Boston College Athletics
Recruit, Reload, Replenish
December 20, 2020 | Football, #ForBoston Files
This year's class fits BC's needs, both now and later, as a football program.
A football roster is hardly a year-to-year construction project. Players move up and down a depth chart every year, but it's usually the result of a years-long process formulated and developed within a coaching staff's office. The current product on the field is hardly a flash in the pan or something plucked out of nowhere, and it's always the result of the careful planning and evaluation of dozens of staffers tasked with identifying and finding the right players for a program.
Jeff Hafley didn't have that luxury when he arrived at Boston College. He had evaluated his current roster and identified his needs, but COVID-19 saw to it that Hafley and his assistant coaches never set foot in a recruit's home. They never met face-to-face with the players and didn't participate in the usual walkthroughs on campus.Â
He knew this class was a tone-setter, though, and the first season for the first-time head coach laid the foundation for his vision. On Wednesday, the accounts receivable from that first season paid its dividend with an elite recruiting class expected to change the face of the Eagles' program.
"We needed more competition around here," Hafley said. "I love the culture and the foundation we set, and I believe that it's been proven through what we accomplished on and off the field, especially off the field. But we need more competition. Championship programs are built on competition at every position, and we just don't have it right now. So we're bringing in guys to compete. There are guys we feel are two or three years away, or (one) year away, but for the most part, we want to push our starters and our guys working for positions to get better."
Hafley sought to fill roster gaps by blending BC's immediate needs against its future prospects, and his incoming class reflected the team's more pressing holes. The Eagles added eight players to the defensive backfield, including three safeties, and likewise recruited four defensive linemen. All held at least three-star prospect profiles from the major recruiting bureaus with two players holding a four-star rating.
Those two commits - defensive back CJ Burton and safety Bryce Steele - ranked among the top players in their home states. Burton graded as the No. 3 cornerback in the entire country according to ESPN and was either the No. 1 or No. 2 recruit in Maryland. He is a long, big defensive back who rated as the No. 74 recruit in the ESPN 300 and chose BC over a bevy of other Power Five schools.
Steele, meanwhile, possesses the physical profile of a mean, tough safety. He graded as the No. 18 safety in the country but doubled as the No. 34 outside linebacker for Rivals. He missed his senior season when COVID-19 canceled both of his school years, first in Virginia where he attended school, and then again in his native North Carolina.
Both of those players individually jump off the page, but the class wasn't recruited as a straightforward alignment. Hafley brought in players for their physical and mental makeup, and the entire staff identified the individuals based for their best fit for Boston College. He likewise projected each player for their own personal benefit, not necessarily as a plug-and-play as it is for the individual's long term development.
"Those are key positions," Hafley said. "There are a lot of defensive linemen (in the recruiting class) and a lot of guys labeled as safety, DB, receiver. I mentioned when I got here that we had to get faster, and we have to get faster. We have a bunch of guys who are listed as a DB or wideout, and there are guys that we'll figure out are best to play (at a particular position). These are athletes with size and length that can run.
"We need guys who can get after the quarterback," he reiterated. "We have to get the quarterback down if he's a runner or a passer. (The recruiting class) is a little heavier in those areas with guys who can run or guys that can play up front."
That brought the staff back to its overall recruiting class and how it wanted to project improvement for incumbent starters. BC enters next season with known commodities at skill positions, and the growing chemistry between quarterback Phil Jurkovec and his receivers is the team's biggest offseason storyline.Â
That didn't stop the Eagles from recruiting another quarterback or a number of different receivers. Lewis Bond was the No. 4 receiver in Illinois according to Rivals and committed to BC alongside high school teammate Dante Reynolds, the No. 4 receiver in Illinois according to ESPN.Â
Both offer BC different looks at the receiver position, as does Jamareeh Jones, a three-star athlete who played quarterback, wide receiver and safety in high school recruited as a versatile athlete. He was one of two high school quarterbacks in the class alongside pocket passer Emmett Morehead, a giant graded as the No. 56 pro style quarterback in the country.
The team's existing depth also didn't stop BC from bringing in offensive linemen Otto Hess and Ilija Krajnovic. The two giants are both at least six feet, seven inches, but Krajnovic, a Serbian native who played high school football at the IMG Academy in Florida, is a titan with 325 pounds of mass. He is a raw product with untapped ability, but his physical tools made him the perfect moldable clay for the Eagles.
"The BC brand is very powerful and is very underestimated," Hafley said. "I'm excited to walk into schools when we can (get back on the road), and I think the logo has more weight than people think or give it credit for...It's one of the best academic schools in the country, playing Power Five football, and we were on national television (last year) playing at a high level."
It gave BC's recruiting office a very exciting Wednesday morning, but the exploding timeline already started ticking its fuse to next year's National Signing Day. There is an ongoing process, one built around recruitment, commitment and development, and the paper success surrounding this year is only as good as the next year and how these players continue to improve while new players in the next class push them.
