Boston College Athletics
Photo by: Anthony Garro
September 29, 2021 | Football, #ForBoston Files
Drawing an assignment against No. 10 is a bad day at the office for offenses.
Brandon Sebastian is no stranger to theatrics and acrobatics.
Just ask Virginia Tech after he victimized the Hokies' passing game twice in two years. They won't forget the way he toe-tapped through an interception during a pivotal moment in the third quarter of their 2018 meeting, and they probably remember vividly how he defied the laws of gravity and physics for a pick in their 2019 meeting. Both interceptions were game changers, and both left coaching staffs scratching their heads over the recurrent nightmare of a defensive back doing his best Superman impression.
Maybe it's worth asking Cincinnati, too. The Bearcats were on a near-perfect game during a rainy, sloppy afternoon in Birmingham when BC blocked a 58-yard field goal attempt. The ball bounced in the backfield, but the lasting image was that of Sebastian scooping it for a 67-yard sprint to the end zone for the Eagles' first points.
If none of those work, the question should be geared to Clemson this week after the Tigers watched the unthinkable happen to running back Travis Etienne. The No. 25 overall pick in this year's NFL Draft botched a handoff at the BC goal line while his team trailed by a touchdown at the start of the third quarter, and they all could only watch helplessly as Sebastian deked around the frantic tackle attempt by quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. Ninety-seven yards later, it was a touchdown, but it was for the white jerseys of BC and not a tying score for the home side.
Those all are worth a conversation, but few will produce the reaction of the Missouri Tigers after Connor Bazelak flung his first pass in overtime towards the end zone. It never reached his intended target because of Sebastian's ability to fly through the air, catch a football and land on the ground with an interception to seal a 41-34 win for BC.
"There were endless texts and a lot of people from home, a lot of close friends and family," Sebastian said with a smile this week. "My phone nearly froze when I was trying to get on it because so many people hit me up about [the pick]. I had to spend almost two hours in the locker room texting people back saying thank you."
It was the kind of play reserved for end-of-year montages, but it apparently is old hat for Sebastian. Now a graduate student in his fifth year, he's the island on which receivers are marooned. He's a lockdown corner and the No. 1 target for the Boston College defense, and after he scored seven tackles and the game-clinching pick against Mizzou, he's also the reigning ACC Player of the Week at his position.
"I think last year, he was one of our more consistent players," head coach Jeff Hafley said of Sebastian. "He's tackling at a high level, and he certainly made a great play last week. He's been very consistent. There are still some things that he will tell you he needs to work on, but I'm pleased with where he is right now."
'Where he is' is front and center of a defensive backfield loaded with depth after a preseason position battle. He was needed for only one tackle against both Colgate and Temple before he played this past weekend against Missouri, and neither team scored an offensive touchdown against the Eagles' defense. He specifically led a unit that held Temple's Randle Jones and Jadan Blue in check one week after Jones went for 170 yards and two touchdowns.
Missouri upped the ante by throwing 41 times, but Sebastian rose to his challenge with his seven tackles. Six came via solo efforts, and his primary assignment held Keke Chism out of the end zone despite seven receptions for 67 yards. Three of those catches were in the fourth quarter, but Bazelak only threw underneath or short to Chism after Sebastian denied the sideline and more vertical routes.
Bazelak didn't totally target Chism downfield until the overtime period, but the one sideline route he notably ran failed catastrophically because of Sebastian's coverage. By then, he was ready to check off to a different route, but the throw from Bazelak left his hand early enough for the defensive back to immediately recover.Â
"I saw the quarterback getting ready to throw the ball," Sebastian said, "and I knew he was going to throw it up for a 50-50 ball. I just trusted in my technique and trusted my athletic ability to go up and make a play. I made the play. That's all you can do, [but] I was definitely geeked up about that and excited."
The pick oozed a coolness and more specifically touched off a celebration throughout the sold out crowd. Sebastian's teammates exploded accordingly, but the raw intensity spilled into a sprint across the end zone. Even in that moment, he remained composed, and he chose to use the moment to pay tribute to his brother, Jordan, who passed away in 2017.
"That day my wristband broke," Sebastian said, "but that's my wristband for 'Jordan Strong.' Everyone knows that my brother passed away from cancer, and I just paid tribute to him. He's definitely still watching over me, and I think that would have been a cool experience for him if he had been in the stands. I had [over a dozen] friends and family at the game, so it was cool for everyone to be there and support me."
Every defense has that one player who represents the core identity of the unit, and it's that brand of heart and soul that uniquely positions Sebastian as that person for the 2021 team. He possesses passion but displays it only after he plays with a coolness and calmness. He has a natural magnetism to the way he talks, but he remains committed to working on every piece of his football game. He plays one of the most recognizable positions on BC's team, but he rose to the top of a unit known for its depth and competition among teammates.
