Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 30, 1993 TAG: 9312300278
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"When I was at Rutgers, we used to beat Boston College consistently for kids from Pennsylvania," said Foley, a Scarlet Knights assistant for five years. "At the time, we were also beating [the Eagles] pretty consistently on the field."
It doesn't happen anymore, at least partly because of a change in philosophy at Boston College, which has turned its recruiting focus nationwide.
Of the 61 players on the Eagles' depth chart, 19 are from Massachusetts, but there are five or more players each from New York, Pennsylvania, Florida and New Jersey.
The Eagles' 1993 recruiting class included three players from Texas and at least one each from Georgia, Illinois and Missouri.
"In a given year, there might be 12 Division I-A prospects in all of New England," said Foley, recruiting coordinator and administrative assistant to Eagles head coach Tom Coughlin. "If you're Boston College, you're not going to get it done solely with New England players.
"We'd like to recruit within a 150-mile radius of the campus, as was the philosophy at Rutgers. But, with the alumni base that Boston College has nationally, you've got to recruit that way."
Don't expect the Eagles to take over Virginia any time soon, although quarterback Toney Coles from Richmond's Huguenot High School was scheduled to visit Boston College before committing this week to North Carolina.
"We like to tell people we have a national recruiting base," Foley said, "but, in reality, we go into areas where there are heavy concentrations of Catholic [high] schools or where there are international airports."
That should not be intended as a knock on the staff of Coughlin's predecessor, Jack Bicknell. From all indications, Bicknell did not have the recruiting budget that newly appointed athletic director Chet Gladchuk, a former BC center, earmarked for Coughlin.
The current Eagles squad relies heavily on 10 fifth-year seniors, all recruited by the Bicknell staff. In that group is quarterback Glenn Foley, the Big East Conference's offensive player of the year.
Boston College had an "in" with Glenn Foley, the New Jersey player of the year in high school, because his father, Ed, was a former Eagles quarterback. The only Parade All-American on the roster is reserve quarterback Mark Hartsell from Brockton (Mass.) High School, the alma mater of five BC players, including 1,000-yard rusher Darnell Campbell.
In past years, Boston College's chief opposition in recruiting was Syracuse and some of the other Big East schools. This year, the Eagles have gone head-to-head with Notre Dame and Penn State more often than Fran Foley can remember.
"We've only lost two kids so far, which gives you an idea of our credibility," Foley said. "These are all kids that have been cultivated for the last two years."
A 41-39 upset of No. 1-ranked Notre Dame helped people forget that Boston College lost to Northwestern early in the season.
"That didn't help us in the Chicago area," Foley said of the loss to the Wildcats, "but once we beat Notre Dame, it was a lot easier to get those kids to take a look at us."
Foley said there are many comparisons between BC and Virginia, which has an even higher percentage of home-grown talent, with 38 of 83 scholarship players from Virginia high schools.
"Educationally, the schools are a lot alike, there's a lot of stability in the program and both teams are winning," he said. "We may not recruit a lot of the same kids, but talent-wise they're the same kind of kids."
by CNB