"We'll find out how good this class is in a couple of years," Hafley said. "Nobody will remember what this class was ranked, but they'll remember what they do on the field. It's like the NFL Draft; everyone used to ask how the picks were, but we all felt good about picks because we drafted them. Let's find out how good they are in three years after we develop them. I'm very grateful that people are talking about this as a really good class, but let's talk three years from now. We believe these kids fit us, and we have criteria to fit this team. I'm grateful these kids signed on with us."
Jeff Hafley didn't have that luxury when he arrived at Boston College. He had evaluated his current roster and identified his needs, but COVID-19 saw to it that Hafley and his assistant coaches never set foot in a recruit's home. They never met face-to-face with the players and didn't participate in the usual walkthroughs on campus.Â
He knew this class was a tone-setter, though, and the first season for the first-time head coach laid the foundation for his vision. On Wednesday, the accounts receivable from that first season paid its dividend with an elite recruiting class expected to change the face of the Eagles' program.
"We needed more competition around here," Hafley said. "I love the culture and the foundation we set, and I believe that it's been proven through what we accomplished on and off the field, especially off the field. But we need more competition. Championship programs are built on competition at every position, and we just don't have it right now. So we're bringing in guys to compete. There are guys we feel are two or three years away, or (one) year away, but for the most part, we want to push our starters and our guys working for positions to get better."
Hafley sought to fill roster gaps by blending BC's immediate needs against its future prospects, and his incoming class reflected the team's more pressing holes. The Eagles added eight players to the defensive backfield, including three safeties, and likewise recruited four defensive linemen. All held at least three-star prospect profiles from the major recruiting bureaus with two players holding a four-star rating.
Those two commits - defensive back CJ Burton and safety Bryce Steele - ranked among the top players in their home states. Burton graded as the No. 3 cornerback in the entire country according to ESPN and was either the No. 1 or No. 2 recruit in Maryland. He is a long, big defensive back who rated as the No. 74 recruit in the ESPN 300 and chose BC over a bevy of other Power Five schools.
Steele, meanwhile, possesses the physical profile of a mean, tough safety. He graded as the No. 18 safety in the country but doubled as the No. 34 outside linebacker for Rivals. He missed his senior season when COVID-19 canceled both of his school years, first in Virginia where he attended school, and then again in his native North Carolina.
Both of those players individually jump off the page, but the class wasn't recruited as a straightforward alignment. Hafley brought in players for their physical and mental makeup, and the entire staff identified the individuals based for their best fit for Boston College. He likewise projected each player for their own personal benefit, not necessarily as a plug-and-play as it is for the individual's long term development.
"Those are key positions," Hafley said. "There are a lot of defensive linemen (in the recruiting class) and a lot of guys labeled as safety, DB, receiver. I mentioned when I got here that we had to get faster, and we have to get faster. We have a bunch of guys who are listed as a DB or wideout, and there are guys that we'll figure out are best to play (at a particular position). These are athletes with size and length that can run.
"We need guys who can get after the quarterback," he reiterated. "We have to get the quarterback down if he's a runner or a passer. (The recruiting class) is a little heavier in those areas with guys who can run or guys that can play up front."
That brought the staff back to its overall recruiting class and how it wanted to project improvement for incumbent starters. BC enters next season with known commodities at skill positions, and the growing chemistry between quarterback Phil Jurkovec and his receivers is the team's biggest offseason storyline.Â
That didn't stop the Eagles from recruiting another quarterback or a number of different receivers. Lewis Bond was the No. 4 receiver in Illinois according to Rivals and committed to BC alongside high school teammate Dante Reynolds, the No. 4 receiver in Illinois according to ESPN.Â
Both offer BC different looks at the receiver position, as does Jamareeh Jones, a three-star athlete who played quarterback, wide receiver and safety in high school recruited as a versatile athlete. He was one of two high school quarterbacks in the class alongside pocket passer Emmett Morehead, a giant graded as the No. 56 pro style quarterback in the country.
The team's existing depth also didn't stop BC from bringing in offensive linemen Otto Hess and Ilija Krajnovic. The two giants are both at least six feet, seven inches, but Krajnovic, a Serbian native who played high school football at the IMG Academy in Florida, is a titan with 325 pounds of mass. He is a raw product with untapped ability, but his physical tools made him the perfect moldable clay for the Eagles.
"The BC brand is very powerful and is very underestimated," Hafley said. "I'm excited to walk into schools when we can (get back on the road), and I think the logo has more weight than people think or give it credit for...It's one of the best academic schools in the country, playing Power Five football, and we were on national television (last year) playing at a high level."
It gave BC's recruiting office a very exciting Wednesday morning, but the exploding timeline already started ticking its fuse to next year's National Signing Day. There is an ongoing process, one built around recruitment, commitment and development, and the paper success surrounding this year is only as good as the next year and how these players continue to improve while new players in the next class push them.
"We'll find out how good this class is in a couple of years," Hafley said. "Nobody will remember what this class was ranked, but they'll remember what they do on the field. It's like the NFL Draft; everyone used to ask how the picks were, but we all felt good about picks because we drafted them. Let's find out how good they are in three years after we develop them. I'm very grateful that people are talking about this as a really good class, but let's talk three years from now. We believe these kids fit us, and we have criteria to fit this team. I'm grateful these kids signed on with us."
Players Mentioned
QB
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