Loeffler hard at work as BC's new offensive coordinator
BOSTON (AP) - Practice was over, yet in the middle of the field Scot Loeffler was still teaching.
The extended lesson on this day from the new Boston College offensive coordinator was all about footwork, and he schooled the Eagles' four quarterbacks on a drop back drill for a solid 25 minutes before finally sending them on their way.
It's tedious work, but exactly the kind Loeffler was brought in to do in hopes of resurrecting one of the nation's worst offenses in 2015.
"You never know until you get here," Loeffler said. "We've got a long way to go."
Ravaged last season by injuries, Boston College ranked at or near the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference in virtually every major offensive category, including scoring offense, touchdowns, and yards per game.
One of the most underperforming areas was the passing game, which struggled mightily after losing starting quarterback Darius Wade for the year to a broken ankle in just the third game of the season.
Enter Loeffler, most recently the offensive coordinator under since-retired Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, and his reputation for developing NFL-ready quarterbacks. With assistant coaching stints at Michigan and Florida, his list of pupils includes Tom Brady and Tim Tebow.
It was with the Gators that Loeffler first crossed paths with Addazio, serving as his quarterbacks coach while Addazio ran the offense. When Addazio left to be the head coach at Temple in 2011, he hired Loeffler to be as his offensive coordinator.
"He's really one of the finest quarterback developers I've been around," Addazio said. "Just in terms of fundamentals, development, mechanics - he's outstanding. We've got so many young guys around here we needed a guy that can develop those young guys. So it's really critically important to get this process started. And we're in it right now."
Addazio brought a spread-option attack to BC, which he used to some success in his first two seasons, which ended in bowl berths. But after a dismal 3-9 campaign in 2015 that included an 0-8 ACC record, he is shaking things up with five new assistants, two new coordinators, and giving the offense more pro-style elements.
The addition of graduate transfer Patrick Towles out of Kentucky would seem to align with that. Towles started 22 consecutive games for the Wildcats in their passing-rich offense before being benched late in 2015.
Towles had his moments in Kentucky's passing game, but also was interception prone. While he'll have to compete with Wade for the starting spot, he said he likes the attention to detail that Loeffler brings.
"You can kind of trust that this guy knows what he's talking about. He's done it before. He's put guys into the league," Towles said. "So you just gotta hang in there and just work it out. Not everything is always sunshine and daisies. I believe in coach Loeffler. Everybody on our team believes in him, and he believes in all of us."
Wade said he already has noticed a more "fiery" approach this spring coming from Loeffler, and that with the playbook tweaks, it's still an offense he's excited about running.
"I'm buying in," Wade said. "It's definitely a learning curve with a different coach and different type of philosophy, and definitely a different type of coaching style . I'm looking forward to learning more."
Loeffler said the extra time he's putting in with the quarterbacks is by design, and though spring practice is only half over, he likes what he has to work with under center.
"The most critical job of any coordinator is to get your guy playing at a high level. It's not an easy position," he said. "It takes some guys two to three years to learn how to play the position. We're in a race against time to see how fast, and how much we can improve these next few months before the season starts."
___
Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower