Think You Know BC's Running Game? Think Again.

Every college football team follows a template towards its first game of the season.

Coaches stagger processes for their players and introduce benchmarks for installs, and basic concepts turn into more complex developments as practices churn phases from one stage to the next. It feels recycled from every year, but the redundancy is critical for a team seeking to hit initial success in its first official result.

Every step is important, but scrimmage time feels bigger because players hit and react a little bit differently from their standard practice drills. They dictate the flow and change the points of emphasis organically in ways that aren't simulated by coaches, and they use their performance both to set a new tone and to change internal narratives long before they set foot on the field in real uniforms.

"We have to stick with our installs," said Boston College's Jeff Hafley of the aftermath of his Eagles' first scrimmage. "We were through first, second and third down, (and) now we're getting some situational football. Nothing we talked about is looking ahead. We need to get a lot better. We're not ready to play a game right now. We did a lot of really good things in the scrimmage, but we did a lot of things that would have beaten ourselves, no matter who we lined up against. And before you beat anybody, you have to get to the point where you don't beat yourself."

BC competed in its first scrimmage on Monday and used the opportunity to highlight some of the differences and changes from last year's roster. Transfer running back Alec Sinkfield scored two touchdowns, including a 40-yard blast, and Travis Levy added a score of his own behind an offensive line that plowed through an injury-depleted defensive front.

THE 2021 BACKFIELD

Returning Letterwinners: Pat Garwo (RSo.), Travis Levy (Gr.), Peter Stehr (RJr.), Javian Dayne (RJr.)
Newcomers/Redshirts: Alec Sinkfield (Gr.), Xavier Coleman (Fr.), Andre Hines (RFr.), Jackson Treister (RFr.), Tony Muse (Fr.)
Running Backs Coach: Rich Gunnell (Sixth Season)

"The running back room is really deep on a lot of great players," Levy said. "We just keep developing (and) keep running the ball. We keep learning from each other and just keep evolving. It's going to be a big year for us."

How BC utilizes the running game is one of the biggest question marks entering 2021 after last season flipped the narrative on one of the nation's preeminent power running schemes. The Eagles finished the season 117th in rushing yards per game after averaging the eighth-most totals in 2019, losing over 150 yards per game in comparison to the year before. Only one running back gained more than 500 yards on the season one year after AJ Dillon rushed for 1,600 yards and produced two games with more than 200 yards. The entire stable gained three touchdowns less than Dillon did in 2019 alone.

Part of it was due to the change in playbook and mentality under Jeff Hafley and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti and the truncated offseason in the COVID-19 era, but not even a transition period for the offensive line papered over the lack of production in the backfield. It required an immediate offseason overhaul, one that intended to blend the running and passing packages instead of the segmented "run game" and "pass game."

"The one thing I thought we did really well in the scrimmage was run the ball really well," Hafley said. "Obviously that starts up front, and we should run the ball really well because we have a really good offensive line and a great scheme. I'm excited to watch the tape because I thought (the backs) made some really good cuts and looked explosive."

That shift is a new development in BC's preseason camp and enabled new names to step to the stable's forefront. Lead rusher David Bailey left in the offseason, but Hafley recruited graduate student Alec Sinkfield from West Virginia via the transfer portal. He rushed for 327 yards last season but averaged over four yards per carry in his best output since he finished his high school career at American Heritage High with over 2,200 rushing yards. A former two-time all-state selection in Florida, he averaged over eight yards per carry for the Stallions and was selected to play in the Florida-Georgia All Star Game.

He now joins Levy after the graduate student opted to return to BC through the NCAA's COVID eligibility waiver. The fifth-year back started four games for the Eagles last season and posted 706 all-purpose yards between 99 rushes and 35 receptions, a pace that matched his 1,059 yards from the 13-game year in 2019.

Position Notes

• BC dropped from 253.2 (8th nationally) rushing yards per game in 2019 to 101.7 (118th) in 2020.
• Travis Levy brings 48 career games of experience as an Eagle with 693 rushing yards on 197 carries. He was second on the team with 321 rushing yards in 2020 and is a proven threat in the passing game with 71 career receptions, including 35 a year ago.
• Pat Garwo has 10 career games under his belt, including seven a year ago. He carried the ball 33 times for 122 yards and added seven catches in the Eagles' 2020 offense.
• Alec Sinkfield arrived on the Heights following a four-year career at West Virginia. He put up 327 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per carry, as a redshirt-junior in 2020.

One of them is expected to jump to the front of the line, but the stable includes dark horses previously overlooked by stronger celebrities in the power game. The presence of Dillon and Bailey enabled BC to redshirt players like Pat Garwo III in 2019, but his performance in limited action - 73 yards on 18 carries over three games - spread into a 122-yard performance in the new offense last season.

A stout, built-for-contact back, he is widely untapped and flashed a big run during Monday's scrimmage opposite the diminutive quickness of true freshman Xavier Coleman. The three-star prospect enrolled at BC in January and participated in spring practice after graduating from Lenape High School in New Jersey as a three-star prospect and the second-best running back recruit in the Garden State. The No. 14 all-purpose back in Rivals ratings scored nine touchdowns last season and left high school with a 2017 state championship and his school's all-time touchdown record.

"I thought that (Sinkfield) looked good (on Monday)," Hafley said. "Travis had a couple of good runs, and Pat (Garwo) had a huge run and actually looked really quick."

The disappointment from last season's running game is impossible to deny after the team tumbled from its spot atop the bowl subdivision, but the growing pains came from a mandatory transition period imposed through a shortened, pandemic-impacted season. The BC offense once defined by straightforward, smashmouth, power football evaporated in one year, and it came at the expense of the run game's production.

Understanding how that shift will bring the runners back into the fold, though, is why there's cause for optimism. The style of offense is different, and the team is simply evolving. It's still as explosive as the former scheme, and for BC, 2021 is the perfect opportunity to stake a new definition of its backfield.

"I'm very comfortable," Levy said. "I know the guys up front are going to get their block, and I'll get the job done. They're going to make it easier on the ball, and that's what I'm really excited (about). Those big guys up front can dominate game-in and game-out, and it's going to be a great year."