Spring Football Blog: Practice 1

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The first spring practice of the Jeff Hafley era kicked off Saturday morning inside Fish Field House. The Boston College football program held its first of 15 practices this spring in just helmets for the two-hour practice.

With music playing throughout practice, it was easy to see and feel the new atmosphere created by Hafley and his assistant coaches. Several former players were on-hand to watch, including Chris Lindstrom of the Atlanta Falcons, Ray Smith of the San Francisco 49ers and former Jacksonville Jaguar Connor Strachan.

"It was fun and exciting," Hafley said about coaching his first practice at the Heights. "I could not wait for it. I have not really slept the last couple nights looking forward to it and I wish we could keep going and practice tomorrow."

Fundamentals along with installing the new schemes on offense, defense and special teams were the focus point for practice.

"We are really just trying to establish our culture," Hafley said. "It is going to be based on tough love and we are going to compete. That's what this camp is going to be about, especially these first few days."

Boston College returns eight players who started at least one game on offense last season, led by All-ACC offensive line selections Ben Petrula, Alec Lindstrom, Zion Johnson and Tyler Vrabel. All eyes will be on the competition at quarterback with Dennis Grosel, Matt Valecce and Notre Dame transfer Phil Jurkovec among the top candidates for the starting job.

Jurkovec will apply to the NCAA for a waiver to become immediately eligible with the Eagles this fall. If the waiver is not approved, Jurkovec would have to sit out the 2020 season per NCAA transfer regulations.

Saturday's practice was the first time Hafley and his staff got the chance to see the team perform in live drills. On defense, BC returns 15 players who started at least one game last season, led by All-ACC linebacker Max Richardson.

The Eagles return to practice on Tuesday morning inside Fish Field House.

Practice Notes: Following BC's open tryout for students on-campus this week, the Eagles added defensive back Nick Bearup to the roster. The Albany native played at Colonie Central High School and will have two years of eligibility … redshirt freshman Bryce Sebastian worked with the defensive backs Saturday after spending his true freshman campaign practicing with the wide receivers … each position group entered Fish Field House together before breaking out with a motivational message from head strength and conditioning coach Phil Matusz and his staff.

Players Mentioned

Dennis Grosel

Zion Johnson

Phil Jurkovec

Alec Lindstrom

Chris Lindstrom

Ben Petrula

Max Richardson

Bryce Sebastian

Ray Smith

Connor Strachan

Matt Valecce

Tyler Vrabel

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