Roster Updates: Bequette Transfer Official, Kobay White Back to Practice
Andy Backstrom
Staff Writer
Jeff Hafley has already won over the Boston College fan base, and he’s yet to coach a game. That’s in large part because of his recruiting chops. Not only has Hafley beat out other Power Five programs to secure commitments from well-respected high school prospects, but he’s also brought in a handful of players through the transfer market—guys who can contribute right now.
He just did it again.
Hafley told reporters after Tuesday’s practice that Cal defensive lineman Luc Bequette has transferred to BC. The 6-foot-2, 290-pound DL is immediately eligible and is practicing with the team.
Hafley’s announcement confirms reports about the addition from late August. Bequette’s transfer followed the Pac-12’s Aug. 11 decision to cancel all fall sports.
“We just showed him the opportunity,” Hafley said. “Obviously, [BC’s] a great academic school. He’s excited about the city and the chance to get a grad degree from a great university and play football for us. We’re really excited to have him.”
The first-year Eagles head coach told the media that BC had to compete with some big schools to get Bequette, who has started 38 straight games dating back to the 2017 season. The versatile Cal D-Lineman was actually tied with two other Golden Bears for the program’s active career lead in consecutive starts.
In 2019, he spent time at defensive end, defensive tackle, and nose tackle. Moving across the line while piling up a career-high 52 total tackles, 4.0 TFLs, and 3.0 sacks, Bequette earned Cal’s Brick Muller Award, which is given annually to the program’s Most Valuable Lineman.
Hafley called Bequette “more of an interior guy” but mentioned that BC could also line him up on the outside, hinting that he won’t reveal Bequette’s exact role in order to keep opponents guessing. The rookie head coach went on to explain that, above all else, the transfer gives the team more flexibility with its D-Line rotations.
“We just need depth,” Hafley said. “We need depth up front, the way we’re going to play and roll guys. We need as many of those D-Linemen as we can get.”
Last year, the Eagles had the second-worst pass rush of any team in the ACC (19 sacks) and allowed 193.2 rushing yards per game, ranking a meager 100th nationally against the run.
Bequette is the fifth transfer to join BC since Hafley was hired as head coach in December 2019. He’s also the third graduate transfer, all of whom are on the defensive side of the ball. Bequette could very well find himself lining up next to fellow grad transfer Chibueze Onwuka, who came over from Buffalo this offseason.
The 2020 campaign will be Bequette’s final season in a college uniform. He was recently granted a sixth year of eligibility for his redshirt freshman year (2016). The exception was made because he only played four games that year before suffering a season-ending lower body injury prior to Cal’s matchup against Utah.
Bequette is a veteran who has proven himself on the biggest of stages. In 2018, he was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week for an inspired performance inside the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. Bequette racked up nine total tackles, 2.5 TFLs, and 2.0 sacks. He also forced a fumble deep in Cal territory right before the half, helping the Golden Bears snap their 14-game losing streak to USC. Last year, he registered another nine-tackle game, this time at Oregon.
Hafley said that BC’s staff is trying to get Bequette acclimated right away so that he can make an immediate impact. Third-year running back David Bailey told reporters that, in his eyes, BC is as welcoming as any program, when it comes to taking in transfers.
“Just with anybody, like when Zion [Johnson] or Deon [Jones] from the defense first came in,” Bailey said, “it was just love at first sight. Everybody, we bring them in all together, play football hard with each other, be school guys with each other, and bring everybody in like a brotherhood.”
Hafley talked more generally about his approach to the transfer portal, the team’s depth chart, Kobay White’s injury status, and more.
Here are some quick-hitters from the rest of Tuesday’s presser:
Kobay White is practicing again: Hafley informed the media on Aug. 21 that wide receiver Kobay White was sidelined with a knee injury. That said, he clarified that the injury was “nothing that we see being long term.” Hafley provided an update regarding the graduate student on Tuesday morning. He said that White is back to practice and “progressing nicely.”
Hafley is selective when it comes to the transfer portal: Whether it was reeling in Notre Dame transfer quarterback Phil Jurkovec, Ohio State wide receiver Jaelen Gill, or—most recently—Bequette, Hafley has shown that he can make a splash in the transfer market. He pointed out on Tuesday, however, that it’s a two-way street. BC has to be the right fit for a player, and the player has to be the right fit for the program.
“I’m not going portal, portal, portal, portal, where all of a sudden you look in our locker room and it—no. We want to recruit and develop, and if we feel we can add, it has to be the right fit with our team and our staff.”
