American River quarterback Boek accepts BC offer

Thursday at his Orangevale home, Codi Boek watched on television as No. 2 Boston College rallied for two touchdowns in the final minutes to beat Virginia Tech 14-10.

Friday, the American River College quarterback was on a plane headed to Boston for a recruiting visit with the Eagles' players and coaching staff.

Sunday, the first trip of his life to the East Coast paid off: He received a full-ride scholarship offer to play next fall for the Eagles.

What had been evolving into a bittersweet year for the former Del Campo High School standout suddenly got plenty sweet.

"It's definitely a no-brainer," the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Boek said of the offer that he quickly accepted verbally. "I got along really well with the players. The coaches are great. It's a great program and an academically prestigious school. I feel very fortunate, especially because it's been such a chaotic year."

Boek received a scholarship from Idaho State in 2005 after starting just one season at Del Campo. He was a redshirt freshman last season for the Bengals but decided in late spring to surrender his scholarship and return home to be with his father, Nathan Boek, who is battling cancer.

Codi enrolled at ARC but broke his left forearm in the third game of the season, a 30-29 win over Cabrillo in which he threw for 130 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 118 more before being hurt.

"It was kind of a blow," Boek said. "Things seemed to be going downhill. I kept asking myself what else could go wrong."

Instead of brooding, Boek prepared an eight-minute highlight tape and sent it to various colleges. Initially, Boek received only one scholarship offer – from Grambling State – and a walk-on opportunity from Sacramento State.

But when Boston College recruiting coordinator Mike Siravo called, Boek followed up with complete tapes of his ARC games and transcripts.

Boek knew there was serious interest when he was invited to visit last weekend.

"They told me I was at the top of the list because they were looking for a (junior college) guy," he said. "I think they wanted to see me, make sure I was as tall as listed and a representable guy because they are investing a lot of money in me for the next 3 1/2 years."

Eagles quarterback Matt Ryan, a Heisman Trophy candidate, is a senior. His likely successor next fall is junior Chris Crane, but three other quarterbacks listed on the roster are freshmen.

Boek said he's comfortable taking the offer because his father's cancer appears to be in remission.

"Everything is looking good," Boek said. "Pop is doing well. He had his final radiation treatment on Wednesday. So he was able to come with me on the trip, and he loved it out there, too. It's an exciting time for both of us."

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