Five Potential Breakout Offensive Players for BC in 2022
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
Pretty much every season, there are players who, surprisingly, jump off the page for Boston College. Sometimes, it's a freshman who wasn't expected to have a significant role in Year One. Others, it's a player who has been around for a few seasons but hasn't quite made an in-game impact before breaking out.
Just think about the offensive side of the ball.
Last year, running back Pat Garwo III went from being the fourth back on the depth chart to emerging as the 19th BC player all-time to record 1,000-plus rushing yards in a single season. The year before that, CJ Lewis—after struggling with drops early in his Eagles career—caught everything his way, recording 28 receptions and five touchdowns. In 2019, offensive lineman Zion Johnson went from being a Davidson transfer and rotational piece up front to finishing the year as BC's most intriguing O-Line prospect.
There are bound to be at least a couple breakout players across the Eagles' offense in 2022. Here are five players who could be part of that class.
1. WR Jaelen Gill (R-Sr.)
2021 stats: 24 catches, 269 receiving yards, 1 TDAs was the case with the rest of BC's receiving corps in 2021, Jaelen Gill's numbers were down from 2020. Of course, the six-game absence of starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec was a critical reason why. Still, Gill logged two or more grabs in eight of the nine games he played in. The former Ohio State transfer missed the first three outings of the season with a stress fracture but bounced back to record the fourth-best Pro Football Focus receiving grade (65.1) on the team.
Gill's best game last season was against North Carolina State when he pulled in five passes for 71 yards. He had a pair of 100-yard receiving games the previous season. Along with Zay Flowers, Gill has stepped up as a leader in the wide receiver room this offseason. He's proven the ability to make plays downfield in his first two years with the Eagles, making mid-air adjustments to the ball and angling his body to highpoint passes. With a good bit of attention on Flowers, Gill should be able to flourish.
2. RB Xavier Coleman (R-Fr.)
2021 stats: 6 rush, 13 rushing yards | 2 receptions, 5 receiving yards | 12 snapsXavier Coleman flashed his skill set during this year's spring game when he improvised on a Jurkovec scramble drill and left linebacker Vinny DePalma in the dust for a 47-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Coleman had a great spring last year, too, but a knee injury set him back. He ended up playing just 12 snaps across three games, per PFF, before redshirting his freshman season.
New offensive coordinator John McNulty has more in store for Coleman in 2022. Don't be surprised to see the speedy, 5-foot-7 back out on the perimeter. Last year, Notre Dame OC Tommy Rees had Irish running back Chris Tyree doing the same thing. And it worked out pretty well for Notre Dame. Seems like McNulty wants to get Coleman the ball in space in similar ways.
3. C Drew Kendall (R-Fr.)
2021 stats: 14 snaps, 76.3 PFF pass blocking grade, 54.4 PFF run blocking gradeDrew Kendall has big shoes to fill. He has to replace Alec Lindstrom, who is one of five Eagles to ever receive multiple first-team All-ACC honors. Plus, Lindstrom was the eyes of the offense, as he helped Jurkovec read pressures pre-snap. Not only that, but Kendall also has to live up to his father's legacy at BC. Pete Kendall is a BC Hall of Famer that went on to become a first-round pick in the NFL Draft and enjoy a 13-year career at the next level.
Kendall is up to the task. He was the crown jewel of the Eagles' 2021 recruiting class. The Eagles won over the former four-star recruit from Michigan and Stanford. Last year, Lindstrom groomed Kendall to be the heir at center, and he slid into that spot during spring ball. Kendall is 6-foot-4 but only 283 pounds. It will be interesting to see if strength and conditioning coach Phil Matusz has Kendall put on some more weight before the season starts. Either way, Kendall has the chance to follow Christian Mahogany as BC's "next big thing" in the trenches.
4. TE George Takacs (Gr.)
2021 stats: 3 receptions, 36 yards, 1 TDTight end George Takacs played 407 offensive snaps last year for Notre Dame and ran 135 receiving routes, according to PFF, but was targeted just four times and logged three receptions for 36 yards and one score, which came against Stanford. That's largely because targets at the position were gobbled up by All-American Michael Mayer, who rounded out the year with 71 catches—third among all tight ends in 2021—840 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
Takacs has great familiarity with Jurkovec. Both were part of the Irish's 2018 recruiting class. Takacs also has impressive size. At 6-foot-6, 246 pounds, the grad transfer is a threat in the middle of the field, just like Trae Barry was last year. Jurkovec likes throwing to his tight ends. The 2020 season was a perfect example of that when Hunter Long piled up 57 receptions. Takacs likely won't have that kind of production, however, he should shatter his Notre Dame marks.
5. WR Joe Griffin (Fr.)
2021 stats: N/AAt this point of the year, it's hard to gauge how much a true freshman will play, particularly when they weren't a mid-year enrollee. So it's difficult to say what will be expected of four-star wide receiver Joe Griffin in 2022. That said, it's important to note that Griffin—a 6-foot-4, 200-pound wideout from Springfield Central—was tied with safety Sione "Riz" Hala as the highest-rated BC signee in this year's class.
Griffin led Central to a Division I Super Bowl state championship, notching 49 receptions for 896 receiving yards and 11 scores in the process. Perhaps most notably, though, he brings much-needed size to BC's receiving corps. The Eagles' top three wideouts—Flowers, Gill and Jaden Williams—are all 5-foot-11 or shorter. Without Lewis (transfer portal), the Eagles could use a big body on the perimeter. Taji Johnson, who turned heads during the spring game, is one answer. But Griffin, a much more highly-touted recruit, is another. With a strong summer, he could be getting lots of snaps this fall.