Hafley also noted that, because his staff has so much NFL experience, BC is a particularly attractive landing spot for grad transfers looking to make one last push for the next level.
No update on the depth chart or QB1 decision: Right out of the gate, Hafley stated that he has not announced the starting quarterback yet or released the depth chart. The team did vote on captains Tuesday morning, but the results haven’t been tallied.
Hafley walked reporters through his mindset, as far as Duke game planning is concerned. He and his staff met on Labor Day and decided that Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week would continue to “be about us.” In other words, until the weekend, BC is focusing on the fundamentals: technique, leverage, tackling, schematic execution, all the nitty-gritty stuff. Then, the Eagles will start prepping for their Sept. 19 matchup at Duke.
“Without spring football and without really a true training camp, we just felt like this was way more important for us to just focus on the little things and take care of ourselves before we take that step forward, which we plan to do by the weekend,” Hafley said.
Electronic whistles and missed tackles: Because BC doesn’t start its season until Sept. 19, it has the privilege of watching the FBS adjust to COVID-19-affected football. The learning curve is steep, that’s for sure. Of the nine games that were played this past weekend, only three were decided by 10 or fewer points. Varying degrees of stadium capacities, expanded sidelines, and mask-adorned coaching staffs served as a reminder that football will be different in 2020.
Hafley doesn’t anticipate any problems with wearing a mask and calling plays. After all, he’s been doing that all summer. But something else raised his eyebrow during the ESPN broadcast of the BYU-Navy blowout. While watching, Hafley texted equipment manager Joseph Flynn, asking him to order the program a set of electronic whistles. Realizing that the noise is different than the traditional referee whistle, Hafley determined it would be best for his players to get used to hearing the new, COVID-19 friendly tech in practice.
One cause for the atypical proportion of lopsided games at the start of this wacky season is that a lot of teams are rusty in the tackling department. Hafley isn’t too surprised.
“You’re going to see more of that in the NFL, because usually in your first preseason game the tackling’s kind of eh,” he said. “By the second, it’s still a little bit. By the third preseason game, the tackling’s usually pretty good. Now, with the limited training camps and practice, you’re probably going to see a little bit of that in college football.”
He added: “So I keep focusing to the guys: fundamentals, technique, and all the little things that are important.”
Andy Backstrom
Staff Writer
Jeff Hafley has already won over the Boston College fan base, and he’s yet to coach a game. That’s in large part because of his recruiting chops. Not only has Hafley beat out other Power Five programs to secure commitments from well-respected high school prospects, but he’s also brought in a handful of players through the transfer market—guys who can contribute right now.
He just did it again.
Hafley told reporters after Tuesday’s practice that Cal defensive lineman Luc Bequette has transferred to BC. The 6-foot-2, 290-pound DL is immediately eligible and is practicing with the team.
Hafley’s announcement confirms reports about the addition from late August. Bequette’s transfer followed the Pac-12’s Aug. 11 decision to cancel all fall sports.
“We just showed him the opportunity,” Hafley said. “Obviously, [BC’s] a great academic school. He’s excited about the city and the chance to get a grad degree from a great university and play football for us. We’re really excited to have him.”
The first-year Eagles head coach told the media that BC had to compete with some big schools to get Bequette, who has started 38 straight games dating back to the 2017 season. The versatile Cal D-Lineman was actually tied with two other Golden Bears for the program’s active career lead in consecutive starts.
In 2019, he spent time at defensive end, defensive tackle, and nose tackle. Moving across the line while piling up a career-high 52 total tackles, 4.0 TFLs, and 3.0 sacks, Bequette earned Cal’s Brick Muller Award, which is given annually to the program’s Most Valuable Lineman.
Hafley called Bequette “more of an interior guy” but mentioned that BC could also line him up on the outside, hinting that he won’t reveal Bequette’s exact role in order to keep opponents guessing. The rookie head coach went on to explain that, above all else, the transfer gives the team more flexibility with its D-Line rotations.
“We just need depth,” Hafley said. “We need depth up front, the way we’re going to play and roll guys. We need as many of those D-Linemen as we can get.”
Last year, the Eagles had the second-worst pass rush of any team in the ACC (19 sacks) and allowed 193.2 rushing yards per game, ranking a meager 100th nationally against the run.
Bequette is the fifth transfer to join BC since Hafley was hired as head coach in December 2019. He’s also the third graduate transfer, all of whom are on the defensive side of the ball. Bequette could very well find himself lining up next to fellow grad transfer Chibueze Onwuka, who came over from Buffalo this offseason.
