Offseason Spotlight: Isaiah McDuffie
Justin Rowland • EagleAction
Staff Edit
Boston College had plenty of problems on defense in 2019 but Isaiah McDuffie was not one of them.
A lot of that was obviously due to the fact that McDuffie's spring game injury months before the season kept him out most of the Eagles' fall campaign. He did not start a game in 2019 until Boston College played Notre Dame.
He was the third leading tackler on a much better Boston College defense in 2018 and surely would have helped if he had been available for more of last year. That's not to say he would have made an historically down Boston College defense a good one, but there's a reason Steve Addazio was asked to address McDuffie's health in virtually every major press conference event from the start of the season until he finally played.
When McDuffie finally returned to action, he only had one "ease yourself back in game", with 12 snaps played, before he was thrust into full-time duty, playing 63, 55, and 65 snaps over BC's last three games respectively.
Because McDuffie only played in four games, he qualified to keep a redshirt under NCAA rules that are still relatively new. So he will only be a redshirt junior going into the 2020 season. He will also return as undoubtedly the most immediately promising player on the Eagles' defense.
He will need to play at a very high level and stay healthy for BC to make a big step forward defensively.
When McDuffie returns, even with months of rust, he still managed to rack up 30 tackles, including 23 over BC's last two games - 13 big stops in the Eagles' 26-19 win at Pitt and then 10 in the Birmingham Bowl.
The highlight of his season was undoubtedly against the Panthers, one of the Eagles' better moments of the year as a team. Whereas BC allowed more than 32 points per game for the season, McDuffie's tackles and two big sacks against Pitt were a big reason the Eagles showed out for at least one game late.
McDuffie's versatility as a linebacker was on display last year when, of his roughly 185 snaps on defense, he was outside or on the edge of the box for nearly 50 of those snaps.
It will be interesting to see if McDuffie is a special teams contributor next year. He was very much one in 2018 even as one of the defense's best players but that role was more limited last year because of time missed but also perhaps to protect him.
For some reason, PFF wasn't high on McDuffie in his limited action last year, as he scored a 56.0 overall with a 59.7 rush defense grade, 79.7 in tackling (two missed tackles compared to 30 stops, a good rate), 62.3 in pass rush, and 52.3 in coverage. Whereas he was good in short cover samples against FSU and ND, PFF charged him with allowing 5/5 completions for 45 yards, though limited yards after the catch. Perhaps if he had more help around him he would have looked better to those doing the analysis, but he is clearly a top returner.
In addition to McDuffie's two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss, he put two more hits on the quarterback last year. Of his 23 solo tackles, 13 were classified as "stops" or wins for the defense, which are tougher to rack up when the overall unit is struggling.
So what makes McDuffie a potentially premier performer? A combination of assets, including: violent hands that explode out onto tackles and tight ends that would block him on the edge; an ability to consistently beat blocks by inside receivers, hybrids, and non-linemen at the second level which allows him to rack up big tackle numbers; the upper body strength to not just get to plays, but to finish them; the motor to run down plays from behind and the drive not to give up on them; a quick first step on the edge rush and an ability to accelerate with deceptive burst while staying low making it hard to engage him. He does not have the most elite lateral quickness but he's a high IQ player who is in position and gives himself a chance to make any play around him.
McDuffie had 85 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 2018 and paced for a much bigger year even picking up at the end of last season in 2019. He could finish around 100 tackles next year, although it might be a good sign for BC if his tackle total is lower. The Eagles will also need him to get after the quarterback and generate a pass rush.
It's unlikely that the defense will go from porous to great but to make the maximum leap forward the Eagles need McDuffie to be a true difference-maker and All-ACC caliber player, the kind of player who ends drives, forces turnovers, and tips momentum. There's no reason to believe he can't do that.
Justin Rowland • EagleAction
Staff Edit
Boston College had plenty of problems on defense in 2019 but Isaiah McDuffie was not one of them.
A lot of that was obviously due to the fact that McDuffie's spring game injury months before the season kept him out most of the Eagles' fall campaign. He did not start a game in 2019 until Boston College played Notre Dame.
He was the third leading tackler on a much better Boston College defense in 2018 and surely would have helped if he had been available for more of last year. That's not to say he would have made an historically down Boston College defense a good one, but there's a reason Steve Addazio was asked to address McDuffie's health in virtually every major press conference event from the start of the season until he finally played.
When McDuffie finally returned to action, he only had one "ease yourself back in game", with 12 snaps played, before he was thrust into full-time duty, playing 63, 55, and 65 snaps over BC's last three games respectively.
Because McDuffie only played in four games, he qualified to keep a redshirt under NCAA rules that are still relatively new. So he will only be a redshirt junior going into the 2020 season. He will also return as undoubtedly the most immediately promising player on the Eagles' defense.
He will need to play at a very high level and stay healthy for BC to make a big step forward defensively.
When McDuffie returns, even with months of rust, he still managed to rack up 30 tackles, including 23 over BC's last two games - 13 big stops in the Eagles' 26-19 win at Pitt and then 10 in the Birmingham Bowl.
The highlight of his season was undoubtedly against the Panthers, one of the Eagles' better moments of the year as a team. Whereas BC allowed more than 32 points per game for the season, McDuffie's tackles and two big sacks against Pitt were a big reason the Eagles showed out for at least one game late.
McDuffie's versatility as a linebacker was on display last year when, of his roughly 185 snaps on defense, he was outside or on the edge of the box for nearly 50 of those snaps.
It will be interesting to see if McDuffie is a special teams contributor next year. He was very much one in 2018 even as one of the defense's best players but that role was more limited last year because of time missed but also perhaps to protect him.
For some reason, PFF wasn't high on McDuffie in his limited action last year, as he scored a 56.0 overall with a 59.7 rush defense grade, 79.7 in tackling (two missed tackles compared to 30 stops, a good rate), 62.3 in pass rush, and 52.3 in coverage. Whereas he was good in short cover samples against FSU and ND, PFF charged him with allowing 5/5 completions for 45 yards, though limited yards after the catch. Perhaps if he had more help around him he would have looked better to those doing the analysis, but he is clearly a top returner.
In addition to McDuffie's two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss, he put two more hits on the quarterback last year. Of his 23 solo tackles, 13 were classified as "stops" or wins for the defense, which are tougher to rack up when the overall unit is struggling.
So what makes McDuffie a potentially premier performer? A combination of assets, including: violent hands that explode out onto tackles and tight ends that would block him on the edge; an ability to consistently beat blocks by inside receivers, hybrids, and non-linemen at the second level which allows him to rack up big tackle numbers; the upper body strength to not just get to plays, but to finish them; the motor to run down plays from behind and the drive not to give up on them; a quick first step on the edge rush and an ability to accelerate with deceptive burst while staying low making it hard to engage him. He does not have the most elite lateral quickness but he's a high IQ player who is in position and gives himself a chance to make any play around him.
McDuffie had 85 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 2018 and paced for a much bigger year even picking up at the end of last season in 2019. He could finish around 100 tackles next year, although it might be a good sign for BC if his tackle total is lower. The Eagles will also need him to get after the quarterback and generate a pass rush.
It's unlikely that the defense will go from porous to great but to make the maximum leap forward the Eagles need McDuffie to be a true difference-maker and All-ACC caliber player, the kind of player who ends drives, forces turnovers, and tips momentum. There's no reason to believe he can't do that.
