Early BC Spring Ball Notes
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
We’re two practices into spring ball, and Boston College is focused on “fundamentals and technique,” as now-third-year head coach Jeff Hafley says.
But the Eagles are also installing a new offense. With three new position coaches and a new offensive coordinator, there’s a whole lot of change in Fish Field House.
Eagle Action has gotten a sneak peak at some of it already.
Note: The first 30 minutes of spring practice are open to the media. I have been to each of the first two practices. Keep in mind, these observations don’t necessarily project starters, second teamers, etc. These are the early days of spring ball, and I only had access to a few walkthrough-like drives. Rotations are bountiful at this stage of the offseason.
We have our first look at the offensive line: The offensive line has been the talk of the offseason. And understandably so, with four starters leaving for the NFL Draft. From what I’ve seen to this point, here’s who has been working with the ones.
LT - Jack Conley
LG - Finn Dirstine
C - Drew Kendall
RG - Christian Mahogany
RT - Ozzy Trapilo
The only lock here is Mahogany, who is coming off a 2021 season that saw him earn Pro Football Focus All-American second-team and All-ACC second-team honors. The second-closest lock is Drew Kendall, the crown jewel of BC’s 2021 recruiting class. Kendall is a former four-star recruit from Noble and Greenough School. And his dad, Pete, starred at BC in the ’90s before being picked by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft.
“There’s four open spots right now,” Kendall said. “Everyone’s just coming into work every day just with that mindset to go get that job because there’s no safe job right now. And there’s a lot of good players behind us.”
An interesting tid-bit: Kendall, who hadn’t played center before last year, actually prefers shotgun snaps. He’s a righty. His mentor, and future NFLer, Alec Lindstrom is a lefty. That affects where the ball is naturally pulled on shotgun snaps, Kendall explained. And, as a result, it changes the target spot for quarterback Phil Jurkovec.
As for the offensive line’s second unit, here’s what I saw:
*LT - Kevin Cline
LG - Kevin Pyne
C - Blerim Rustemi
RG - Otto Hess
RT - Ilija Krajnovic
*Mid-year enrollee Jude Bowry also got some second-team reps at left tackle, according to BCEagles.com.
As for who else I saw with the ones and twos on Tuesday: Jurkovec was obviously under center with the ones. Pat Garwo III wasn’t practicing, so Alec Sinkfield was taking reps at running back. Sinkfield has transitioned to No. 6, and the jersey number isn’t the only thing making him look slimmer and faster. The West Virginia transfer also trimmed 12 pounds. He now stands 5-foot-9, 193 pounds. The first-team wideouts were Zay Flowers, Jaelen Gill and Jaden Williams. No real surprises there.
Emmett Morehead was quarterbacking the twos. Both redshirt freshman Xavier Coleman and redshirt sophomore Andre Hines were getting looks at running back. Coleman lined up outside for a few plays. Swinging a back to the perimeter is something John McNulty discussed in his intro press conference, so that was neat to see live. Former Kenwood Academy (Chicago, Illinois) teammates Dante Reynolds and Lewis Bond joined Taji Johnson to round out the wideouts.
But what about the tight ends?: In the limited action I observed, Spencer Witter and redshirt sophomore Hans Lillis—who had a one-handed deep ball reception later in the day—were getting some work at tight end with the ones and twos, respectively. But Joey Luchetti is still expected to slot into that TE1 role. Near the end of Saturday’s practice, Luchetti hauled in a deep first-down completion from Jurkovec, according to BCEagles.com. Jurkovec and Luchetti also hooked up during offensive vs. defense periods Tuesday.
Luchetti spoke with reporters Tuesday and said that McNulty’s offense calls for a healthy dosage of 12-personnel. Like last year, expect a bunch of two-tight end sets.
Luchetti said that everyone in the tight end room is starting at the same place this spring, in terms of learning the new offense. He said there’s some overlap with vocabulary from BC’s previous scheme. But he’s trying to emerge as a leader for the position group, following the departure of Jacksonville State grad transfer Trae Barry.
Luchetti was asked about mid-year enrollee Jeremiah Franklin, and he even touched on another Class of 2022 signee, Matt Ragan, who, like Luchetti, played high school ball at Lawrence Academy.
“[Jeremiah's] really good,” Luchetti said. “He's really picking up everything fast, kind of learning on the fly. ... And we get Matt Ragan, who actually went to my high school, in the spring, so I'm excited for him to come, too.”
Danny Longman and Sam Candotti alternating punts, holds: Longman is back for a graduate year. Candotti is a mid-year enrollee from Australia. They’ve been taking turns holding for place kicker Connor Lytton. Longman attempted field goals, too. Both he and Candotti appear to be vying for the starting punter position, which was held by Grant Carlson each of the past four years.
Amari Jackson is turning heads: Jackson was a big get for the Eagles. Down to the wire, Tennessee was trying to pry him away from Hafley and Co. But BC signed the 6-foot cornerback, and the feat is already paying dividends. Jackson had a pair of interceptions during Tuesday’s practice, including a diving pick near the sideline. The other was a tip-drill interception, after linebacker Jaylen Blackwell jarred the pass loose from the hands of Franklin.
“He’s definitely a step ahead than what I expected to see from a freshman,” senior cornerback Josh DeBerry said Saturday. “He’s opened a lot of eyes. He’s definitely a player on our team to watch to have an impact right away.”
Hafley added Tuesday: “I'm excited about Amari, and I'm gonna leave it at that. I don't want to put too much pressure or expectation on him. But when other players are talking about other players, that's all you need to know.”
