DePalma Carving Out Career Season in Year Five
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
Vinny DePalma got on the field as a redshirt freshman at Boston College. He was playing meaningful snaps, too.
The only problem was, he was part of an Eagles defense that allowed a program-worst 32.2 points per game and reset the school record for most yards allowed in a single game twice.
So when then-head coach Steve Addazio was fired, along with the staff who recruited DePalma, the standout linebacker from DePaul Catholic in Wayne, New Jersey, had a lot to prove.
That task grew significantly taller when DePalma suffered a season-ending Achilles injury before the 2020 campaign even began.
As new head coach Jeff Hafley started to restore the Eagles' defensive tradition, DePalma had to figure out where he fit in. It's one thing to come back from a serious injury like that—it's another to do it while competing for snaps in a different defensive system than the one you were brought into.
"As soon as I got back in the 2021 offseason, it was my goal just to lead by example every day, and that will speak more volumes than anything I could possibly say," DePalma said this spring, reflecting on that transition.
But when DePalma spoke, he made his words count, and Hafley took notice immediately. At the time, he raved about DePalma's vocalness on the field, and the leadership ability that demonstrated.
Luckily for DePalma, BC needed help in the second level, following the graduation of both Max Richardson and Isaiah McDuffie, who combined for 206 total tackles in 2020.
DePalma's snap count increased as the 2021 season wore on, but he made an impression from the start. In Week 2 at UMass, he delivered a punishing blow on punt return coverage, forcing a fumble that was recovered by strong safety Jaiden Woodbey for a 42-yard scoop and score.
DePalma ended up playing 458 snaps last year—more than double his 223 in 2019—despite Hafley and defensive coordinator Tem Lukabu's scheme calling for a 4-2-5 base.
DePalma finished with 54 total tackles, the third most on the team. That said, of ACC linebackers with 100-plus run defense snaps, DePalma was tied for 27th in missed tackle percentage (13.7%) in 2021.
The question was, how much would DePalma play in 2022, considering how much BC was preaching improved run defense and, above all else, speed, which underclassmen linebackers Bryce Steele and Jaylen Blackwell as well as junior Kam Arnold—a converted safety—have in spades.
Yet, five games into the season, and the 5-foot-11, 223-pound graduate linebacker is smack dab in the middle of a career year.
"He's probably one of the smartest football players I've ever been around," Steele said in fall camp. "He's a huge help, on and off the field. Kind of just listening to him in the meeting room, having him share his knowledge on what he knows with the game and everything. And then just seeing it translate to the field.
Steele added: "He's out there calling out pin and pulls, calling out different offensive things and helping me kind of learn the game as well."
DePalma's sixth in the ACC with 43 tackles right now. Some games, he's stacking solo tackles, as was the case at Florida State, where he racked up eight. Others, he's simply bringing another hat to the ball, like last week against Louisville when eight of his 11 total tackles were assisted.
DePalma made 4th Down stops back-to-back weeks this season: first against Maine, forcing a fumble in the process, and then at FSU, where he stopped Seminoles running back Trey Benson in his tracks deep in BC's own territory to give the Eagles a shred of life in a lopsided first half.
Last week, DePalma teamed up with sophomore defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku for a 3rd-and-1 stop to cap a Louisville three-and-out in the first half.
DePalma's PFF run defense grade has shot up from 65.9 last year to 73.0. He's cut his missed tackle percentage on run plays down to 9.4%—4.3 percentage points lower than it was in 2021.
During spring ball, Hafley talked about how DePalma is not only one of the hardest workers on the team but also "one of the most well-respected kids on the team."
"Vinny is just 'Mr. Reliable,' Hafley said in fall camp. "He knows what's going on. He's kind of like Max [Richardson]. That's how Vinny is. He sees stuff. He can line guys up."
DePalma is part of the team's leadership council, and he's one of seven captains. He's strung together two consecutive 11-tackle performances. A third, and he'll match his career high, which he set last year.
DePalma, now in his fifth year, has seen BC's defense transform from a unit that bore the brunt of nearly all the blame in 2019 to a unit that, at times throughout the last two years, has flirted with being among the best in the ACC.
He was asked last weekend if the Louisville win could be a springboard for the Eagles. DePalma responded by saying that it could, especially because "momentum in college football is a real thing," he explained.
Except, for a player who has seen the game taken away from him like it was in 2020, DePalma knows better than to do anything but focus on the now.
"As you get older and you get more comfortable, you're more familiar with the scheme," DePalma said in August. "You're more familiar with your teammates, your coaches. It's good just to kind of look back and appreciate your career.
"Every practice and every day is a gift."
