mind) over hated rival Michigan… At this point in the year.

Your NCAA Football Week 3 Primer (With Picks!)

Florida State running back Dalvin Cook is a tough man to get a hold of.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Man, last week was weird.

We didn't even have one match up of ranked teams, but there were still plenty of wild games, including Central Michigan knocking off Oklahoma State, proving that you should stop betting on teams from Oklahoma this year. Meanwhile, both Clemson and Georgia nearly lost to schools you couldn't find on a map, causing many to re-think their preseason expectations in the ACC Atlantic and SEC East.

Bascially, last week kicked my butt. After starting 10-5 against the spread in Week 1, I went an abysmal 5-13 last week, as I pressed pretty much all the wrong buttons (Texas is due for a down game… Clemson is about to explode… Alabama always covers against weak teams… Iowa State always plays Iowa tough…).

Yeah, I feel a little silly about all those, but onward we go with our Week 3 preview and picks.

This week's slate is a little better, as we get four different meetings of ranked teams, and a few other games featuring ranked teams battling major conference competition.

Here are my (potentially awful) picks for every game featuring a ranked team.

Your NCAA Football Week 2 Primer (With Picks!)

Pitt running back James Conner's return from Hodgkin Lymphoma has been one of the feel-good stories of the early season. His Panthers will host Penn State Saturday, renewing the in-state rivalry for the first time since 2000.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Have you caught your breath from last week yet?

I'm just getting there, what with the Houston domination, Florida State comeback and Texas looking (sorta) like Texas again. Or maybe Notre Dame is bad again, who knows?

Oh yeah, and Alabama is still Alabama. That's why I told you last week to hedge all your national title bets with a decent sized wager on the Crimson Tide. It's boring, but my Oklahoma bet ain't looking so great right now, and my Florida State pick was on life support at halftime, so sometimes boring is good.

Anyways, you're gonna have a little more time to catch your breath, because we don't have even one battle of ranked teams this week. Yeah, it's a pretty bare slate, but at least we get a pair of in-state rivalries renewed.

Let's get to the picks against the spread for all games featuring ranked teams, and a few select other games.

College Football is (really) Back… Let's Gamble!

Deshaun Watson opens as one of the year as a favorite to win the Heisman, and his Clemson Tigers are expected to again contend for a national title.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)


Ed. Note- Obviously, we do not condone illegal gambling. Only place bets at legitimate sports books (I had my sister throw down a little money for me when she was in Vegas for a conference), and only if you're of legal age. And yeah, don't, like, bet your life savings or rob people to make bets. This is for fun people. Oh, and I don't condone betting on high school sports, because placing money on unpaid athletes would be morally reprehensi... Ok, let's just get to the article.

All due respect to Cal and Hawaii's trip to Australia, and yesterday's thrilling games featuring Appalachian State, Florida International and Vanderbilt (who all lost, somehow), but college football really returns Saturday.

Yes, I know a trio of ranked teams will play tonight, and hey, Stanford had the decency to schedule a Power 5 opponent, but Saturday is when you'll really wish you were in Vegas, throwing your money away on a group of unpaid 18-22 year old young men you've never met. After all, betting on people who make millions of dollars is so passé.

Just kidding, we're obviously betting on the NFL too this year, but college starts first, so let's dive right into our first college gambling piece of the year.

Who Wins It All?

Look, if you haven't made your futures bets yet, you're about to lose out on some great odds after Week 1. Inevitably, somebody like Florida State or Notre Dame will beat a (seemingly) good team, and suddenly money will pour in on them to win the national title. Heck, Florida State has already gone from 12/1 to 8/1 in most Vegas sports books.

SuiteSports Gearing Up for Football Season

Star West Boylston running back/linebacker and UMass commit Cole McCubrey

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

As you may have noticed, loyal readers, SuiteSports' content has been a bit sparse lately.

