Boston College Athletics
Future Front-And-Center As BC Returns To Gridiron
December 13, 2021 | Football, #ForBoston Files
The first practices felt like springtime at Christmas as BC veered into its future.
During any other week, the views of the Fish Field House would feel like normal practice to prepare for the next opponent on the football schedule. Players barked signals at one another and competed on the artificial turf while coaches called out plays and marked corrective actions for the inevitable film sessions. Head coach Jeff Hafley stood in the middle of it all and watched both sides with intent while communicating to his coordinators and assistants through his headset radio channels.
Those surface appearances glossed over the differences between any other week and this weekend's return to the gridiron two weeks after the Eagles lost their final regular season games at Alumni Stadium next door. Recruits stood watch from the sidelines, and the practice geared itself more towards development than anything else. It was a hybrid session not quite entirely built around the upcoming Military Bowl on December 27.
"[Bowl games] are a reward for the players that deserve a chance to go to a city together to win a football game," Hafley said. "We get to have a practice like we did [this weekend], have four practices next week and three more the following week with three more when we get to the bowl site. That's like having a whole spring ball. So, for me, everything is about developing the player and how you get a chance to develop these young players."
The idea of playing a 13th game was the reward for the current players who earned their way into college football's postseason by winning six games. The activities surrounding the game are their experience, and BC is playing in an area from its extended geographical footprint for the first time since the Pinstripe Bowl in 2017. To the younger players, it's the first time to travel to a neutral site to play a team with no shared history, while the older players have one more opportunity to represent Boston College with their classmates and teammates.
The primary goal is to beat East Carolina, but the extra time earned by advancing to the bowl game is geared more towards the program's future and Hafley's vision for BC football. This weekend's first sessions weren't about ECU or game planning and instead followed through on the stated goal to start building depth for the future. It cycled back to the steps taken by both Hafley and his assistants over the past two weeks after they confronted an unavoidable discussion about roster attrition.
"We still only have 85 scholarships," Hafley said. "Last year, the NCAA let you take all of those sixth-year guys and didn't count them towards the [maximum]. So you could take them all. Now with those fifth and sixth-year guys, you might not have a scholarship available, so you have to decide [what to do]. It's made it really hard on us because [you ask if] you want to bring in an incoming freshman or keep a sixth-year. If you take all sixth-years and don't bring in incoming freshmen, the roster management and the balance is going to be out of whack. Those were hard conversations and hard discussions."
The honest talks forced some players into the NCAA's transfer portal ahead of this week's Early Signing Period, but the ongoing process of building the program's future remained front and center even after the coaches returned from their week-long dispersal throughout the nation. There were recruits hosted at the Fish Field House on Saturday, and this bowl game, maybe perhaps more than others, is an opportunity for the Eagles to give recruits and their families an open window into the program's inner workings.
"[The Military Bowl] let us get into an area where we have a lot of recruits that we've recruited in our last two classes," Hafley said following the bowl announcement. "We're going to continue to hit it very hard. Coach Aazaar [Abdul-Rahim] has a lot of ties to the area and a lot of family there, and I know he's really excited to get back. We have a lot of alumni and a lot of students from the area, and I'm excited for them to support our players like they have all year.
"I was in that area twice, on two separate days, seeing multiple players," Hafley said during that press conference last week. "It's an area we've targeted to hit hard, and we respect the football in that area a lot. There are great academics, so it's a great fit for Boston College. For us to get there and have recruits come and see us or possibly come and watch practice, to have high school coaches in the area come and watch us practice to see how we do things - it's huge. I'm really grateful for that opportunity, and I'm excited."
Abdul-Rahim was the former head coach at Friendship Collegiate Academy in Washington, D.C., but nearly a dozen different Eagles are from the region. Seven of those players are specifically from Maryland with another three from Virginia, and the last two classes included Kam Arnold and CJ Burton, who both played defensive roles in getting the Eagles to six wins.
"Getting all the young guys out there, playing together, it's getting fun now, more fun than usual," Burton said. "It's going to be a great experience, and it's going to open up a lot of things for next season. We've been out of football for a [a couple of weeks], the juices are flowing and practice is fun. There's a lot of talking going on right now, and that's fun, [too]."
It's all part of Hafley's grand plan, and it's one he hopes will lead the Eagles to the promised land as the years pile into his contract extension. His constant affirmation of BC's potential and his oft-stated goal to win in Chestnut Hill was rewarded with an extension after the season ended, and that future is bright and shining even as the team surges forward towards an opportunity to win its seventh game of the season.
"He wanted to get after it and go out there and play fast," defensive lineman Brandon Barlow said. "We all have love and respect for Coach Hafley. It was awesome to see him get that extension and to [see him] keep building this thing at BC because it's going [places]."
