10 Burning Questions for the 2020 Eagles
Andy Backstrom
Staff Writer
Three weeks ago, it appeared as if the 2020 college football season was a ticking-time bomb. That’s why Saturday night’s Central Arkansas-Austin Peay FCS opener was a bit surreal. As was the ESPN commercial for BYU-Navy, a primetime Labor Day matchup scheduled to kick off the FBS season.
Just like that, the 2020 campaign is right in front of our eyes.
It sure won’t be the same, not with only six FBS conferences and 15 total FCS teams.
Countless questions remain. If the FBS season does in fact begin on time, how many games will actually be played? What happens if a program has a midseason COVID-19 outbreak? Will the sport have the same appeal without student sections and marching bands?
While incredibly important, those queries and many more logistical scenarios are being presented across the country, so this piece won’t touch on them. Instead, it will focus on another set of questions—those facing Boston College, first-year head coach Jeff Hafley, and his staff.
1. Can Phil Jurkovec live up to the hype in 2020?
There’s been excitement surrounding Notre Dame transfer quarterback Phil Jurkovec ever since he made the move to Chestnut Hill in January. The buzz only got louder during his seven-month wait for an NCAA immediate eligibility waiver. For weeks, #FreeJurk was all the talk in the BC Twittersphere. Now that he’s finally eligible, he has a chance to make his mark after sitting behind Ian Book for two years in South Bend—assuming he wins the quarterback battle.
Jurkovec is 6-foot-5, 250 pounds in a uniform (according to Hafley), and is a dual-threat gunslinger who came out of Pine-Richland High School (Pa.) as the 87th-best Class of 2018 recruit. But he’s only thrown 18 passes in his college career, he’s huddling up for the first time since middle school football, and he’s spent the summer getting comfortable with taking snaps under center. He has all the tangibles, however, the redshirt sophomore is short on experience.
2. Will Jeff Hafley have an immediate imprint on the Eagles’ secondary?
Hafley is 41 years old, and he already has seven years of NFL experience under his belt. Last year, he helped take Ohio State’s defense from the bottom half of the Big Ten to the top of the FBS. In doing so, he mentored a pair of future first-round defensive backs: Jeff Okudah and Damon Arnette. Hafley, who has spent most of his career working with DBs, has drawn praise for his knowledge of the back end. This summer, Eagles corners and safeties have lauded their head coach for his defensive vision and technical expertise. BC ranked 122nd in the nation last year in pass defense (285.5 yards per game). Hafley’s success in year one will partially be measured by the growth of the Eagles’ secondary.
3. Is there enough firepower on the D-Line to generate a legitimate pass rush?
The defensive backs’ job will be a lot easier if BC can get to the quarterback this year. The Eagles are coming off a season in which they recorded just 19 sacks—the second-fewest in the ACC. Max Richardson led the team with 3.5 quarterback takedowns, while defensive end Brandon Barlow headlined the struggling position group with a meager 2.5 sacks. It was a steep decline from the days of Zach Allen, Wyatt Ray, and Harold Landry.
New D-Line coach Vince Oghobaase is preaching technique and leverage. And, according to Barlow, the energetic Oghobaase doesn’t accept mediocrity. In the offseason, Shittah Sillah beefed up, and fellow DE Marcus Valdez trimmed down. Defensive tackles TJ Rayam and Kyiev Bennermon cut weight, too. Factor in the addition of Buffalo graduate transfer Chibueze Onwuka, true freshman Cam Horsley, who made a lot of noise during training camp, and the reported transfer of versatile Cal D-Lineman Luc Bequette, and the Eagles have a much better chance at winning the battle in the trenches this season and creating havoc in the backfield.
4. Will Frank Cignetti Jr.’s offense be as dynamic as advertised?
Motion, tight ends and running backs lining up on the outside, plays catered toward particular weapons’ skill sets—Frank Cignetti Jr.’s offense is supposed to include bits and pieces of all three levels of the game. Gone is the predictable 12-personnel, run-run-pass BC offense of the Steve Addazio era. Cignetti did mention, though, he doesn’t want to lose the ability to play power football. With a running back like David Bailey, who has a rare combination of size and athleticism (like his predecessor), it’s hard not to pound the rock. That said, judging by the program-produced video clips and practice reports, it’s clear that the Eagles are committed to taking shots downfield in the passing game this year, especially with a QB like Jurkovec.
