BC Football Mailbag: How Will BC Handle Its Quarterback Situation?
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Staff Writer
Boston College is on a three-game ACC losing streak that has seen the Eagles average 11.3 points and convert less than 30% of their third downs.
Something needs to change offensively. Will it be the quarterback? Perhaps the play-calling?
Let’s explore in this week’s mailbag. But first, there are other questions to address, too.
bkitley: What is wrong with Kobay White and Deon Jones? Jones was our best safety last year. And is CJ back this week?
Longtime BC wide receiver Kobay White has missed the last three games with a knee injury. It’s concerning, given that White was sidelined all last season with an ACL tear. That said, even if he was healthy, there’s no reason to believe he’d be a fixture in this BC offense. Zay Flowers is having a hard enough time getting the ball in his hands. White, traditionally the Eagles’ deep threat in his three years as the team’s leading wideout, would likely face similar struggles. That is, if he got on the field. In the four games that White has played this year, he registered just one catch for 25 yards, and that was in the season opener against Colgate.
Deon Jones took a while to get back on the field after recovering from a knee injury that he suffered at the end of the 2020 season. Once he did, he played a total of 27 snaps versus Temple and Missouri. Against the Owls, Jones recorded a Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 72.2, and head coach Jeff Hafley said that it was beneficial having him in the back end because of his experience and leadership. Since Week 4, though, the Maryland transfer hasn’t seen the field. There hasn’t been an official injury update about Jones. It could be his knee again, or Hafley and his defensive staff could simply be content with Jason Maitre and Mike Palmer shouldering the workload. But, given Hafley’s early-season remarks about Jones and this team’s propensity to rotate guys in and out of the secondary, it’s likely the former. If Jones was healthy, he’d probably be getting a share of the snaps.
We’ll know CJ Lewis’ status at game time. He was out last week with a calf injury. At practice this week, I didn’t see him wearing any kind of brace or boot. After a breakout 2020, Lewis has caught 11 balls for 167 yards this year, handcuffed by a declining BC pass offense.
johnpaul2: With the exception of Jack Conley, there seems to be almost no back-up play happening on the O-Line. I know we want the unit to play together, but are we failing to develop our players and rest some of the starters? Along the same lines, in the Louisville game Tyler Vrabel was having significant mobility issues. What is his status?
Definitely see where you’re coming from with this question. It’s not too surprising, though. BC’s O-Line hasn’t been as good as the preseason accolades hinted it would be, but the group is still more cohesive than it was last year and has undoubtedly improved its blocking for this zone-run scheme. And I know it’s a broken record, but the experience of the five starters is impossible to ignore.
Even before the knee injury to Tyler Vrabel, it was clear that Jack Conley was the sixth-best O-Lineman on the team, at least in the eyes of the staff. BC was rotating him in at right tackle through the first four games of the season and even used him as a “tight end” in the first half of the Clemson game. Of course, guys like Drew Kendall, Ozzy Trapilo and Kevin Cline got time in the blowout win over Colgate, but BC tried to give that trio some run in the fourth quarter of the North Carolina State game.
It was Kendall at center, Trapilo at right tackle, Cline at left tackle, Blerim Rustemi at left guard and Finn Dirstine at right guard. One play. That’s all they got. Running back Peter Stehr was stuffed in the end zone for a safety that added insult to injury in an already embarrassing Homecoming defeat.
As for Vrabel, Hafley said that he and the staff weren’t comfortable with playing him the whole game at Louisville so that’s why Conley came in for a bit (but instantly gave up a sack). Yes, Vrabel’s mobility looked limited. Then again, his job was harder than it normally is, considering how predictable and one-dimensional the Eagles’ offense became in that game. He actually logged a PFF pass blocking grade of 70.9. But Hafley is hoping the veteran left tackle will be back to full strength for this week’s game.
duda: What do we believe, as of right now, is the projected OL for next year? We love to complain about our OL, but my sense is that we will have our patience tested next year with 4 new OL.
I’m not so sure Vrabel leaves, especially after his injury troubles this year. But Alec Lindstrom, Zion Johnson and Ben Petrula will be on their way out, surely. If Vrabel does indeed depart, and BC has to start four new O-Linemen, here’s my best guess.
