The Importance of the BC Game and a Message for the Players

"Today is an important day. Today is THE day," I told myself, waking up one morning in my junior year of high school.

That day, Boston College was coming to visit my school, and I was sure they were going to offer me the scholarship I had wanted since I was 11 years old. I envisioned the coach going up to me and saying, “We want you to come play quarterback for us, Dan." It was going to be the culmination of years of hard work and dedication.

That's how I felt back in 2000 when I was going through the recruiting process. BC and UConn were the first two schools to recruit me, starting in my sophomore football season. I had my heart set on BC and honestly did not think much of the upstart opportunity at UConn.

Growing up at that time in New England, I dreamt of playing quarterback at BC. UConn was just about to move up to 1-A football, whereas BC was an established program with a rich quarterback history. I attended the BC football camp four years in a row, while always saying thanks, but no thanks, to attending UConn’s. Being recruited by BC, Michigan State, Purdue, Virginia and a few others, UConn just wasn't very high on my list. I was positive BC was the school for me.

That day, I sat down with a BC assistant coach, whose name I still remember, during lunchtime in a separate room at school. “We like you Dan, but to us, you’re like a pretty girl in school," he said. "Just not THE prettiest.

"We want the prettiest. We aren’t going to offer you a scholarship and that doesn’t mean we don’t think you’re a good player, but you’re just not good enough for BC right now."

I wasn’t sad. I was insulted and furious. It was the first time a school had told me face to face I wasn’t good enough for them. I knew the kid who BC was going to offer that scholarship to, and I knew I was better.

Thankfully, Randy Edsall and Lyndon Johnson stayed vigilant on me and my recruitment. They kept pursuing me, describing a vision of building something great, the challenge that lied ahead, and the opportunity to do something others deemed impossible. After the slight from BC, and despite calls from the Big Ten and ACC, I decided I believed in Coach Edsall's vision. He was going to do something special at UConn, something impossible, and I wanted to be a part of that.

After taking my time, and making some visits, I called Coach Edsall and told him “I’m coming to UConn, to play quarterback for you."

I am forever thankful for the decision Boston College made and where it has led me. I always felt I had a great work ethic, but BC doing what they did to me that day hit me to my core. I used that as motivation every single day of my college career. Every workout, every practice, every game, there was a chip on my shoulder because of them.

UConn plays BC this Saturday at Fenway Park, in what should be a really cool college football experience for the people of New England. It's late in the season, and the area's two premier athletic schools are clashing at a historic venue. Though the two schools are not part of the same conference anymore, I promise you, for the players, coaches, and fanbases, this rivalry is real. I feel like it's just getting started.

I’ll never forget the feeling of going to play Boston College for the first time. I was full of so many emotions the whole week. It meant just a little more. It was my chance to prove to BC's coaches that they were wrong about me. It was the chance to prove to myself that I was right, that I was better than the kid they took.

I remember all week constantly thinking about being told I wasn’t good enough. I wanted nothing more than to go up to Chestnut Hill and hang 100 on the Eagles and go home with a sideways smile on my face. I know there are kids on the current UConn football team with those same feelings.

I hope the kids take offense to it like I did, like Alfred Fincher did, and used it all week for motivation. We bonded over the idea that we were this group of guys who were told we weren’t good enough. We talked about it during workouts, summer runs, even during our downtime. We all carried that chip on our shoulders. It made us closer as a team, and as friends. We relished the opportunity to go play against BC, and we didn't hide that from anyone.

This year's Huskies aren't all that different than the team I was on early in my career. It's full of kids who were overlooked by a lot of schools, but most notably by the one in their own backyard. There are 37 players on the UConn roster from New England, and every one of those kids in some way has probably had some contact with BC in the recruiting process. Many of them were told the same thing BC said to me in not so many words: "You’re not good enough!"

So here's what I have to say to this UConn team:

When game time comes, and that first kick off happens, I hope there is a little more finish on all your blocks, a little bit more pop on every tackle and a little more effort on every play. It was important to us as players who were shunned by BC that they FELT us. That they felt our anger and our pride. It was important to us that they understood we weren’t going to sit back and allow them to think they were better than us.

During my time at school, we played BC three times, once at home and two times away. We never won any of those games, and that, to this day, is one of the greatest things that bothers me about my time at UConn. But I know this. Boston College knew they made the wrong choice when it came to me. They knew that we were going to be a problem for them moving forward, that we weren’t a pushover. You have a chance to make them feel that way about you today. Take advantage of it.

Tonight's game offers you the same opportunity I had 16 years ago. The result isn’t the most important thing, and back then it wasn’t to us either. It's the message, sent collectively. We’re here to stay. And for the extended future, whether we're in your conference or not, for 365 days a year, you’re going to feel UConn Football.

Be sure to follow Dan Orlovsky on Twitter and Instagram! You should also check out his first article for Storrs Central, a review of David Pindell's performance against UCF.