Focus: Defensive Backs
August 13, 2019 | Football
Brandon Sebastian at corner and a veteran group of safeties lead the BC secondary into 2019.
Returners: Nolan Borgersen (Gr.), Tyler Days (RFr.), Mehdi El Attrach (Gr.), Aaron Gethers (RFr.), Tate Haynes (RSo.), Elijah Jones (RFr.), Jason Maitre (RFr.), Jahmin Muse (RSo.), Mike Palmer (RJr.), Brandon Sebastian (RSo.)
Newcomers: Josh DeBerry (Fr.), Connor Grieco (Fr.), Steve Lubischer (Fr.), Jalen Williams (Fr.)
The Eagles lost both starting safeties and two of three cornerbacks to the NFL this past spring. Sebastian debuted as a redshirt-freshman at nickel back before ultimately starting seven games at corner. He made 49 tackles, eight pass breakups and picked up two interceptions, including one at Virginia Tech that set up BC's go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter. Opposite Sebastian, Haynes is expected to take over as a starting corner after converting from quarterback ahead of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl as a true freshman in 2017. He appeared in four games in the secondary and on special teams in 2018.
Palmer returns with the most experience on the field as a safety; appearing in 13 career games, including a 10-tackle performance at free safety against NC State last season. A veteran group of defensive backs are competing for the remaining spots on the two-deep. El Attrach, who has been a staple on special teams throughout his career, picked off his first pass last season against Holy Cross and was credited with a forced fumble at NC State.
Borgersen, like Palmer, blocked a punt last season and appeared in 11 games; primarily on special teams with snaps in the secondary after converting from wide receiver. Muse, one of the younger players competing for time at safety, took the field for four games in safety as a redshirt-freshman last season.
"[Sebastian has] still got some playing time ahead of him. I grabbed him the other day. I say this often to a lot of players. The greatest form of leadership is performance. So I don't think you have to be a guy who's barking all the time in practice or getting in a guy's face, or I don't think you have to do that to be a leader.
"His challenge will be to try to play better than he did a year ago. He had a very, very honorable season for us. He started for us. He's the lone returning starter in the secondary. Like I say, I told him, you don't have to do anything else other than your normal personality. Your greatest contribution will be your performance, and if you do, the young guys will see how you practice, how you perform on Saturdays, how those two things tie in together, and that's the leadership we need from you."
Eric Lewis, Defensive Backs Coach
"There are a lot of good kids, from a character standpoint. The guys that were here previously, I think it's very apparent that they set a very good culture in the room. Work habits, meeting habits, practice habits. The guys we have, I'm very excited for them to get to show what they can do.
"[Haynes] has had a great spring, summer and now fall. Obviously, he was a quarterback in high school and football is a genetic sport. He's gifted, but he has worked extraordinarily hard. He's one of the most disciplined guys I've ever had. He continues to learn and progress every day."
Newcomers: Josh DeBerry (Fr.), Connor Grieco (Fr.), Steve Lubischer (Fr.), Jalen Williams (Fr.)
The Eagles lost both starting safeties and two of three cornerbacks to the NFL this past spring. Sebastian debuted as a redshirt-freshman at nickel back before ultimately starting seven games at corner. He made 49 tackles, eight pass breakups and picked up two interceptions, including one at Virginia Tech that set up BC's go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter. Opposite Sebastian, Haynes is expected to take over as a starting corner after converting from quarterback ahead of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl as a true freshman in 2017. He appeared in four games in the secondary and on special teams in 2018.
Palmer returns with the most experience on the field as a safety; appearing in 13 career games, including a 10-tackle performance at free safety against NC State last season. A veteran group of defensive backs are competing for the remaining spots on the two-deep. El Attrach, who has been a staple on special teams throughout his career, picked off his first pass last season against Holy Cross and was credited with a forced fumble at NC State.
Borgersen, like Palmer, blocked a punt last season and appeared in 11 games; primarily on special teams with snaps in the secondary after converting from wide receiver. Muse, one of the younger players competing for time at safety, took the field for four games in safety as a redshirt-freshman last season.
THE STATS
#10 Sebastian, Brandon- 49 tackles (38 solo), 2.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 2 interceptions, 8 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble
- 23 tackles (12 solo), 2 pass breakups, 1 blocked kick
- 6 tackles (6 solo), 4 pass breakups
- 9 tackles (3 solo), 0.5 TFL, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery, 1 forced fumble
THE DB ROOM
Depth at the corner positions is expected to come from a pair of redshirt-freshmen; Jones and Maitre… Jones, the No. 8 prospect out of New York according to Rivals in 2017, appeared in four games and filled in at corner against NC State with two tackles and a pass breakup; totaling six and four on the season, respectively… Maitre ended 2018 with a leg injury, but appeared in two games early on with two tackles, a pass breakup and one punt return… Days and Gethers each redshirted in 2018 as freshmen; both of whom will provide depth in the secondary… four newcomers joined the DB room this season; DeBerry, Grieco, Lubischer and Williams… DeBerry, a three-star prospect, helped De La Salle to back-to-back state championships in Michigan, Grieco was rated the No. 1 safety in New Jersey by ESPN, Lubischer a three-star prospect and the No. 40 dual-threat QB nationally by ESPN, while Williams was a consensus three-star DB and the No. 17 prospect from Maryland by ESPN.WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
Bill Sheridan, Defensive Coordinator:"[Sebastian has] still got some playing time ahead of him. I grabbed him the other day. I say this often to a lot of players. The greatest form of leadership is performance. So I don't think you have to be a guy who's barking all the time in practice or getting in a guy's face, or I don't think you have to do that to be a leader.
"His challenge will be to try to play better than he did a year ago. He had a very, very honorable season for us. He started for us. He's the lone returning starter in the secondary. Like I say, I told him, you don't have to do anything else other than your normal personality. Your greatest contribution will be your performance, and if you do, the young guys will see how you practice, how you perform on Saturdays, how those two things tie in together, and that's the leadership we need from you."
Eric Lewis, Defensive Backs Coach
"There are a lot of good kids, from a character standpoint. The guys that were here previously, I think it's very apparent that they set a very good culture in the room. Work habits, meeting habits, practice habits. The guys we have, I'm very excited for them to get to show what they can do.
"[Haynes] has had a great spring, summer and now fall. Obviously, he was a quarterback in high school and football is a genetic sport. He's gifted, but he has worked extraordinarily hard. He's one of the most disciplined guys I've ever had. He continues to learn and progress every day."
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