BC frosh QB adds element of unknown for Tech

Boston College senior starting quarterback Chris Crane suffered a season-ending collarbone injury two games ago. That could be bad news for Virginia Tech, the Eagles’ opponent in Saturday’s ACC championship game at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium.

Redshirt freshman Dominique Davis will start Saturday for No. 18 BC (9-3). Though inexperienced — he has played in only four games — he presents an element of mystery for the Hokies (8-4).

Tech drew up a successful blueprint for stopping Crane, who threw three interceptions (two returned for touchdowns) and was sacked three times in the Eagles’ regular-season win over Tech on Oct. 18 in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Now the Hokies have to prepare for a quarterback they have never seen in person.

“You can see that he’s young and he’s raw,” Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said of Davis. “He’s got a live arm, a little bit wild at times, but he’s a guy that’s got some ability.”

Davis, a 6-foot-4, 198-pound pass-run threat, has actually been more efficient than Crane since taking over in relief against Wake Forest on Nov. 22.

He scored the winning touchdown in that game on a 1-yard run with 1:12 remaining, and he completed 12 of 24 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns in BC’s Atlantic Division championship clinching win over Maryland a week later.

“For him to come in and start when Chris Crane went down and lead this team to a W, that’s very impressive,” Hokies defensive end Jason Worilds said.

In four career games, Davis has completed 31 of 59 pass attempts for 288 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also has two rushing touchdowns, including a 24-yard scoring run against Rhode Island on Sept. 27.

Davis’s hometown of Lakeland, Fla., is a suburb of Tampa. He returns home with a chance to lead the Eagles to their first BCS bowl game.

“My time came here last week,” Davis told the Boston Herald after the Maryland win. “And I’m here to take my team to the championship.”

Davis is similar to East Carolina’s Patrick Pinkney, Florida State’s Christian Ponder and Miami’s Robert Marve, three quarterbacks who used their dual-threat skills to beat the Hokies this season.

And though Crane, also a pass-run threat, made some big mistakes against Tech in the regular-season, he also had some big throws and runs in the Eagles’ 28-23 win.

Containing Davis inside the pocket — like Tech did successfully against Crane in the regular-season meeting — will be important to limiting his big plays.

“He’s not (UVa’s) Vic Hall as far as that kind of speed and that type of thing, but (Davis is) athletic enough to do some things when things aren’t there for him,” Foster said.

“I think the Crane kid could (make plays) by moving and just getting rid of the ball. This kid has the ability to run, and he can throw the football. He’s more dangerous when things aren’t there. He can ad lib and run and do some things.”

Davis doesn’t appear to get rattled easily. He calmly orchestrated the Eagles’ comeback win over Wake Forest on Nov. 22.

He completed a 36-yard pass to wide receiver Rich Gunnell on third-and-13 and later hit wideout Brandon Robinson for a 21-yard gain to the 1-yard line.

He called his own number on the very next play and punched the ball in the end zone for the winning touchdown.

The young quarterback handled himself like a seasoned veteran.

“He handled it very well. Dominique is a great quarterback and he doesn’t get rattled,” Robinson said. “Once he knows the game plan, knows what his reads are, he goes out and executes that. ... He’s going to be a good player for BC in the future.”