5. Is an Eagles wideout going to break the 600-yard receiving mark?
No BC wideout has topped the 600-yard receiving mark since Alex Amidon turned in back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2012 and 2013. Kobay White came closest a couple years ago when he recorded a couple 100-yard games and rounded out the 2018 campaign with a team-leading 33 catches and 526 receiving yards. Cignetti’s offensive scheme is designed to squeeze the most talent out of his playmakers, so it’s logical to think that BC’s deepest wideout room in years would produce a 600+ yard receiver. It really depends on Jurkovec's rapport with individual perimeter players and how much he distributes the ball. Unlike year’s past, though, the wide receivers won’t be overshadowed by an arsenal of tight ends.
6. Who’s going to be TE2 behind Hunter Long?
Hunter Long is primed to be the Eagles’ second tight end selected in the NFL Draft in the past three years. With size (6-foot-5, 253 pounds) and speed, Long is a serious threat in the passing game, especially after the catch—he averaged 18.2 yards per reception last year. Under Addazio, BC almost always operated out of a two-tight end set. That’s likely to change this fall, but a second player at the position will surely get playing time. Besides, it’s hard to imagine the Eagles completely abandoning 12-personnel packages, given their strong running game.
As for who the TE2 will be, there are a few options. First off, there’s two capable young guys: true freshman Charlie Gordinier and redshirt freshman Spencer Witter. Gordinier, a three-star product of Red Bank Catholic (N.J.) is one of BC’s better known 2020 recruits, and Witter—a former preferred walk-on—turned some heads in camp. Joey Luchetti, who was recruited out of Lawrence Academy as a tight end but switched to defensive end for most of the 2019 season, also surfaced in the team’s training camp practice reports. Although graduate student and former Penn State transfer Danny Dalton was primarily a special teamer last year, he’s another name to keep an eye on, in addition to redshirt junior Drew McQuarrie.
Andy Backstrom
Staff Writer
Three weeks ago, it appeared as if the 2020 college football season was a ticking-time bomb. That’s why Saturday night’s Central Arkansas-Austin Peay FCS opener was a bit surreal. As was the ESPN commercial for BYU-Navy, a primetime Labor Day matchup scheduled to kick off the FBS season.
Just like that, the 2020 campaign is right in front of our eyes.
It sure won’t be the same, not with only six FBS conferences and 15 total FCS teams.
Countless questions remain. If the FBS season does in fact begin on time, how many games will actually be played? What happens if a program has a midseason COVID-19 outbreak? Will the sport have the same appeal without student sections and marching bands?
While incredibly important, those queries and many more logistical scenarios are being presented across the country, so this piece won’t touch on them. Instead, it will focus on another set of questions—those facing Boston College, first-year head coach Jeff Hafley, and his staff.
1. Can Phil Jurkovec live up to the hype in 2020?
There’s been excitement surrounding Notre Dame transfer quarterback Phil Jurkovec ever since he made the move to Chestnut Hill in January. The buzz only got louder during his seven-month wait for an NCAA immediate eligibility waiver. For weeks, #FreeJurk was all the talk in the BC Twittersphere. Now that he’s finally eligible, he has a chance to make his mark after sitting behind Ian Book for two years in South Bend—assuming he wins the quarterback battle.
Jurkovec is 6-foot-5, 250 pounds in a uniform (according to Hafley), and is a dual-threat gunslinger who came out of Pine-Richland High School (Pa.) as the 87th-best Class of 2018 recruit. But he’s only thrown 18 passes in his college career, he’s huddling up for the first time since middle school football, and he’s spent the summer getting comfortable with taking snaps under center. He has all the tangibles, however, the redshirt sophomore is short on experience.
