2021 NFL Draft: An Exciting Referendum On Hafley
April 29, 2021 | Football, #ForBoston Files
It's time for the NFL to recognize what took place last year at BC.
Boston College's success at the NFL level, beyond its vaunted offensive line prospects, burst onto the national scene over the past decade. The Eagles, once derided for the lower profiles of their recruits, churned out professional prospects with upside value for championship rosters. Pleasant surprises dotted Sundays, and the development status stamp of the entire BC program reached every level from on-field position coaches to strength and conditioning to sports nutritionists.
The reputation poured a foundation for coaches, scouts and analysts alike, and this week, the next crop of BC hopefuls will heighten their anticipation for the next round of the NFL Draft. The in-person event, the first of its kind in the COVID-19 era, will look very different from years past, but the exalted status of hearing the announcement on the national stage incorporates the new beginnings of the BC program into an established trustworthiness of the university's football brand.
"I think Pro Days were huge this year because there was no NFL Combine," BC head coach Jeff Hafley said after his program's scouting showcase. "In a normal NFL offseason, clubs are going to send their position coaches to work out a lot of players, and that didn't happen. In my time in the NFL, I would look at my top (defensive backs), and I traveled around the country to work them out and get to know them. Because of COVID, (coaches) can't do that, so pro days kind of replaced that."
BC held its Pro Day over a month ago, and the football-based attention exposed a light into the process of Hafley's program in Chestnut Hill. Nearly three dozen NFL representatives, including Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, himself a former Eagle, attended the event in order to grade and analyze the current prospects, and the presence of former teammates entrusted with workouts added to an atmosphere within the Fish Field House.
It was also the first microscopic inquiry by the NFL into a college program run by Hafley. He came to BC after serving as Ohio State's defensive coordinator, but he spent a good chunk of his coaching career as a professional position coach. He understood the process at both its basic and advanced levels, but this was still the first time evaluators looked into players entirely under his program's banner. That wasn't lost on him during the workouts since his time as an NFL assistant coach influenced the approach to this year's workouts.
"I liked going into private workouts myself," Hafley said of his time in the NFL. "You can set up private workouts, and I actually worked out Harold Landry when I was at San Francisco. I would take the (prospect) out to dinner the night before to get a chance to really get to know him and dive in to ask questions, one-on-one. Then we'd wake up and work him out on the field. I put him through my own position drills that I've used throughout my career so I could process and compare him to other players that I'd been around."
Hafley's first season was nothing short of surreal after the coronavirus pandemic canceled his first spring training session. The situation cancelled BC's Pro Day days after the completion of the NFL Combine and shorted prospects of an opportunity to showcase their talents. Players did what they could in virtual environments, but losing the chance to showcase the program's overall efforts erased any prior work completed both on campus and in individual training sessions.
It didn't stop the Green Bay Packers from drafting AJ Dillon in the second round, but BC's all-time leading rusher never played a down in Hafley's system. That right was reserved for this year's crew, which performed in late March in lieu of the NFL Combine, which was cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic.
The unconventional year flipped football on its head, but BC navigated the waters to complete a 10-game conference schedule and an 11-game regular season. The program avoided a positive COVID-19 test result for virtually the entire season and finished with a 6-5 record after playing four ranked opponents over an eight-week span that included games at both No. 1 Clemson and No. 2 Notre Dame during a three-week period around Halloween.
BC declined a bowl invitation at the end of the season due to the exhaustion of playing the 2020 season, but the season reinforced Hafley's reputation throughout college football. Experts and analysts lauded the Eagles for allowing players to go home instead of playing a postseason game, and the immediate recharge of the team paid dividends on the recruiting trail. A number of high profile recruits committed during the Early Signing Period and infused the team with some of its rawest talent to date.
The recruiting classes - already among the nation's elite on easily-searchable databases - will ensure future success in Chestnut Hill, but the more prescient focus is on this weekend. The program once trumpeted as a development program for players is now an elite proving ground for NFL hopefuls, and what happens with Hunter Long, Max Richardson, Isaiah McDuffie or Max Roberts will dictate the first referendum of Hafley's perspective. It's a natural progression now celebrated with expectations instead of pleasant surprises.
