There is no one higher certified to talk for the put up graduates and true seniors who will probably be enjoying of their closing soccer recreation at Boston College than defensive finish Marcus Valdez.
The Eagles (3-8, 2-5) will shut out the season on Saturday evening (7:30) after they host Syracuse (6-5, 3-4) in a Rivalry Weekend match-up at Alumni Stadium.
Valdez is a 6-foot, 258-pound, fifth-year graduate scholar from Port Amboy, N.J., who performed scholastically for Don Bosco Prep, one of many Garden State’s parochial college powerhouses.
“Great guys, a great group,” mentioned Valdez. “Obviously they don’t seem to be all the blokes that I initially got here in with but in addition guys that got here in after me and transfers.
“They are all guys I’ve been close with and it is a group that is going to fight. It is a group of good leaders and we are going to go out and there and give it our best shot and finish strong.”
The ACC season is a grind and there are few gamers on this Power-5 convention with extra battle scars after 11 video games than Valdez.
Valdez wears a number of protecting and preventive appendages as a way to survive a season’s value of brutal encounters that included a dislocated proper elbow he sustained on Oct. 29 at UConn.
“I’m playing with a brace to protect it and it was rough the first couple of weeks but it is manageable now,” mentioned Valdez. “That’s a part of the sport, coping with accidents and I’m grateful it’s not one thing that can hold me out.
“I wish to hold enjoying and hold giving my all and being on the market for my guys. I really like the game, I really like the blokes within the locker room, I really like this crew and I really like this college.
“I’ve been here awhile and it is a part of me. It has shaped me and I appreciate everyone I have come into contact with.”
BC coach Jeff Hafley is wrapping up his third season on the sidelines so, apart from just a few transfers, many of the gamers who will probably be honored on Senior Day had been recruited and signed by former coach Steve Addazio.
“It is kind of interesting when you are getting ready for Senior Day you have sixth-year super seniors, fifth-year seniors and fourth-year seniors so there is a whole mix of guys,” mentioned Hafley. “It is a special group that I’ve been with a lot since I got here and we formed great relationships.”
Valdez is eligible to return for a sixth season due to the NCAA’s beneficiant coronavirus insurance policies however he insists that’s not within the playing cards. Going up in opposition to a number of the most belligerent left tackles in FBS on a weekly foundation will be dissuasive, even for a diehard like Valdez.
Valdez made good tutorial use of his time at BC. He studied enterprise as an undergraduate and can exit Chestnut Hill with an MBA. Valdez is a member of the ACC All-Academic crew who could possibly be a first-round decide by Wall Street.
“The (MBA) is a meaningful one and it will help me as a double business major,” mentioned Valdez. “Maybe I’ll make a lot of money someday.”
Zay’s legacy
Senior break up finish Zay Flowers has damaged many of the substantial receiving data at BC and is on the cusp of some outstanding and more and more uncommon milestones.
Flowers holds the report for receiving yards with 2,946 and may develop into a kind of few gamers in right this moment’s recreation to eclipse over 3,000 yards. Flowers holds the report for receptions with 192 and will attain 200 with a great effort in opposition to Syracuse. Flowers has 27 touchdowns, one shy of the report set by Kelvin Martin.
Since many high receivers go away early for the NFL, ending with 3,000 yards, 200 receptions and 30 touchdowns would make Flowers an endangered species in FBS.
“It was a goal of mine but I never imagined coming in that I would be breaking records,” mentioned Flowers.
Vinny stands for D
Inside linebacker Vinny DePalma is working away within the tackles’ derby with a team-high 84 stops. DePalma made a big contribution to his trigger with a career-high 12 tackles in final Saturday’s debacle at Notre Dame.
DePalma doesn’t not have the identical lofty numbers that guys like Luke Kuechly, Nick Clancy and Steven Daniels posted within the final dozen seasons. But if DePalma can get to 90 in opposition to Syracuse, that will be fairly a sendoff for the fifth-year senior.
Source: www.bostonherald.com