Reflecting on Louisville: What Did Hafley Say During His Sunday Presser?
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
When the news broke Saturday morning that Boston College left guard Finn Dirstine was going to miss the Louisville game with an upper-body injury, the natural assumption was that the Eagles were going to get more of the same from an inexperienced and bruised offensive line.
Dirstine was BC's third Week 1 starter up front missing time this season. Plus, left tackle Ozzy Trapilo was still alternating snaps with former preferred walk-on Nick Thomas because of a knee injury.
The Eagles' starting guards against Louisville—Jackson Ness and Dwayne Allick—were both playing defensive line early last season.
Despite all of that, BC's O-Line played its best game of 2022 and helped pave the way for a Parents Weekend victory that doubled as the Eagles' first ACC win of the year.
"I think they did a pretty efficient job for most of the day," head coach Jeff Hafley said. "It can be better, and it needs to be better as we go forward. Because the team we're playing [next week] (Clemson) is one of the best teams in the country with one of the best D-Lines in the country."
Once right guard Christian Mahogany tore his ACL in late spring, the Eagles were left with zero returning starters, as the other four 2021 starters up front either graduated or went to the NFL. But BC hasn't even had continuity with its new O-Line since Week 1.
In fact, the Eagles have had a different starting five in the trenches every week this season. Hafley credited first-year BC O-Line coach Dave DeGuglielmo for still helping the unit improve amid the turbulence the position group has faced.
Ness is perhaps the best example of DeGuglielmo's impact. The redshirt junior came to BC as a defensive lineman but, after three seasons, was still buried on the depth chart. Ness went to the coaching staff this offseason and asked to move to the other side of the ball. Since, he's developed under DeGuglielmo at both center and guard, playing his way onto the field.
Ness allowed only one pressure against Louisville, registering a team-high Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade of 77.0.
"The O-Line's still pretty new to him," Hafley said Sunday. "He just started playing the O-Line this year for the first time. I think you get a kid who is smart, tough and reliable. He's gonna take coaching and give you everything he has. I think that's what Jackson's doing."
Ness is one of several Eagles who has been stepping up recently. True freshman running back Alex Broome is another.
Broome rushed for 78 yards and a score on nine carries Saturday. He also caught two passes for seven yards. In the second quarter, he ripped off a 40-yard touchdown, where he broke two Louisville arm tackles.
Broome has seven missed tackles forced in just 24 snaps this season, per PFF. What's more, he has three runs of 15-plus yards—one fewer than Pat Garwo III—and his PFF breakaway percentage of 62.9% is seventh among all ACC running backs.
What stuck out to Hafley, though, was how Broome made Louisville free safety Kenderick Duncan "run the hoop and run around Phil" Jurkovec on Zay Flowers' jaw-dropping, 57-yard touchdown reception.
"For a young guy to understand pass protection and be able to do all of that stuff probably says more about him than just running the football," Hafley said.
Broome's classmate, wide receiver Joe Griffin, flashed against Louisville, too. The 6-foot-4 Griffin boxed out Louisville cornerback Kei'Trel Clark and came down with the Eagles' first touchdown of the day. It marked the former Springfield Central star's second straight game with a score.
Even true freshman Liam Connor got involved. He took over kickoff duties from Danny Longman, who is still the Eagles' punter. Longman had just two touchbacks on 17 kicks through the first four weeks of the season. Connor booted four touchbacks Saturday, including a pair in the fourth quarter.
Hafley said the decision to go with Connor over Longman on kickoffs was partly to rest Longman's leg for punting and partly because competition was opened up there to see who could give the Eagles the best chance to minimize returns.
"I think it's guys who deserve to play are being played by their coaches," Hafley said of BC's young contributors. "I think if we can start playing more people, it gives us more depth."
Arguably the Eagles' most important play this past weekend came from one of their oldest players. Defensive tackle Chibueze Onwuka blocked a Louisville extra point in the second quarter that proved to be the difference in BC's 34-33 win.
"It says a lot about him and a lot about that group because they were all coming off the ball," Hafley said.
He continued: "The point after, if you want to find out about a player or a defense, just go watch that play. ... A lot of the time you just gave up a touchdown, and everybody's kind of hanging their head and feeling sorry for themselves. If you watch a lot of teams, there's not good effort."
In general, there was a night and day difference in effort and intensity Saturday, compared to BC's 30-point defeat at Florida State the week prior.
BC tackled better and didn't let the game slip away, even after Louisville scored on its first drive and the Eagles turned the ball over on their own opening series.
Last week, BC defensive end Marcus Valdez talked about the importance of "missing violently" against Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham. In other words, if you're going to miss, take your shot instead of sitting down, he explained.
Hafley said that approach was emphasized ahead of the Louisville matchup but that it should be carried throughout the rest of the season as well.
"Be aggressive knowing that your boys are coming, and they're not going to let you down," Hafley said. "I think we need to play the game more like that. I mean, if you're gonna miss, go take a shot."
BC took its shot against the Cardinals and, despite a horde of penalties and three turnovers, came out on top.