"(Matt Milano, Justin Simmons and John Johnson) aren't only good players," Hafley said. "They're good people. In my experience, when you get a great player who is a great person, you usually wind up with a great contract because you do things the right way. You learn and act like a pro. I think that's what Boston College is all about. Kids come here, and it's not just about football. It's how to become a man, how to get an incredible degree, and you learn how to play the right way in a really competitive conference. I think recruits see that in BC and in this success that our guys had. That's going to allow us to become a very competitive football team."
The reputation poured a foundation for coaches, scouts and analysts alike, and this week, the next crop of BC hopefuls will heighten their anticipation for the next round of the NFL Draft. The in-person event, the first of its kind in the COVID-19 era, will look very different from years past, but the exalted status of hearing the announcement on the national stage incorporates the new beginnings of the BC program into an established trustworthiness of the university's football brand.
"I think Pro Days were huge this year because there was no NFL Combine," BC head coach Jeff Hafley said after his program's scouting showcase. "In a normal NFL offseason, clubs are going to send their position coaches to work out a lot of players, and that didn't happen. In my time in the NFL, I would look at my top (defensive backs), and I traveled around the country to work them out and get to know them. Because of COVID, (coaches) can't do that, so pro days kind of replaced that."
BC held its Pro Day over a month ago, and the football-based attention exposed a light into the process of Hafley's program in Chestnut Hill. Nearly three dozen NFL representatives, including Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, himself a former Eagle, attended the event in order to grade and analyze the current prospects, and the presence of former teammates entrusted with workouts added to an atmosphere within the Fish Field House.
It was also the first microscopic inquiry by the NFL into a college program run by Hafley. He came to BC after serving as Ohio State's defensive coordinator, but he spent a good chunk of his coaching career as a professional position coach. He understood the process at both its basic and advanced levels, but this was still the first time evaluators looked into players entirely under his program's banner. That wasn't lost on him during the workouts since his time as an NFL assistant coach influenced the approach to this year's workouts.
"I liked going into private workouts myself," Hafley said of his time in the NFL. "You can set up private workouts, and I actually worked out Harold Landry when I was at San Francisco. I would take the (prospect) out to dinner the night before to get a chance to really get to know him and dive in to ask questions, one-on-one. Then we'd wake up and work him out on the field. I put him through my own position drills that I've used throughout my career so I could process and compare him to other players that I'd been around."
Hafley's first season was nothing short of surreal after the coronavirus pandemic canceled his first spring training session. The situation cancelled BC's Pro Day days after the completion of the NFL Combine and shorted prospects of an opportunity to showcase their talents. Players did what they could in virtual environments, but losing the chance to showcase the program's overall efforts erased any prior work completed both on campus and in individual training sessions.
It didn't stop the Green Bay Packers from drafting AJ Dillon in the second round, but BC's all-time leading rusher never played a down in Hafley's system. That right was reserved for this year's crew, which performed in late March in lieu of the NFL Combine, which was cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic.
The unconventional year flipped football on its head, but BC navigated the waters to complete a 10-game conference schedule and an 11-game regular season. The program avoided a positive COVID-19 test result for virtually the entire season and finished with a 6-5 record after playing four ranked opponents over an eight-week span that included games at both No. 1 Clemson and No. 2 Notre Dame during a three-week period around Halloween.
BC declined a bowl invitation at the end of the season due to the exhaustion of playing the 2020 season, but the season reinforced Hafley's reputation throughout college football. Experts and analysts lauded the Eagles for allowing players to go home instead of playing a postseason game, and the immediate recharge of the team paid dividends on the recruiting trail. A number of high profile recruits committed during the Early Signing Period and infused the team with some of its rawest talent to date.
The recruiting classes - already among the nation's elite on easily-searchable databases - will ensure future success in Chestnut Hill, but the more prescient focus is on this weekend. The program once trumpeted as a development program for players is now an elite proving ground for NFL hopefuls, and what happens with Hunter Long, Max Richardson, Isaiah McDuffie or Max Roberts will dictate the first referendum of Hafley's perspective. It's a natural progression now celebrated with expectations instead of pleasant surprises.
"(Matt Milano, Justin Simmons and John Johnson) aren't only good players," Hafley said. "They're good people. In my experience, when you get a great player who is a great person, you usually wind up with a great contract because you do things the right way. You learn and act like a pro. I think that's what Boston College is all about. Kids come here, and it's not just about football. It's how to become a man, how to get an incredible degree, and you learn how to play the right way in a really competitive conference. I think recruits see that in BC and in this success that our guys had. That's going to allow us to become a very competitive football team."
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