Fall Camp Updates: TE and Linebacker Battles, Developments Up Front
Andy Backstrom
Staff Writer
In his first year at Boston College, head coach Jeff Hafley made it clear that he didn’t want to live in the transfer portal. That hasn’t changed.
That said, there’s no hiding the fact that the Eagles have filled some holes this offseason with veteran acquisitions. Especially when one of those acquisitions is 6-foot-6 and 244 pounds.
Jacksonville State transfer Trae Barry generated some buzz during Saturday’s practice, hooking up with second-year starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec in 7-on-7 and team work.
“He’s enormous, extremely long, and he is very hard to cover,” Hafley said of the grad student.
Barry was an FCS stud, piling up 100 receptions, 1,610 yards and six touchdowns in four years with the Gamecocks. Last season, he hauled in 33 passes for 534 yards and a score.
He slides right into a tight end-friendly offense trying to replace the production of now-Miami Dolphin Hunter Long, who led all players at the position nationally in 2020 with 57 catches.
Barry wasn’t the only transfer getting some work Saturday. West Virginia running back Alec Sinkfield ripped off chunk runs in 11-on-11s, illustrating his acceleration out of the backfield.
Transfer defensive backs Jaiden Lars-Woodbey from Florida State and JT Thompson II from Southern Illinois have drawn praise from coaches and players the first couple days of camp, too.
The weekend practice was slower than normal, as Hafley and his staff are trying to acclimate the players before the pads come on and scrimmaging starts next week.
Quarterback Dennis Grosel continues to be of value to BC: Hafley commented on how Grosel’s experience and track record goes a long way in practice. The former preferred walk-on started the final seven games of the 2019 campaign after Anthony Brown Jr. went down with the second season-ending ACL tear of his career. Then, last season, Grosel stepped in to convert a 4th-and-3 in a one-score game at No. 1 Clemson, fended off Louisville on Senior Day and then not only started the next week but tied Doug Flutie for the most passing yards in BC single-game history with 520 at Virginia.
“It makes practice very competitive,” Hafley said. “You got two guys that can play the position. So when Dennis is up with the twos against really our two defense, they’re getting a guy who could probably start on a lot of teams. So it definitely gets us better.”
Edge rushing is an emphasis for the Eagles in 2021: BC was average when it came to third-down defense last season. The Eagles allowed opponents to move the sticks 40.4% of the time, which ranked 65th nationally. Against top-15 teams, though, BC couldn’t get off the field. In fact, in those three matchups, North Carolina, Clemson and Notre Dame were a combined 18-of-36 on third down. Lowering that opposing conversion percentage starts with getting to the quarterback, and Hafley knows that.
“It’s really good to see Shitta [Sillah], [Brandon] Barlow, Marcus [Valdez], those guys coming out. We need ’em. We have to rush the quarterback better than we did last year. We have to get off the field on third down. They have to win their 1-on-1s.”
Hafley was complimentary of defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase, who Hafley jokes has probably already shed 10 pounds this camp flying around the field, screaming at and coaching his position group.
Marcus Valdez, a returning captain who totaled 37 tackles, 5.5 TFLs and two sacks last season, talked about how he’s been trying to up his pass rushing skill this offseason. He explained that he’s been sitting down with Oghobaase to better his technique, namely his hand placement and hip movement, and ensure that he finishes quarterback takedowns this fall. At 6-foot, Valdez is small for a defensive end, however, he tries to use his size as an advantage.
“Obviously, I’m a shorter guy, but it’s default leverage,” he said. “I’m naturally lower to the ground, which is something that tall people have a harder job doing.”
Valdez said that, unlike last year, he and the rest of the D-Line can dedicate more attention to what the offense is doing rather than having to focus on their own position group’s alignment and play responsibilities.
Joey Luchetti’s name keeps coming up in the tight end discussion: Since the spring, Luchetti has been talked up by BC’s coaching staff. The two-star Lawrence Academy product has just one reception in three years on campus. But it’s not that simple. Luchetti came in as a tight end, caught a pass as a true freshman before redshirting that season, and then switched to defensive end ahead of the following year. He kicked off 2019 with a bang, registering his first career sack in the opener against Virginia Tech and ended up starting six games that year.
Luchetti moved back to tight end in 2020 and was impressing in practice, yet he suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the whole season, hence why we saw more of redshirt freshman Spencer Witter last year. Luchetti is back now, and it sounds like he’ll be getting his fair share of run with the ones as well.
“To me, he brings a toughness in the run game and in the pass game,” Hafley said. “An attitude. I think we missed that last year.”
Hafley also mentioned Witter having come on late last season. He added that redshirt freshman Charlie Gordinier, a “good athlete” in his words, and Hans Lillis are young guys to keep an eye on at the position. And, of course, Barry earned his recognition, as discussed above.
The linebacker competition is wide open: Hafley first mentioned Vinny DePalma, Temple transfer Isaiah Graham-Mobley and Kam Arnold when asked about the battle for starting spots in the second level. DePalma missed last season because of injury but was lauded by Hafley in the spring for his leadership ability. The Wayne, New Jersey, native notched 33 total tackles, notably five for loss, in 2019. Graham-Mobley played 43 games at Temple yet was hampered by injury his final two years in Philly. His best season came in 2018 when he was tied for fourth on the team with 70 total tackles. Arnold, on the other hand, got forced into action at defensive back in 2020 and made two third-down stops during BC’s comeback victory against Texas State. He moved from strong safety to linebacker this spring.
Hafley also rattled off other potential candidates for the starting linebacker roles, including true freshman Bryce Steele and redshirt juniors Nick DiNucci, Hugh Davis and Joe Sparacio.
“Whoever looks best earliest in camp and is the most productive will play,” Hafley said. “And if we have to play and rotate multiple guys, we will.”
Hafley made a point, though, that several linebackers will likely see the field this fall, given BC’s different packages for specific downs and formations.
It looks like BC is shifting back to its old offensive line arrangement: Last preseason, offensive line coach Matt Applebaum shook up things in the trenches. The changes appeared to be a byproduct of BC shifting to a zone blocking scheme. And it resulted in Zion Johnson moving from left guard to left tackle, Ben Petrula sliding from right tackle to right guard and Tyler Vrabel flipping from the blind side to right tackle. Growing pains came with the transition, but the Eagles did improve as the season wore on.
It looks like that experiment’s shelf life was only one season. Johnson told reporters Saturday that Vrabel has returned to left tackle and that Petrula is back at right tackle. When asked if Johnson was at guard again, he didn’t confirm. He instead said that he’s been playing some tackle, guard and center so far in camp. Johnson emphasized the importance of having versatility up front because of the edge it gives a player when reading a defense.
“If you know how to call a certain play and make the points at center,” he said, “if you know the nuances of playing tackle for a certain play and guard, you get the whole picture.”
Seventh heaven: Kobay White is back after missing 2020 with an ACL tear, and he’s rocking a new number. The graduate wideout has dropped No. 9 for No. 7. White led BC wide receivers in yards from 2017-19, accumulating 1,409 through the air while reeling in 96 receptions. He had a couple catches in traffic during team periods on Saturday. This fall, he’ll get the benefit of lining up opposite of Zay Flowers, an opportunity that could present 1-on-1 matchups downfield.
