Takeaways From First Full-Padded Practice of BC Fall Camp
Andy Backstrom
Staff Writer
The 2021 season is fast approaching, but Boston College still has at least a week and a half of normal fall camp before game prep comes into play, according to second-year head coach Jeff Hafley. Friday, BC’s first full-padded practice of the summer, consisted of high and low red zone work as well as some situational football.
Hafley explained that, in some ways, the team’s practice model is fluid. He prioritizes player health, and, at this point of the summer, he wants to make sure his guys are fresh for Week 1.
Hafley isn’t afraid to scale back practice, even midway through, if his players are deserving of or in need of rest. For instance, he said that his players came out flying around the Fish Field House Friday—so much so that Hafley turned the final period into a jog-through.
At the moment, Hafley’s just happy he can focus on coaching, whereas, this time last year, he found himself juggling COVID-19 protocol and simply motivating his players to give their all during practice when the season appeared to be in jeopardy.
“I don’t feel that way this year,” Hafley said. “They know we’re playing. And they’re motivated to come out and work every day. I find myself coaching football more. Rather than just trying to find ways to get the guys to hang in there.”
Here are some other takeaways from Friday’s practice and the second week of fall camp:
Cornerback Josh DeBerry is carrying over his playmaking ability from last year: The All-ACC honorable mention from a year ago has been all over the field the last few weeks. Earlier this camp, he stepped in front of a Zay Flowers out route for an interception. The junior was the beneficiary of another takeaway Friday when he recovered a fumble in the red zone. DeBerry posted the second-highest Pro Football Focus defensive grade (77.1) and coverage grade (78.4) on the team in 2020.
Defensive back Jason Maitre has been playing some safety this preseason: BC is already loaded at safety. The Eagles have four players at the position with starting Power Five experience: Jahmin Muse, Mike Palmer, Jaiden Lars-Woodbey and Deon Jones. But Hafley loves competition, and Maitre is probably the Eagles’ most well-rounded defensive back. In fact, ESPN’s Bill Connelly just labeled the 5-foot-10, 188-pound redshirt junior as one of the most versatile DBs in college football. Maitre spent most of last season at nickelback, starting six games there when BC lined up in its 4-2-5 formation. He allowed just a 47% completion rate. What’s more, he sacked the quarterback twice on 12 blitzes and lined up in the box for 21 snaps and on the defensive line for four others, per PFF. He tracked down Phil Jurkovec in a head-to-head dash to the pylon Friday during a team period.
Is wide receiver Jaden Williams the next Zay Flowers?: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Not yet, anyway. But there are some parallels. Unlike Flowers, a three-star recruit (5.6 RR), Williams, a two-star (5.4 RR) from Pflugerville, Texas, didn’t necessarily stand out in his respective BC recruiting class. That said, the 5-foot-9, 176-pound Williams has a similar frame as Flowers and displays acceleration and speed that’s reminiscent of the All-ACC first-team wideout who routinely blew the top off league opponents’ secondaries last season. Williams added to his fall camp resume after Thursday’s four-touchdown performance with a 30-yard reception from backup quarterback Dennis Grosel. Flowers, on the other hand, flashed a 40-yard catch, hauling in a Jurkovec deep ball while in double coverage.
Veteran duo had some highlight-reel plays and a 1-on-1 matchup: Wide receiver Kobay White and cornerback Brandon Sebastian have been around the block. Between the two, they have six years worth of starting experience on the perimeter of either side of the ball. White brought down an 18-yard touchdown reception at the beginning of 7-on-7 red zone work. During the team period, Sebastian got the better of his teammate, breaking up a pass intended for the graduate wideout. The soon-to-be fourth-year starting corner also picked off a pass in the red zone portion of practice. Sebastian is looking to bounce back after an up-and-down 2020 season that saw him register, by far, the lowest PFF defensive grade of his career yet rack up 11 passes defended, which was tied for 12th nationally.
“You win with good people”: Hafley once again repeated this message Friday when discussing the continuity among his staff and roster. He emphasized that his coaches aren’t just solid recruiters, instead they’re “good football coaches who are great people.” When asked about the increase in media attention BC has garnered this offseason and preseason, Hafley remained his humble self, reminding everyone that the Eagles have a long way to go.
“I’m glad people are talking about us,” Hafley said. “I appreciate them being excited. We won six games last year, and we just need to get better. I’m not going to put a number on anything. I’m not going to put a ranking on everything. We need to get better every day, and we need to play better than we did last year. And that’s how we’re always going to approach things. But I appreciate people being excited, and I’m grateful for that.”
The players are amped for the traditional college football atmosphere to return: As Hafley pointed out, his players have much more of an incentive to self-motivate this year without the pandemic holding the season over the fire. Offensive tackle Tyler Vrabel discussed how having fans back makes everything more exciting. BC played just three of its 11 games with a crowd last year, and none of those were at home.
“We know we’re going to have people at the game,” Vrabel said. “It’s more like a college football atmosphere. It’s really cool to just be expecting that to come. It’s definitely easier. It gives you something to look forward to.”
Linebacker Vinny DePalma, who missed 2020 with an injury but is in contention for a starting spot in the second level, agreed with his teammate.
“This might be the most fired up anyone’s ever been for football season in a long, long time,” he said. “We’re ready to pack Alumni, and we’re ready to get out there and have some fun.”
Former UMass RB coach Savon Huggins has reportedly joined the BC staff: Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports reported Friday that Huggins is coming aboard as an offensive analyst who will also help with recruiting and player development. Huggins was a four-star recruit, according to Rivals’ recruiting database, and played at Rutgers from 2011-13. In three years with the Scarlet Knights, he piled up 842 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 261 carries. After missing the 2014 season with an injury, he transferred to Northern Iowa, where he finished his playing career.