The 2020 campaign will be Bequette’s final season in a college uniform. He was recently granted a sixth year of eligibility for his redshirt freshman year (2016). The exception was made because he only played four games that year before suffering a season-ending lower body injury prior to Cal’s matchup against Utah.
Bequette is a veteran who has proven himself on the biggest of stages. In 2018, he was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week for an inspired performance inside the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. Bequette racked up nine total tackles, 2.5 TFLs, and 2.0 sacks. He also forced a fumble deep in Cal territory right before the half, helping the Golden Bears snap their 14-game losing streak to USC. Last year, he registered another nine-tackle game, this time at Oregon.
Hafley said that BC’s staff is trying to get Bequette acclimated right away so that he can make an immediate impact. Third-year running back David Bailey told reporters that, in his eyes, BC is as welcoming as any program, when it comes to taking in transfers.
“Just with anybody, like when Zion [Johnson] or Deon [Jones] from the defense first came in,” Bailey said, “it was just love at first sight. Everybody, we bring them in all together, play football hard with each other, be school guys with each other, and bring everybody in like a brotherhood.”
Hafley talked more generally about his approach to the transfer portal, the team’s depth chart, Kobay White’s injury status, and more.
Here are some quick-hitters from the rest of Tuesday’s presser:
Kobay White is practicing again: Hafley informed the media on Aug. 21 that wide receiver Kobay White was sidelined with a knee injury. That said, he clarified that the injury was “nothing that we see being long term.” Hafley provided an update regarding the graduate student on Tuesday morning. He said that White is back to practice and “progressing nicely.”
Hafley is selective when it comes to the transfer portal: Whether it was reeling in Notre Dame transfer quarterback Phil Jurkovec, Ohio State wide receiver Jaelen Gill, or—most recently—Bequette, Hafley has shown that he can make a splash in the transfer market. He pointed out on Tuesday, however, that it’s a two-way street. BC has to be the right fit for a player, and the player has to be the right fit for the program.
“I’m not going portal, portal, portal, portal, where all of a sudden you look in our locker room and it—no. We want to recruit and develop, and if we feel we can add, it has to be the right fit with our team and our staff.”
Hafley also noted that, because his staff has so much NFL experience, BC is a particularly attractive landing spot for grad transfers looking to make one last push for the next level.
No update on the depth chart or QB1 decision: Right out of the gate, Hafley stated that he has not announced the starting quarterback yet or released the depth chart. The team did vote on captains Tuesday morning, but the results haven’t been tallied.
Hafley walked reporters through his mindset, as far as Duke game planning is concerned. He and his staff met on Labor Day and decided that Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week would continue to “be about us.” In other words, until the weekend, BC is focusing on the fundamentals: technique, leverage, tackling, schematic execution, all the nitty-gritty stuff. Then, the Eagles will start prepping for their Sept. 19 matchup at Duke.
“Without spring football and without really a true training camp, we just felt like this was way more important for us to just focus on the little things and take care of ourselves before we take that step forward, which we plan to do by the weekend,” Hafley said.
Electronic whistles and missed tackles: Because BC doesn’t start its season until Sept. 19, it has the privilege of watching the FBS adjust to COVID-19-affected football. The learning curve is steep, that’s for sure. Of the nine games that were played this past weekend, only three were decided by 10 or fewer points. Varying degrees of stadium capacities, expanded sidelines, and mask-adorned coaching staffs served as a reminder that football will be different in 2020.
Hafley doesn’t anticipate any problems with wearing a mask and calling plays. After all, he’s been doing that all summer. But something else raised his eyebrow during the ESPN broadcast of the BYU-Navy blowout. While watching, Hafley texted equipment manager Joseph Flynn, asking him to order the program a set of electronic whistles. Realizing that the noise is different than the traditional referee whistle, Hafley determined it would be best for his players to get used to hearing the new, COVID-19 friendly tech in practice.
One cause for the atypical proportion of lopsided games at the start of this wacky season is that a lot of teams are rusty in the tackling department. Hafley isn’t too surprised.
“You’re going to see more of that in the NFL, because usually in your first preseason game the tackling’s kind of eh,” he said. “By the second, it’s still a little bit. By the third preseason game, the tackling’s usually pretty good. Now, with the limited training camps and practice, you’re probably going to see a little bit of that in college football.”
He added: “So I keep focusing to the guys: fundamentals, technique, and all the little things that are important.”
