BC Football Mailbag: What if Vrabel Is Out Long Term?
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Staff Writer
Boston College has its bye this week. That doesn’t mean the talk about the Eagles’ 4-1 start and crushing loss to Clemson has to slow down, though.
Eagle Action is back with another mailbag.
Let’s get into this week’s questions.
jstein1955: Is the long-term plan to use Jack Conley at left tackle, or is there a chance that Ozzy Trapilo sees playing time?
If BC’s starting left tackle, Tyler Vrabel, is out long term—his injury status is still up in the air after he left last week’s game at Clemson with a knee injury—I think Jack Conley would be the replacement. For one, Conley filled in for Vrabel in the second half of that game. Also, it’s pretty clear that he’s the Eagles’ sixth-best offensive lineman right now, at least in the eyes of O-Line coach Matt Applebaum. Conley came in as a tight end for several jumbo packages in the first half of the Clemson game, not to mention that he piled up 59 total snaps at right tackle in the first four weeks of the season. And he was in the mix during 2020 fall camp for the final guard spot (which ultimately went to Christian Mahogany).
Now, that said, where Conley would line up is another discussion.
That leads us to our next question.
NJEagle14: Jeff Hafley has stated that the shakeup of positions on the line last season was to accommodate Vrabel's nagging injury. Is that a consideration for this season or will there be a direct replacement for Vrabel?
Great thought, and it’s something I’ll have to ask Hafley next week ahead of the North Carolina State matchup (of course, only if Vrabel is indeed still injured). Because Conley, who missed his freshman year (2019) with injury, is more experienced this time around, perhaps Applebaum, offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. and Hafley would opt for a simple replacement. But there’s also the possibility that the Eagles revert back to a 2020 arrangement, where Zion Johnson slides to the blind side, Christian Mahogany flips to left guard, Ben Petrula moves to right guard and Conley takes over at right tackle.
I think the former, however, is more likely. While Applebaum has BC’s linemen practicing different positions, it’s not easy to make the change midseason—for one player, let alone four. We saw the growing pains that occurred last year when the Eagles at least had fall camp to prepare, granted even that was altered because of COVID-19. For that reason, I believe, without Vrabel, we’ll see Conley at left tackle. Hafley said that he liked the effort from the 6-foot-7 redshirt sophomore, and it seems as if he has a future up front at BC anyway.
Regardless, if Vrabel is out, that’s a big blow for a veteran BC offensive line. He’s a three-year starter, and he has allowed only two sacks this season. So far this year, Vrabel has registered the fourth-highest Pro Football Focus offensive grade of any Eagle with more than two starts.
Eaglehoof: Why was Travis Levy used extensively in the second half versus Clemson?
I see why you’re asking this, and it was closely related to another question on the forum about why Pat Garwo III wasn’t used more in the second half. If you break down the carry splits, though, the share between Garwo and other Eagles running backs wasn’t that different in the second half than it was in the opening two quarters of play.
Garwo had seven carries for 43 yards in the first half. Of course, 27 yards came on one rush, so, if you take that out, he was averaging a mere 2.7 yards per tote. That half, Cignetti fed Alec Sinkfield five times, and Levy got just three attempts. That’s seven Garwo carries to eight other total rushes from BC’s backs. In the second half, Garwo ran the ball five times for 14 more yards, while Levy (six carries) and Sinkfield (one carry) combined for seven rushes.
We likely saw more of Levy in the back half of that game because he’s not only BC’s best receiving backs, but he’s simply one of the Eagles’ most reliable pass catchers. Period. He had five grabs for 49 yards. Three of those came with under five minutes to go. He’s a safety valve for quarterback Dennis Grosel and a mighty good one at that. BC’s coaching staff knows that.
duda: What does this staff see as Grosel’s strengths? Not looking for, ‘he is a great leader,’ but is it accuracy, intermediate throws, running? What needs help: processing, deep balls, escaping pressure? How did the playbook change going from Jurk to Grosel?
When the staff says that the playbook doesn’t change with Grosel at quarterback, I believe them. Cignetti is calling the same pass plays he would with Phil Jurkovec under center. They’re still sending Zay Flowers out on deep post routes, swinging tight ends on wheel routes and underneath patterns and using CJ Lewis on digs. BC is throwing the ball less, yes, but I think the Eagles were going to do that anyway, even with Jurkovec still dropping back to pass.
BC’s run/pass balance was out of whack last year, and the team wanted to establish more physicality in the ground game this fall. The Eagles have done that, hence a scaled back aerial attack. Still, Jurkovec’s passing numbers would probably be higher because of his rapport with the receivers and his ability to connect downfield. Grosel is just 2-of-11 on passes traveling 20-plus yards through the air this season, ranking last in the ACC in PFF passing grade (42.4) among quarterbacks with at least nine such attempts.
It’s important to remember that, on those deep throws, most of it is timing. And that comes with first-team reps, which Jurkovec got in spring ball and fall camp.
Where Grosel has been solid, on the other hand, is medium throws (10-19 yards). He has the fifth-highest completion percentage among ACC quarterbacks with at least 13 such attempts. He’s connecting on 63.2% (24-of-38) of medium attempts with a PFF passing grade of 80.9. When he was operating BC’s late-game offense at Clemson, practically all of those passes came within that territory. And Grosel was money. The week before against Missouri, too, his 10-yard touchdown pass to Flowers was a thing of beauty.
Grosel has some zip on the ball. He is more mobile than people give him credit for. I actually think BC can do more with him running the ball than they can with Jurkovec, especially when it comes to the zone-read. Grosel is much more patient in the pocket than he was two years ago. He slides through his progressions and isn’t afraid to wait the extra second and take a big hit in order to get the ball out at the right time. And he’s not afraid to push the ball downfield.
Then again, he needs to be smarter with his decision making. Even his near completion to Jaden Williams in the second half of last weekend’s game wasn’t the wisest pass (Williams was practically double covered but made Grosel look great with what looked like a miraculous catch). He’s thrown four picks in three starts, and all of them have been on long passes.
mod12a: Any update on Phil?
The timetable on Jurkovec is the same as it was after his initial prognosis. In all likelihood, he isn’t coming back this season. But he is working out with the team, staying in shape while wearing a splint on his throwing hand. When I got to Memorial Stadium in Death Valley, Jurkovec was one of the first Eagles on the field for warmups, running sprints back and forth across the field. He’s traveling with the team and working toward a full recovery.
I asked Grosel last week about how Jurkovec was doing. This is what he said:
“He's been good. Given the circumstance that he's going through, he's been in a really good mindset. He's running around in practice, sweating, getting some singles in, helping outside as much as he can. Obviously super bummed that he can't be out there playing with the guys, but he's in good spirits, happy to be around the guys and I think just enjoying and making the most out of what he can.”
Mod9a: If Grosel were to get hurt, who would go in at quarterback?
Right now, it appears as if it would either be Daelen Menard or Matthew Rueve. Emmett Morehead, the highest-rated recruit of the trio, was named a Scout Team Player of the Week ahead of BC’s road trip to Clemson, but he’s a true freshman and isn’t currently listed on the two-deep. Menard, a redshirt sophomore, is the most experienced of the bunch and took the game-ending kneel down against Temple.
So, at the moment, it seems like Menard would step in, given his knowledge of the offense. But Hafley noted that he and the staff are evaluating those guys every week.
