BC Releases Week 1 Depth Chart for 2022 Season
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
Boston College released its first depth chart of the 2022 season Tuesday night ahead of this weekend's season opener against Rutgers. The "two-deep," which is more than two-deep at several positions, includes 14 true freshmen.
INSTANT REACTIONS
— As we've become accustomed to during the Jeff Hafley era, there are a lot of "OR"s among BC's initial two-deep. All but one offensive line position is listed with an "OR." That's not incredibly surprising given the competition there and the fact that there are zero returning starters up front.— Hafley said this Tuesday about the offensive line: "We have a set five. And then we have one or two guys we think we can rotate in. I really like watching that group. I like the way they work."
— LG Finn Dirstine is the only offensive lineman listed without an "OR" for now. It's Ozzy Trapilo OR Jack Conley at LT. Drew Kendall OR Jackson Ness at center. Kevin Cline OR Dwayne Allick at RG. Jack Conley OR Kevin Cline at RT. So Conley looks to be a lock at one of the tackle spots.
— True freshman Cam Barfield from Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nevada) is listed at RB3, ahead of redshirt freshman Xavier Coleman, although I still expect Coleman to get touches in this offense. This says a lot about the development of Barfield, though.
— Former Springfield Central star WR Joe Griffin made the two-deep at the X position behind Jaden Williams. Redshirt freshman Lewis Bond is behind Jaelen Gill at F. And Taji Johnson, arguably the spring game MVP the last two years, is behind Zay Flowers at the Z position.
— Note: WR Dino Tomlin will be on the updated two-deep. There will be an "OR" between Taji Johnson and Tomlin at Z(2) and an "OR" between Lewis Bond and Tomlin at F(2), according to sources.
— As expected, George Takacs is TE1. But true freshman Jeremiah Franklin, one of six mid-year enrollees for BC this offseason, is listed as TE2. Franklin is a great athlete who impressed in fall camp.
— Danny Longman beat out true frosh Sam Candotti for the punting job. Longman, a grad student with 47 games under his belt, is also BC's kickoff specialist again. RB Alec Sinkfield is taking Travis Levy's place as the Eagles' kick returner. Jaelen Gill OR Zay Flowers will be returning punts.
— Backup long snapper Jackson Gugni walked onto the team at a spring try-out. The junior was previously on BC's swim and dive team.
— There is a lot of competition at one corner spot. There is also a bunch of talent there, so this makes sense. Underclassmen CJ Burton, Jalen Cheek, Amari Jackson and Jalon Williams are all in the mix opposite CB Elijah Jones. DB Josh DeBerry is inside at nickel for the second year in a row.
— Jaiden Woodbey and Jason Maitre have a good dynamic on the back end. They'll be starting at strong safety and free safety, respectively. Maitre made the move from nickel to free safety last season.
— BC plays a 4-2-5 base, but there are SLB, MLB and WLB spots listed on the two-deep, as usual. We'll see a good bit of rotation at that position given the combo of speed and experience. Bryce Steele is the starter in the middle (Isaiah Graham-Mobley and Max Richardson were there last).
— Sixth-year vet Marcus Valdez is the starter on left edge. At DE on the right side, there is Shitta Sillah and then three underclassmen. An "OR" is between Sillah and Donovan Ezeiruaku, so expect both to get ample run in the opener Saturday.
— Things are more clear cut at nose tackle and defensive tackle for now. Familiar faces are there, with Chibueze Onwuka at nose and Cam Horsley at defensive tackle. It's worth noting that true freshman Kwan Williams is the backup at NT, and redshirt freshman Ty Clemons is the backup at DT.
