2022 BC Position Preview Series: Running Backs
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
It was a surprise to see Boston College throw the ball around as much as it did in 2020. What was even more surprising, though, was the lack of production the Eagles had on the ground, especially when they were returning running back David Bailey, who was a stud as the 1B option to future NFLer AJ Dillon.
BC ranked 118th nationally in rushing offense that season, averaging just 101.7 yards per game in that department. Part of that drop-off could be attributed to a switch from a man-to-man to a zone blocking scheme, not to mention a game of musical chairs for the offensive line after left tackle Tyler Vrabel suffered a shoulder injury during the preseason.
Last year, the Eagles got back on track running the football. They jumped up to 61st nationally in rushing offense, averaging 164.3 yards per game. The offensive line looked more comfortable blocking in Frank Cignetti Jr.'s scheme. In fact, the group posted a Pro Football Focus run blocking grade of 86.6, which was 21.6 points higher than its 2020 mark.
But the emergence of redshirt sophomore Pat Garwo III was a big reason why, too. Garwo went from being the fourth running back on the Eagles' depth chart to becoming the 19th player in program history to rush for 1,000 or more yards in a single season. He posted four 100-yard games and rumbled for seven touchdowns, averaging an impressive 5.1 yards per carry.
West Virginia transfer Alec Sinkfield was added to the fold, and Travis Levy rounded out his BC career with one final season as a runner-receiver-returner hybrid. Levy graduated, but Sinkfield and Garwo are back. And a now-healthy Xavier Coleman is expected to break out as a redshirt freshman.
PROJECTED DEPTH CHART
RB1 - Pat Garwo III (R-Jr.)
2021 Stats: 205 rush, 5.1 avg, 1,045 yards, 7 TD
RB2 - Alec Sinkfield (Gr.)
2021 Stats: 85 rush, 4.1 avg, 350 yards, 2 TD
RB3 - Xavier Coleman (R-Fr.)
2021 Stats: 6 rush, 2.2 avg, 13 yards, 0 TD
RB4 - Andre Hines (R-So.)
2021 Stats: N/A
PFF BREAKDOWN
Garwo first turned heads Week 2 at UMass. He rushed for 160 yards on 15 carries while, at one point, ripping off a 42-yard run. Levy started the season as BC's lead back. Then it was Alec Sinkfield. But, after the UMass game, Garwo got his shot atop the two-deep, and he didn't relinquish that status the rest of the season. For the most part, the Eagles did away with a running-back-by-committee approach, and they rode Garwo, who finished the season with 205 carries—120 more than Sinkfield, BC's second-leading rusher.The 5-foot-7 Coleman had a great spring after coming in as a mid-year enrollee, but a knee injury set him back. He ended up playing just 12 snaps across the three games he appeared in, according to PFF, before redshirting his freshman season.
Sinkfield arrived at BC last offseason, too. He was in play for the starting role following Bailey's transfer out of the program. He packs a great punch at just 5-foot-9. Although he was never a full-time starter in his 27-game career at WVU, Sinkfield logged a breakaway percentage of 46.5% in 2020, according to PFF. The stat measures the percentage of yardage gained with designed run plays of 15 or more yards.
That said, last season with BC, Sinkfield registered an elusive rating (ELU) of only 25.9, which was 22nd among ACC running backs with 75 or more rush attempts in 2021. ELU measures the "success and impact of a runner with the ball independently of the blocking," per PFF. To put that in perspective, Garwo's 55.9 ELU was 16th.
Sinkfield was a significantly better pass blocker (83.4 PFF grade) than Garwo (14.9 PFF grade) last year, however. And that's relevant considering how much BC drops back to pass with Jurkovec at the helm, at least when Cignetti was the offensive coordinator.
Sinkfield was less explosive than Garwo, given that he churned out a run of 10-plus yards every 9.4 carries, whereas Garwo achieved that feat approximately every 7.9 carries. Additionally, Garwo was far more effective after contact.
Actually, Garwo ranked fourth among ACC running backs with 75 or more carries in yards after contact. In fact, 64.6% of his 2021 rushing total came after he was hit. At times, the then-redshirt sophomore was a bowling ball, barreling down defenders. He averaged 3.26 yards after contact per attempt—1.11 more than Sinkfield. He also forced 36 missed tackles, according to PFF. That was tops on the team and seventh in the above ACC data set. Still, just to remind you how insane Dillon was at BC, he forced 81 missed tackles as a junior in 2019.
Garwo isn't all power, either. His 26 runs of 10-plus yards were fifth among qualifying ACC running backs last season. He was also 14th in breakaway percentage (37.6%). His 67-yard touchdown run against Missouri comes to mind, although that Tigers defense was far from stingy.
