Zukauskas offers his take on hire

Former BC offensive lineman Paul Zukauskas can offer a unique take on the Steve Addazio hiring.

Not only has Zukauskas been the head coach of Lawrence Academy since 2011. He's a former defensive graduate assistant in the Eagles' program.

But his experience with Addazio stretches back far beyond that.

"He actually recruited me back when I was going to BC High," Zukauskas said. "He recruited me back in '95-96.

"He was an outstanding recruiter at Syracuse. Of all the guys I dealt with in terms of being recruited he was the best. He was really thorough in guiding me through the process.

"I ended up going to Boston College because it was my dream school and it didn't matter who was coaching, just being a local guy. But he did a great job."

Addazio's ability as a recruiter is one of the reasons Zukauskas, who played for the Cleveland Browns from 2001-2004, believes it was a good hire.

"I think coach Addazio's ties to the Northeast, his recruiting ability, his passion and his energy are exciting. As an alum I think it's a great hire," he said.

And what makes Addazio a good recruiter?

"It's certainly the passion that he really shows," he said. "He gets you excited about the school he's recruiting for. A lot of recruiting is just organization and follow-up.

"He said he'd talk to me at this time on this day and it's like clockwork with him. He's going to be as thorough a recruiter as there is. When you couple that organization with passion and energy, that's what he is. Some guys have one but not the other. He's got both."

Some believe it will take Addazio a while to build a foundation before the Eagles can have a lot of on-field success.

Having been around the program recently himself, Zukauskas agrees that it won't happen overnight. But he believes there will be positive results of some sort quickly.

"I was in the program in '09 and 2010 and there are some players on that team that can win games," he said. "I would never predict anything in terms of how things will go or when the program will get back to where it was around '08, when it was the best program in the Northeast outside of Penn State.

"To get back to that will always take some time with a new coach, to kind of build your staff, find your recruiting territory and build those relationships. He has to develop those at BC. But I do believe he's the type of guy that can put a program in place to win like that and win nine or 10 games a year."

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