Connor Strachan goes from second fiddle to man in the middle of BC defense
Rich Thompson Sunday, August 14, 2016
Credit: The Associated Press
Boston College linebacker Connor Strachan (13)
Middle linebacker Connor Strachan has the capacity to play up to his predecessors.
The 6-foot, 237-pound junior from Wellesley was busy establishing his leadership position during Boston College’s first training camp scrimmage under cool overcast conditions yesterday morning at Shea Field.
Strachan was in charge of setting the defense and planting ball carriers for the Maroon squad, which ended the affair with a unanimous decision over the offense. Coach Steve Addazio had the offense doing up-downs for coming up short against the defense.
“I think it was just a lot of fun to get the chance to play full-on defensive football again,” said Strachan. “Any time you get to scrimmage in a game-like atmosphere, it is kind of fun to go out there and compete with your teammates.
“As the ‘Mike’ you have to be able to set the defense and get people lined up. I definitely had to do that a lot, but with our defense there are a lot of guys that have played a lot of defense.”
Strachan is the latest in a sequence of outstanding middle linebackers to power the Eagles’ front seven. The run began with a two-time All American and Dick Butkus Award-winner Luke Kuechly, who was selected the first round the NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers.
Nick Clancy came along in 2012 and led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 145 tackles that included 24 against Northwestern, one shy of the school record. Sean Duggan followed in 2013 and passed the job along to Steven Daniels, who closed out his career with 267 tackles and 30 tackles for a loss.
Kuechly, Duggan and Daniels went to Xavier High School in Cincinnati while Clancy hails from Plainfield, Ill. Strachan is a rare home-grown linebacker with a prominent role on the defense.
“I’m really excited about the lineage, there were a lot of great leaders before me and I had the privilege of learning a lot from them and I’m excited just to play defense,” said Strachan.
“BC has always been a really tough program and that’s a big part of this place. You have to be tough kid to play here and our whole program is built around toughness at every position.”
Strachan played in 13 games as a true freshman and netted 12 stops and five solo tackles, including two in the Eagles’ upset victory over ninth-ranked Southern California in 2014.
Strachan established his bona fides last season as Daniels’ backup in the 4-3 and as an inside backer in 3-4 alignments.
Daniels, who was taken in the seventh round by the Washington Redskins, led BC in tackles with 82 followed by Strachan with 75. Strachan had 12.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks and three fumble recoveries on one of the nation’s top defenses.
“I think Connor Strachan is a phenomenal football player and he’s a guy that runs unbelievable,” said Addazio. “Steven was a thumper and he did a great job for us.
“Connor is a thumper, but he can play man coverage and he’s not going to get matched up in man. He is going to be a matchup problem for the other team.
Authors
Rich Thompson Sunday, August 14, 2016
Credit: The Associated Press
Boston College linebacker Connor Strachan (13)
Middle linebacker Connor Strachan has the capacity to play up to his predecessors.
The 6-foot, 237-pound junior from Wellesley was busy establishing his leadership position during Boston College’s first training camp scrimmage under cool overcast conditions yesterday morning at Shea Field.
Strachan was in charge of setting the defense and planting ball carriers for the Maroon squad, which ended the affair with a unanimous decision over the offense. Coach Steve Addazio had the offense doing up-downs for coming up short against the defense.
“I think it was just a lot of fun to get the chance to play full-on defensive football again,” said Strachan. “Any time you get to scrimmage in a game-like atmosphere, it is kind of fun to go out there and compete with your teammates.
“As the ‘Mike’ you have to be able to set the defense and get people lined up. I definitely had to do that a lot, but with our defense there are a lot of guys that have played a lot of defense.”
Strachan is the latest in a sequence of outstanding middle linebackers to power the Eagles’ front seven. The run began with a two-time All American and Dick Butkus Award-winner Luke Kuechly, who was selected the first round the NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers.
Nick Clancy came along in 2012 and led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 145 tackles that included 24 against Northwestern, one shy of the school record. Sean Duggan followed in 2013 and passed the job along to Steven Daniels, who closed out his career with 267 tackles and 30 tackles for a loss.
Kuechly, Duggan and Daniels went to Xavier High School in Cincinnati while Clancy hails from Plainfield, Ill. Strachan is a rare home-grown linebacker with a prominent role on the defense.
“I’m really excited about the lineage, there were a lot of great leaders before me and I had the privilege of learning a lot from them and I’m excited just to play defense,” said Strachan.
“BC has always been a really tough program and that’s a big part of this place. You have to be tough kid to play here and our whole program is built around toughness at every position.”
Strachan played in 13 games as a true freshman and netted 12 stops and five solo tackles, including two in the Eagles’ upset victory over ninth-ranked Southern California in 2014.
Strachan established his bona fides last season as Daniels’ backup in the 4-3 and as an inside backer in 3-4 alignments.
Daniels, who was taken in the seventh round by the Washington Redskins, led BC in tackles with 82 followed by Strachan with 75. Strachan had 12.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks and three fumble recoveries on one of the nation’s top defenses.
“I think Connor Strachan is a phenomenal football player and he’s a guy that runs unbelievable,” said Addazio. “Steven was a thumper and he did a great job for us.
“Connor is a thumper, but he can play man coverage and he’s not going to get matched up in man. He is going to be a matchup problem for the other team.
Authors
- Rich Thompson for Boston Herald
