Dirstine Out for the Year, Kendall Out for Wake Game
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
It's like clockwork at this point. Practically every week this season, Boston College has lost at least one offensive lineman, either for a specific game or the year.
It happened again Saturday morning when ESPN's Pete Thamel broke the news that left guard Finn Dirstine is out for the year with a shoulder injury and center Drew Kendall is out for the Wake Forest game with a broken wrist.
Dirstine missed the previous two games, and, according to Thamel's report, the graduate student and former four star will have surgery in the near future.
Kendall, on the other hand, is expected to return this season. The timeline of that return, though, is unknown. Kendall broke his left wrist against Clemson on Oct. 8, and he had surgery last week, per Thamel.
It's important to note that the redshirt freshman—the crown jewel of head coach Jeff Hafley's 2021 recruiting class and the son of former BC star and NFLer Pete Kendall—snaps with his right hand.
So, here's a quick BC O-Line injury rundown:
— RG Christian Mahogany tore his ACL in late spring and is expected to miss the whole season
— LT Ozzy Trapilo injured his knee against Rutgers and missed two games but has since returned
— RT Kevin Cline tore his ACL at Virginia Tech and is out for the season
— LG Finn Dirstine suffered a season-ending shoulder injury ahead of the Louisville game
— C Drew Kendall broke his wrist against Clemson and could return later this season
In this chaotic game of musical chairs, BC's normally stable offensive line has taken a huge hit. The Eagles have already given up 22 sacks this season—tied for the 15th most in the nation—and their rushing offense is second-to-last in the FBS (69.5 yards per game).
Thamel reported that Jackson Ness, who started the last two games at left guard, will move to center Saturday at Wake. Ness filled in at center during fall camp when Kendall was out back then.
Still, Ness has never started a game at center. And he is one of two BC players who have been starting on the O-Line in 2022 but were playing D-Line at the beginning of last season. The other is right guard Dwayne Allick.
Former preferred walk-on Nick Thomas, who started in Trapilo's place at left tackle earlier this season, will play left guard versus Wake, Thamel reported.
The lineup against the Demon Deacons should look like this:
LT - Ozzy Trapilo
LG - Nick Thomas
C - Jackson Ness
RG - Dwayne Allick
RT - Jack Conley
Now, four of BC's five Week 1 offensive line starters have missed time this season—the only not to is guard/tackle Jack Conley. The Clemson game marked the first time this year that the Eagles had the same five starting up front in consecutive games this season.
We'll be seeing another new combination Saturday afternoon.