2. Will Jeff Hafley have an immediate imprint on the Eagles’ secondary?
Hafley is 41 years old, and he already has seven years of NFL experience under his belt. Last year, he helped take Ohio State’s defense from the bottom half of the Big Ten to the top of the FBS. In doing so, he mentored a pair of future first-round defensive backs: Jeff Okudah and Damon Arnette. Hafley, who has spent most of his career working with DBs, has drawn praise for his knowledge of the back end. This summer, Eagles corners and safeties have lauded their head coach for his defensive vision and technical expertise. BC ranked 122nd in the nation last year in pass defense (285.5 yards per game). Hafley’s success in year one will partially be measured by the growth of the Eagles’ secondary.
3. Is there enough firepower on the D-Line to generate a legitimate pass rush?
The defensive backs’ job will be a lot easier if BC can get to the quarterback this year. The Eagles are coming off a season in which they recorded just 19 sacks—the second-fewest in the ACC. Max Richardson led the team with 3.5 quarterback takedowns, while defensive end Brandon Barlow headlined the struggling position group with a meager 2.5 sacks. It was a steep decline from the days of Zach Allen, Wyatt Ray, and Harold Landry.
New D-Line coach Vince Oghobaase is preaching technique and leverage. And, according to Barlow, the energetic Oghobaase doesn’t accept mediocrity. In the offseason, Shittah Sillah beefed up, and fellow DE Marcus Valdez trimmed down. Defensive tackles TJ Rayam and Kyiev Bennermon cut weight, too. Factor in the addition of Buffalo graduate transfer Chibueze Onwuka, true freshman Cam Horsley, who made a lot of noise during training camp, and the reported transfer of versatile Cal D-Lineman Luc Bequette, and the Eagles have a much better chance at winning the battle in the trenches this season and creating havoc in the backfield.
4. Will Frank Cignetti Jr.’s offense be as dynamic as advertised?
Motion, tight ends and running backs lining up on the outside, plays catered toward particular weapons’ skill sets—Frank Cignetti Jr.’s offense is supposed to include bits and pieces of all three levels of the game. Gone is the predictable 12-personnel, run-run-pass BC offense of the Steve Addazio era. Cignetti did mention, though, he doesn’t want to lose the ability to play power football. With a running back like David Bailey, who has a rare combination of size and athleticism (like his predecessor), it’s hard not to pound the rock. That said, judging by the program-produced video clips and practice reports, it’s clear that the Eagles are committed to taking shots downfield in the passing game this year, especially with a QB like Jurkovec.
5. Is an Eagles wideout going to break the 600-yard receiving mark?
No BC wideout has topped the 600-yard receiving mark since Alex Amidon turned in back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2012 and 2013. Kobay White came closest a couple years ago when he recorded a couple 100-yard games and rounded out the 2018 campaign with a team-leading 33 catches and 526 receiving yards. Cignetti’s offensive scheme is designed to squeeze the most talent out of his playmakers, so it’s logical to think that BC’s deepest wideout room in years would produce a 600+ yard receiver. It really depends on Jurkovec's rapport with individual perimeter players and how much he distributes the ball. Unlike year’s past, though, the wide receivers won’t be overshadowed by an arsenal of tight ends.
6. Who’s going to be TE2 behind Hunter Long?
Hunter Long is primed to be the Eagles’ second tight end selected in the NFL Draft in the past three years. With size (6-foot-5, 253 pounds) and speed, Long is a serious threat in the passing game, especially after the catch—he averaged 18.2 yards per reception last year. Under Addazio, BC almost always operated out of a two-tight end set. That’s likely to change this fall, but a second player at the position will surely get playing time. Besides, it’s hard to imagine the Eagles completely abandoning 12-personnel packages, given their strong running game.
As for who the TE2 will be, there are a few options. First off, there’s two capable young guys: true freshman Charlie Gordinier and redshirt freshman Spencer Witter. Gordinier, a three-star product of Red Bank Catholic (N.J.) is one of BC’s better known 2020 recruits, and Witter—a former preferred walk-on—turned some heads in camp. Joey Luchetti, who was recruited out of Lawrence Academy as a tight end but switched to defensive end for most of the 2019 season, also surfaced in the team’s training camp practice reports. Although graduate student and former Penn State transfer Danny Dalton was primarily a special teamer last year, he’s another name to keep an eye on, in addition to redshirt junior Drew McQuarrie.