"This is where I want to be," Hafley emphasized. "I like living here. I like these kids on the football team. I'm grateful to Father Leahy and Pat Kraft. I enjoy working for them and with them. I love our staff. I love this school. I'm grateful for the fan support because it was awesome. I want to be here, and I want to win here. I said all along that it's going to take a little bit of time, but we're going to do it right. It's going to happen, and it's going to happen consistently. This is where I want to be, and this is where I'm going to be, and we're going to win here."
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Those surface appearances glossed over the differences between any other week and this weekend's return to the gridiron two weeks after the Eagles lost their final regular season games at Alumni Stadium next door. Recruits stood watch from the sidelines, and the practice geared itself more towards development than anything else. It was a hybrid session not quite entirely built around the upcoming Military Bowl on December 27.
"[Bowl games] are a reward for the players that deserve a chance to go to a city together to win a football game," Hafley said. "We get to have a practice like we did [this weekend], have four practices next week and three more the following week with three more when we get to the bowl site. That's like having a whole spring ball. So, for me, everything is about developing the player and how you get a chance to develop these young players."
The idea of playing a 13th game was the reward for the current players who earned their way into college football's postseason by winning six games. The activities surrounding the game are their experience, and BC is playing in an area from its extended geographical footprint for the first time since the Pinstripe Bowl in 2017. To the younger players, it's the first time to travel to a neutral site to play a team with no shared history, while the older players have one more opportunity to represent Boston College with their classmates and teammates.
The primary goal is to beat East Carolina, but the extra time earned by advancing to the bowl game is geared more towards the program's future and Hafley's vision for BC football. This weekend's first sessions weren't about ECU or game planning and instead followed through on the stated goal to start building depth for the future. It cycled back to the steps taken by both Hafley and his assistants over the past two weeks after they confronted an unavoidable discussion about roster attrition.
"We still only have 85 scholarships," Hafley said. "Last year, the NCAA let you take all of those sixth-year guys and didn't count them towards the [maximum]. So you could take them all. Now with those fifth and sixth-year guys, you might not have a scholarship available, so you have to decide [what to do]. It's made it really hard on us because [you ask if] you want to bring in an incoming freshman or keep a sixth-year. If you take all sixth-years and don't bring in incoming freshmen, the roster management and the balance is going to be out of whack. Those were hard conversations and hard discussions."
The honest talks forced some players into the NCAA's transfer portal ahead of this week's Early Signing Period, but the ongoing process of building the program's future remained front and center even after the coaches returned from their week-long dispersal throughout the nation. There were recruits hosted at the Fish Field House on Saturday, and this bowl game, maybe perhaps more than others, is an opportunity for the Eagles to give recruits and their families an open window into the program's inner workings.
"[The Military Bowl] let us get into an area where we have a lot of recruits that we've recruited in our last two classes," Hafley said following the bowl announcement. "We're going to continue to hit it very hard. Coach Aazaar [Abdul-Rahim] has a lot of ties to the area and a lot of family there, and I know he's really excited to get back. We have a lot of alumni and a lot of students from the area, and I'm excited for them to support our players like they have all year.
"I was in that area twice, on two separate days, seeing multiple players," Hafley said during that press conference last week. "It's an area we've targeted to hit hard, and we respect the football in that area a lot. There are great academics, so it's a great fit for Boston College. For us to get there and have recruits come and see us or possibly come and watch practice, to have high school coaches in the area come and watch us practice to see how we do things - it's huge. I'm really grateful for that opportunity, and I'm excited."
Abdul-Rahim was the former head coach at Friendship Collegiate Academy in Washington, D.C., but nearly a dozen different Eagles are from the region. Seven of those players are specifically from Maryland with another three from Virginia, and the last two classes included Kam Arnold and CJ Burton, who both played defensive roles in getting the Eagles to six wins.
"Getting all the young guys out there, playing together, it's getting fun now, more fun than usual," Burton said. "It's going to be a great experience, and it's going to open up a lot of things for next season. We've been out of football for a [a couple of weeks], the juices are flowing and practice is fun. There's a lot of talking going on right now, and that's fun, [too]."
It's all part of Hafley's grand plan, and it's one he hopes will lead the Eagles to the promised land as the years pile into his contract extension. His constant affirmation of BC's potential and his oft-stated goal to win in Chestnut Hill was rewarded with an extension after the season ended, and that future is bright and shining even as the team surges forward towards an opportunity to win its seventh game of the season.
"He wanted to get after it and go out there and play fast," defensive lineman Brandon Barlow said. "We all have love and respect for Coach Hafley. It was awesome to see him get that extension and to [see him] keep building this thing at BC because it's going [places]."
"This is where I want to be," Hafley emphasized. "I like living here. I like these kids on the football team. I'm grateful to Father Leahy and Pat Kraft. I enjoy working for them and with them. I love our staff. I love this school. I'm grateful for the fan support because it was awesome. I want to be here, and I want to win here. I said all along that it's going to take a little bit of time, but we're going to do it right. It's going to happen, and it's going to happen consistently. This is where I want to be, and this is where I'm going to be, and we're going to win here."
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