Hafley's Perspective, Excitement Cruising Through Adjusted Offseason

Every day, fans sitting at home watching Twitter witness a meme or gif appear in their timelines next to two familiar avatar handles. An eagle swoops down next to Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley's name and attacks prey with its majestic wingspan spread as wide as possible. Directly above or below his post is an image of rapper Rick Ross next to BC recruiting coordinator Joe Sullivan.

It's nearly commonplace every day, but it consistently delivers an exciting surprise to those fans reading social media. It means a recruit somewhere in America is making a key decision and is "getting in" to Hafley's vision for the future of Boston College football. It's an organic storyline to the most unique offseason in the history of sports, and it's a delightful reminder of the staff's dedication to a new day, even in light of the current world atmosphere.

"It's hard (to sit at home)," Hafley said. "I miss walking around campus, seeing the students and meeting the faculty. Everything I was excited about has been put on pause. It taught me that I can do a lot more, and we're doing the best that we can."

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic jammed the gears of the startup to Hafley's recruiting machine. The NCAA instituted a mandatory dead period in March after the coronavirus outbreak reached the United States and suspended official and unofficial on-campus visits for recruits. In April, it extended the order to the end of May in order to continue mandating a form of social distancing to protect coaches, players, families and all parties involved, though phone calls and messaging could continue.

For Hafley, it was simply another layer of adjustment. His first-ever spring session with the Eagles abruptly stopped after a handful of practices when the pandemic developed. The ability to install a new scheme in person went with it, but he kept surging forward and adapting on the fly.

"I never thought, in a million years, to use my home office, but physically everything's different," Hafley said. "I expected to be around our players and implement our scheme. We're trying to get to know the players (instead) through Zoom meetings, spending time with them. We want to keep implementing the system, but I thought I'd be watching spring cut-ups to move forward and we don't have much of that. It's hard to think about how we got here, so we're throwing expectations out the door."

The adjustment's success story is now, finally, being written. Online meetings and workout sessions are collaboratively curated to simulate an atmosphere as close to the Yawkey Center as possible. Workouts and film sessions are scheduled to mimic life on campus at BC, and the online meetings are replacing the in-person quizzes and tests as closely as possible to what players would experience in the present term.

"Time management is so important," Hafley said. "We think that people being in a routine is so important, so we're trying to keep the same routine as we would've had. Our guys would've worked out and met (with coaches) in the morning and then had all afternoon for academics. We are trying to do the same thing with them now. It's the key to everything."

It doesn't hurt that both Hafley and Boston College are both still in the football spotlight. Hafley's name surfaced during the NFL Draft when teams selected three of his former defensive standouts from Ohio State, including two in the first three picks.

Washington and Detroit drafted Chase Young and Jeff Okudah with consecutive picks at No. 2 and No. 3 overall before the Raiders grabbed Damon Arnette at No. 19. As defensive coordinator of the Buckeyes, Hafley led the best defense in the nation to a Big Ten championship before Clemson eliminated the team in the College Football Playoff's Fiesta Bowl semifinal.

"It was awesome to see Chase, Jeff and Damon go like that," Hafley said. "That's why I came back to college football; you can change lives, and you feel it. It was a special night to talk to those guys. (Everyone) knew Chase and Jeff were going to at No. 2 and No. 3, but Damon Arnette came back to school because he trusted and put his faith in me."

BC, meanwhile, saw its own branding once again stick on the national level. Green Bay infamously passed on a wide receiver in the draft in order to select running back AJ Dillon with its second round pick. Dillon is the Eagles' all-time leading rusher and is likely the most impactful draft choice by the Packers, who selected Jordan Love as their quarterback of the future in the first round.

Hafley never coached Dillon, but understands that impact from his time both in college and in the league. He also isn't even one year removed from working directly with Ryan Day, a former BC offensive coordinator who is now the head coach at Ohio State.

"The one thing I thought about BC is that guys that get drafted turn out to be good NFL players," Hafley said. "They're smart, tough, reliable and very accountable. They work hard, and you know what you're getting. If you look at the guys in the league, all those coaches will tell you they love those guys, and people look hard at BC players. It was awesome to see AJ go. We were all very proud. I know (Packers head coach) Matt LaFleur very well, and I know that he was very excited to get a great one."

It's why the excitement builds every time one of those social media posts roll in. The coronavirus pandemic shocked the sports world by freezing the future into uncertainty, and it could have equally iced the excitement of the program's new direction. Instead, the Eagles simply adjusted and found new ways to move forward. They found the silver linings and evolved.

Hafley's Perspective, Excitement Cruising Through Adjusted Offseason

Players Mentioned

AJ Dillon

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