11 Players & 1 group that stood out during spring ball

Ok, sorry. I know I said I was going to get to some more post-spring ball stuff earlier in the week. Better late than never though, right?

I’d like to accentuate the positives first. So, with that in mind, we’re starting with the 11 players and one group (I had 10 and then just couldn’t leave the last two off the list) who I thought stood out the most throughout the 15 spring practices.

Yes, it’s mostly defense, but there’s some intriguing pieces within the offense too…

Bo MacCormack III

You can say he eased his way into it his freshman year, but you could also tell MacCormack III was going to have an impact early in his career. While playing mostly special teams in the regular season, he popped in training camp. This year he’s clearly going to be a big factor in the offense and rightfully so. Bruising back who’s also shifty.

Reed Swanson

The Colgate transfer can out-muscle guys, it’d just be nice to see a tad bit more conistsency there. Overall, I think he’s going to be a good weapon for any of the quarterbacks as a sideline guy, over the middle guy or especially, a red zone threat. He’s going to be a fun player to watch.

Jackson Wade

Great slot weapon out of Florida. Yes he wears 83 and yes I’m going to say he reminds me of Luke McLaughlin and Wes Welker, but with Bill O’Brien now calling the plays, I can easily see him being a dependable guy in this offense at some point.

Kris Jones

Another transfer who I was constantly writing down throughout the practices and scrimmages we saw. The big man who came over from Georgia is going to need to have an impact up front and based on early impressions, he should. He was disruptive and very good in the run game. I have his name written down about 12-15 times throughout those weeks.

Onye Nwosisi

Onye is a guy who we found ourselves saying ‘was that him again?’ in training camp last year, but it never really materialized on the field. Now, he’s going to have a bit more of an opporunity to rotate in and I think he could be extremely valuable in the run game. I also just always think of the 1996-1998 nWo World Championship Wrestling days every time I write his name too.

Anthony Palano

Legit as legit gets. Transfer from Washington state has immediately stepped in and is the leader of that room, along with Notre Dame transfer Bodie Cahoun. Palano just seems to be in the right place (from the non-coaching eye) and his speed sideline to sideline was very evident. Give him some more time with Craig Fitzgerald in the weight room this offseason too and all signs point to him being the real deal.

Bodie Kahoun

You can say basically all of those same things for Cahoun coming over from Notre Dame. I’d say he’s the more vocal of the two, but you can see the on-field chemistry among all of the LBs, especially those two has already developed nicely. I can vividly remember one interception a teammate had along the sideline in the red zone and the kid just started dancing like a madman. His play, intensity and team-first approach should do wonders for them.

Johnathan Montague Jr.

Does BC have a sneaky new deep threat on its hands? After the QB thing, Montague Jr. is now working as a full time receiver and he caught a lot of balls during spring ball. One day he had at least three or four touchdowns in various periods and it feels like he’s becoming a better route runner every day. Don’t be surprised if he becomes a regular part of the offense at some point.

Micah Amedee

The beast out of Xaverian immediately got thrown into the fire last year before his injury, and I think he’s ready to take another step forward and have a bigger role this season. He’s a strong pass-rusher and can be stout in the run game too. He plays mean and will bring some of that nasty you need in the trenches.

Kristian Phillips

Wait until fans see him pulling on a run. This guy plays angry and is a devestating run blocker at times. I can easily picture him down in the red zone pulling out and absolutely smoke a linebacker or defensive end. Pass pro is fine too. There’s a reason this new staff brought him in from Michigan State. He let the defense hear about it early and often when the offense had success too. He’s a guy this team will follow. I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s voted a captain.

KJ Sampson

Another new face that’s set to have a big impact. The former Florida State Seminole is also going to be a guy that brings that nasty factor up front. I wrote his name down a lot beside ‘run stuff’ and I think he ultimately ends up having a really big role.

The entire secondary

KP Price. Carter Davis. Max Tucker. Ashton Cunningham. TJ Green. Kameron Howard (Alabama). Isaiah Farris. Marcus Upton. Rae Sykes Jr. Njita Sinkala. Chandler Jordan (Georgia State). Charleston Coldon. Max Tejpaul. I didn’t even mention Syair Torrence or Cam Martinez, who both chose to ease their way back into things and should be good to go for training camp. This group is stacked and now has a ton of playing experience. Howard and Jordan were two guys that made immediate impacts and every single player listed above was written in my notes more than once on any given day.