LT Jack Conley
LG Christian Mahogany
C Drew Kendall
RG Kevin Cline
RT Ozzy Trapilo
I think the line rollout late against N.C. State gives an indication of who’s most ready to play right now. But Conley figures to take over at left tackle. I could see Matt Applebaum moving Cline inside so Trapilo, two inches taller, can be outside at right tackle. It would be another big front. Conley is 6-foot-7, Trapillo is 6-foot-8, Mahogany is 6-foot-3, Cline is 6-foot-6 and Kendall is 6-foot-4. I think there’s a chance now-redshirt freshman Kevin Pyne—a highly-touted, four-star recruit from Milford—is in the mix for one of the tackle spots as well. Same thing goes for Finn Dirstine and Rustemi at right guard. Could be some competition there.
TheGuru: Who will be the starting quarterback at Syracuse?
Well, if I knew for certain, I would have told you guys by now. But my inkling is that Dennis Grosel will get the start this week, possibly with a short leash. I get the sense that Hafley, offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. and the rest of the team believe that the Eagles are close to clicking on offense again. Also, Hafley said that his quarterback decision this week was “not very hard.” This is all speculative, of course, but you’d think benching a fifth-year redshirt senior, who has 13 career starts and is a team leader, would at least be somewhat difficult.
Now, I do think redshirt sophomore Daelen Menard, redshirt freshman Matthew Rueve and Emmett Morehead are probably getting more work with the ones than they would have before. If Grosel and the Eagles fail to put up points at the Carrier Dome, it is hard to see how BC wouldn’t go in another direction.
bcfan1984jcb: What’s the staff think about QB talent other than Phil Jurkovec?
Hafley was asked this week about the other quarterbacks in the room. Here’s what he said:
“Dennis gets most of the reps in practice,” Hafley said. “Daelen [Menard] is a guy who knows the scheme really well. Moves well in the pocket. He can run around a little bit. I think he has a really great grasp on the system. Matthew Rueve, another guy. He processes really quickly. He’s good on the run, he’s good outside the pocket. Emmett Morehead is a big true freshman who has a phenomenal arm. He’s got a really bright future.”
ProudEagle02: Regardless of the QB, any change in scheme for the offense?
Great question. I think this is where things have to change. We talked about this in last week’s mailbag, but BC stubbornly tried to stick with the same playbook after Jurkovec went down. I think it stayed with that strategy for too long. Granted, Cignetti definitely tried to keep things in Grosel’s range last week with a bevy of short-to-medium passes, but Grosel just wasn’t hitting those, either.
Cignetti did a great job of getting the ball to Flowers early in the game. But all four of Flowers’ catches came in the first half. I’m interested to see if BC can keep its best offensive player involved through all four quarters. Bottom line, though: Cignetti can get as creative as he wants and roll out Grosel to lessen some of the pressure, and use Flowers all over the field, and all of that good stuff, but if Grosel can’t complete “layup” passes, it’s all for naught.
boston47: How about injuries for the ’Cuse game? TE Trae Barry limped off last week. Is he available?
Hafley said this week that Trae Barry’s injury wasn’t as bad as the team feared. He explained that Barry and cornerback Brandon Sebastian were both day-to-day. Hafley compared their injury statuses to that of Vrabel from the previous week. Vrabel ended up playing but was limited. Not having Barry at Syracuse would be a big blow. He’s the Eagles’ second-leading receiver and a security blanket for Grosel.
duda: Are there any players in the program you see as surprise candidates to leave for the NFL Draft? Jurkovec, Flowers, Vrabel, Sebastian, a body or two from the defensive backfield?
At this point, I don’t see how Jurkovec or Flowers leave for the NFL Draft. Flowers could, but he probably wouldn’t get the draft grade he wants or deserves. BC has to be concerned about him hitting the transfer portal, if anything. With Jurkovec likely coming back, though, that could keep Flowers in Chestnut Hill. Again, given Vrabel’s knee injury, I don’t know if he makes the jump, either. I could see Sebastian leaving for the draft after this season. He has three picks this year, and his press-man coverage has been impressive, particularly against Clemson.
People sleep on Elijah Jones. He has racked up a ton of snaps the last three years, is solid on special teams and has notched a PFF coverage grade of 77.5 this season—10.5 points higher than his 2020 mark. Josh DeBerry is another defensive back to keep an eye on. He’s been having an awesome season as well. Jones is a redshirt junior. DeBerry is a junior. I could see either one thinking about leaving early.
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