*All athletes have that one game, that one contest, that ranks as the most unforgettable of their lives. It can be memorable because of a personal or team achievement, a dramatic finish, a sentimental moment, or any number of other factors.
Continuing an annual summer series, Packers.com caught up with the members of the 2009 draft class to ask them about the game they'll never forget. It could be a game at any level of competition that took place at any time. They're all hoping their new NFL careers will give them new memories and new games to cherish, but for now, these rank at the top.*
First-round draft pick B.J. Raji has never been one to shy away from responsibility.
So last season, with his Boston College Eagles playing a crucial Atlantic Coast Conference road game at Wake Forest to keep their league title hopes alive, Raji didn't despair when BC's starting quarterback broke his collarbone and was replaced by a redshirt freshman.
It only meant the Raji-led defense would have to play that much tougher.
"We took a lot of pride in our defense, and it started at the beginning of training camp," Raji said. "Coach (Frank) Spaziani established the fact that our team would be as good as we were in that (defensive) room. The better the defense was, the better the team would be. We knew that, in essence, from the early point in the season."
That day, Nov. 22, 2008, Boston College needed every last ounce of effort from its defense. Starting quarterback Chris Crane was knocked out of the game early in the second quarter with the Eagles near midfield. Redshirt freshman Dominique Davis finished that drive, which produced a field goal for a 6-0 lead.
Moments later, BC's Mark Herzlich intercepted the first of his two passes and returned it for a score, making it 13-0. But that was just one of several big plays by the Eagles' defense.
Davis, as expected, had his ups and downs and the game tightened up. He had two fumbles returned for touchdowns, and when Wake Forest blocked a punt deep in BC territory early in the fourth quarter and scored on the ensuing play, suddenly the host Demon Deacons led 21-16.
But BC's defensive effort gave Davis a chance to redeem himself with one final drive. The Eagles allowed only nine first downs and 191 yards of total offense, and Herzlich's score marked the sixth straight game BC had gotten a touchdown from its defense or special teams.
"The mentality was we wanted to flat-out dominate people," Raji said. "Make them one dimensional, which allowed us to be more creative on defense.
"A lot of ACC teams felt that one of the advantages they did have is they had more speed at skill positions. They would do a lot of quick passes, receiver screens and reverses to get their quote-unquote 'athletes out in space.' But they were running sideways and we were running at them full speed, aggressive, hitting them, and by the fourth quarter all that athleticism went out the window. It got us in a position we wanted to be in at the end."
Aside from Herzlich's two interceptions, the BC defense held Wake to either one or zero first downs on nine possessions. Raji, starting in his customary defensive tackle spot, helped set the tone with back-to-back sacks (the first one shared with teammate Ron Brace) on Wake Forest's opening drive of the game.
{sportsad300}Two fourth-quarter stops by the Eagles - one ending with a missed 47-yard field goal - set up Davis to drive the offense 70 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 1:12 left. BC needed one more defensive stop to seal it, halting Wake on fourth down from the Eagles' 39-yard line in the final seconds to preserve the 24-21 win.
"We had to kind of step up the last drive of the game, and our defense played well as a whole," Raji said. "From that standpoint I knew we had a chance to get past Maryland and get to the ACC championship game, which we lost. That was bad, but to get there, a big part of that was how we played defense."
BC did beat Maryland at home the following week - scoring on defense for the seventh straight contest - to win the Atlantic Division and advance to the ACC title game, which was won by Virginia Tech, avenging a loss to BC earlier in the season.
Ultimately BC's season ended with a tough 16-14 loss to Vanderbilt in the Music City Bowl, but Raji took pride in his team getting as far as it did, especially with the defense rising to the occasion to hand Wake Forest a home conference loss for the first time in two years.
"Looking back on it, I'm still very proud of that defense," Raji said. "Those memories will always be with me, even when hopefully I have a pretty good career with the Packers and beyond."
