By Heath Bradley.

Boston College looks to improve in 2012. Gone is Luke Kuechly, the best and most decorated defensive player in Boston College history. Kuechly was drafted in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. While you cannot replace a player like Luke Kuechly with only one player, you can with a group of talented and experienced players and this is what Frank Spaziani and the Eagles hope to do.

Boston College returns 17 starters in 2012, nine on offense, seven on defense, and PK Nate Freese. While losing Kuechly is definitely a huge blow for the defense, the Eagles do return the other two starting linebackers from 2011, Kevin Pierre-Louis and Steele Divotto. Spaziani will look to lean on the returning depth of his defense, including four returning linemen and two secondary members along with the returning linebackers to pick up the numbers left by the departure of a player like Luke Kuechly.

The Eagles will look to continue to improve following winning three of their final five ACC games. BC will look to become more consistent in 2012 after starting the season slow and gaining momentum toward the end. Senior defensive tackle Kaleb Ramsey feels that the key to success for BC will be their ability to understand the little things that makes a team successful.

“We started the season slow, we finally figured it out, how to practice and how to play.” Once they understood these concepts they were able to play more freely and come out and dictate the momentum from the opening whistle. “We had to learn how to come out attacking instead of taking the first punch.” These same issues will be the key for the Eagles success in 2012. Ramsey feels that their ability to understand how important early success in a game is will dictate the type of season they will have. “We will work to improve this season on coming out ready to play from the jump, and let that carry us throughout the season.”

They will look to carry the edge that they gained down the stretch through the remainder of the summer and into the season. If Boston College can continue to improve and the offense can become more of a factor under new coordinator Doug Martin, the Eagles have the opportunity to greatly improve.  Offensively, BC returns a trio of talented running backs and quarterback Chase Rettig, who will be protected by a veteran offensive line. If the offense can begin to click early, and the defense find a way to replace Luke Kuechly by committee, Boston College can become a dangerous team in the Atlantic Division.