While summers are usually slower here (especially since I don't care about the Olympics or Major League Baseball), things are about to pick up in the fall as we throw a ton of pro, college and high school football coverage at you.

SuiteSports is excited to announce that we will once again be covering high school football in Central Massachusetts, with the help of some new local reporters, and will be expanding our coverage to the college ranks as I begin reporting for SB Nation, covering Boston College at BC Interruption. I'll also be covering the other three Division 1 football programs in Massachusetts (UMass, Holy Cross and Harvard) here, and as a part of a feature series on ESPN Boston.

By the way, if you're a high school or college student who would like to join our team, email me at jparello86@gmail.com. We'll show you the ropes, pay you (a little), and write you a very friendly college/recommendation letter.

Things to Look Forward to This Football Season

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Training camp has begun around the NFL, and most major-college football teams will begin camp within the next week, so why don't we just tackle a broad range of awesome things to look forward to this season.

Obviously, you should be excited about everything, because football is the best, but here are a few things to look forward to, other than your favorite team shocking the world and winning a championship, of course.

Patriots Fans for the First Month of the Season

Look, we're all sick of DeflateGate, and we're probably even more sick of hearing Patriots fans whine about DeflateGate, and drunkenly inflate the class and integrity of Tom Brady.

We get it, the NFL is an evil organization that is holding down your poor, victim quarterback who has never caught a break in his life, and now must miss the first four games of the 2016 season.

That said, I'm really excited to listen to Patriots fans the first month of the season. There are already people around Boston saying "what if Jimmy Garoppolo plays well? Maybe there's no job for Tom when he comes back."

As Bill Belichick would say, "Jesus Christ."

The Faculty is Failing the Missouri Protestors and Student Journalists

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The current saga at the University of Missouri has taught us several things, not the least of which being that a mediocre football team threatening to strike has more power at a large state school than its president does.

That, I took as the good news. These athletes, who bring in millions of dollars to their schools every year, are of course unpaid, and restricted from working jobs by NCAA rules (and by the fact that their sport is essentially a full-time job, and there are only 24 hours in a day).

Missouri by itself brought in over $83 million in revenue last year, thanks to its inclusion in the SEC's television deals, and pooled revenue from the conference's bowl game and NCAA men's basketball tournament appearances.

Basically, if these kids can't get any slice of that pie, then at least they could flex their collective muscle and enact social change on their campus.

Your College Football Weekend Primer: Week 7

Jim Harbaugh may be the king of the sideline tirade, but the man knows how to build a defense.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Here at SuiteSports, we've really been lacking on the college football coverage, instead choosing to focus on the NFL and, of course, Massachusetts high school football.

But that (sorta) ends today with our first NCAA football weekend primer of the year, and what a week to start.

A pair of huge matchups loom in the SEC, playoff contenders are emerging across the country, and several teams will play what amounts to CFP elimination games this weekend. Let's not waste any more time and get to all of the action.

College Football Playoff Elimination Games

18. UCLA at 15. Stanford- Thursday at 10:30 pm

We don't have to wait long, as tonight's late game between these California rivals presents not only a massive midseason game in the Pac 12, but also a knockout game for the College Football Playoff.

Why Your Team Should Just Fire that Awful Coach Already

Ties aren't bringing Swag back to The U, Al Golden.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Here's your early Sunday reminder that coaching is pretty darn important in college football.

In fact, if there's one thing the early goings of the 2015 season have taught us, it's that a good coach can make all the difference. Thought of as a lost program without Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow the last few years, Florida is now contending in the SEC, and on the verge of a Top-10 national ranking under its first-year head coach, while Michigan has folks in Big Ten country legitimately terrified under Jim Harbaugh. This coming just a year after the Wolverines served as the Midwest's punching bag.

So, if your favorite college football team has an awful coach, why are they sticking with him? Some coaches have large buyout clauses at smaller schools, while some are inextricably linked to an athletic director or administration that doesn't want to admit a mistake.

While there are examples of coaches turning around terrible starts (Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin, Kirk Ferentz at Iowa), you have a pretty good idea of whether or not your coach is a good fit by Year 3 running the program. If he isn't producing by then, it's time for your athletic department to swallow its pride (and maybe eat a ton of money), and cut bait.

Here are just a few examples of programs thriving with a new head man, and a few others that maybe held onto their coach one year too long.

A Casual Fan's Guide to the 2015 College Football Season

Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliot is really good.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

College football gets going with the largest FBS kickoff showcase ever tonight. With 19 games on the schedule for this evening, eight more to come on Friday, and then the "true" kickoff on Saturday, the sheer number of teams, conferences, coaching personalities and players can be overwhelming.

Some people dive into every bit of that, and some people prefer a more casual approach. This article is for the latter. So, with that in mind, let's take a look around the country at what you should know about the upcoming college football season.

Tweaking ESPN's Top College Football Coaching Jobs

Texas coach Charlie Strong has the most desirable job in college football, according to the folks over at ESPN.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

ESPN finished unveiling its rankings of the top "Power-5" college football coaching jobs last week, and I've always found the subject fun and ripe for debate.

Obviously, there are always going to be subjective parts of any "job" ranking. The Ohio State and Notre Dame gigs are dream jobs to any coach that grew up in America's heartland, but a SoCal guy would probably take USC over either of them.

A deep south country coach would likely take any of the Top-5 jobs in the SEC over any other school in the country, and a coach from the Lone Star State would likely view the Longhorns coaching job as the best in the land.

The point is, there are a bunch of great job, and the best one is in the eye of the beholder. Still, let's grant ESPN this crazy and awesomely fun hypothetical: Which jobs would be the most appealing if every "Power-5" job in the country suddenly opened up tomorrow?

Massachusetts 2015 Football National Signing Day Database

Xaverian running back Noah Sorrento (#4) and defensive end Joe Gaziano (#97) will both be continuing their football careers at the next level.  Photo courtesy of Brendan C. Hall and ESPN Boston High Schools.

 By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

It's National Signing Day, and that means that all across the country high school players are making their college sports plans final. Here in Massachusetts, there are plenty of high school football players sets to take their games to the next level. Here is our list of those players, by school, along with some quick notes about their potential at the college level.

As always, feel free to Tweet me @HerewegoJoe if I have left somebody out, or feel free to email me at jparello86@gmail.com if you're not a Tweeter.

Is the Big Ten "Back?"

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

As someone who attended a Big Ten university, I can tell you that most Big Ten fans have an almost mythic reverence for what the conference "used to be."

There is this collective thought that, once upon a time, the Big Ten was by far the best conference in college football. That Ohio State and Michigan played each other ranked in the Top-5 every year, that every other school in the conference filled out the Top-25, and that the national champion surely came from America's Holy Land on an annual basis.

Basically, Big Ten fans remember a time when the Big Ten was the SEC of 2006-2012. It's similar to the way Fox News viewers remember the America of their childhood.

SuiteSports Bowl Pick'em Update

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

For those of you keeping track at home, here are our Bowl Pick'em scores and standings as of December 26th. The numbers may shock and horrify you.

Oh my God, Caity is killing it!

Football's Holiday Gifts

Peyton Manning was in the giving mood Monday night, giving the ball away four times while handing the Bengals a playoff berth and the Patriots home field advantage.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Tonight we hit the true heart of the holiday season.

It's the final night of Chanukah, Christmas Eve eve and, for football fans, the beginning of the good part of bowl season, and the home stretch of the NFL regular season.

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

So, join me in taking a look at some gifts that have been given to several football teams, players and fan bases this holiday season.

Home Field Advantage

From: Peyton Manning
To: Tom Brady

Manning and Brady are supposed to be somewhat friendly, but it was surprising to see Peyton gift wrap the AFC's No. 1 seed for Tom with a four-interception stinker against the Bengals last night.