"Coach Hafley has definitely embedded [my IQ] within me over these past couple of years," he said, "and especially this year and this past spring. It's helped me gain a better understanding of where I am on the field. If I'm in the red zone, I don't usually have to back up that much because the offense doesn't have to work with a lot of space. So I'm just reading the quarterback. It's really helped me with a bunch of IQ stuff, and technique-wise, I feel like my press-man [coverage] definitely got better.
"I still pay tribute to my old coaches because [people like] Anthony Campanelli were a big influence on me," he added. "[Eric] Lewis definitely taught me how to play freely. So I'm taking pieces from every coach and put it all into one, and it's showing out on the field."
Boston College and No. 25 Clemson will kick off on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. from Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. The game can be seen on national television via the ACC Network as well as on the ESPN online platform of streaming for cable subscribers with access to the channel.
Just ask Virginia Tech after he victimized the Hokies' passing game twice in two years. They won't forget the way he toe-tapped through an interception during a pivotal moment in the third quarter of their 2018 meeting, and they probably remember vividly how he defied the laws of gravity and physics for a pick in their 2019 meeting. Both interceptions were game changers, and both left coaching staffs scratching their heads over the recurrent nightmare of a defensive back doing his best Superman impression.
Maybe it's worth asking Cincinnati, too. The Bearcats were on a near-perfect game during a rainy, sloppy afternoon in Birmingham when BC blocked a 58-yard field goal attempt. The ball bounced in the backfield, but the lasting image was that of Sebastian scooping it for a 67-yard sprint to the end zone for the Eagles' first points.
If none of those work, the question should be geared to Clemson this week after the Tigers watched the unthinkable happen to running back Travis Etienne. The No. 25 overall pick in this year's NFL Draft botched a handoff at the BC goal line while his team trailed by a touchdown at the start of the third quarter, and they all could only watch helplessly as Sebastian deked around the frantic tackle attempt by quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. Ninety-seven yards later, it was a touchdown, but it was for the white jerseys of BC and not a tying score for the home side.
Those all are worth a conversation, but few will produce the reaction of the Missouri Tigers after Connor Bazelak flung his first pass in overtime towards the end zone. It never reached his intended target because of Sebastian's ability to fly through the air, catch a football and land on the ground with an interception to seal a 41-34 win for BC.
"There were endless texts and a lot of people from home, a lot of close friends and family," Sebastian said with a smile this week. "My phone nearly froze when I was trying to get on it because so many people hit me up about [the pick]. I had to spend almost two hours in the locker room texting people back saying thank you."
It was the kind of play reserved for end-of-year montages, but it apparently is old hat for Sebastian. Now a graduate student in his fifth year, he's the island on which receivers are marooned. He's a lockdown corner and the No. 1 target for the Boston College defense, and after he scored seven tackles and the game-clinching pick against Mizzou, he's also the reigning ACC Player of the Week at his position.
"I think last year, he was one of our more consistent players," head coach Jeff Hafley said of Sebastian. "He's tackling at a high level, and he certainly made a great play last week. He's been very consistent. There are still some things that he will tell you he needs to work on, but I'm pleased with where he is right now."
'Where he is' is front and center of a defensive backfield loaded with depth after a preseason position battle. He was needed for only one tackle against both Colgate and Temple before he played this past weekend against Missouri, and neither team scored an offensive touchdown against the Eagles' defense. He specifically led a unit that held Temple's Randle Jones and Jadan Blue in check one week after Jones went for 170 yards and two touchdowns.
Missouri upped the ante by throwing 41 times, but Sebastian rose to his challenge with his seven tackles. Six came via solo efforts, and his primary assignment held Keke Chism out of the end zone despite seven receptions for 67 yards. Three of those catches were in the fourth quarter, but Bazelak only threw underneath or short to Chism after Sebastian denied the sideline and more vertical routes.
Bazelak didn't totally target Chism downfield until the overtime period, but the one sideline route he notably ran failed catastrophically because of Sebastian's coverage. By then, he was ready to check off to a different route, but the throw from Bazelak left his hand early enough for the defensive back to immediately recover.Â
"I saw the quarterback getting ready to throw the ball," Sebastian said, "and I knew he was going to throw it up for a 50-50 ball. I just trusted in my technique and trusted my athletic ability to go up and make a play. I made the play. That's all you can do, [but] I was definitely geeked up about that and excited."
The pick oozed a coolness and more specifically touched off a celebration throughout the sold out crowd. Sebastian's teammates exploded accordingly, but the raw intensity spilled into a sprint across the end zone. Even in that moment, he remained composed, and he chose to use the moment to pay tribute to his brother, Jordan, who passed away in 2017.
"That day my wristband broke," Sebastian said, "but that's my wristband for 'Jordan Strong.' Everyone knows that my brother passed away from cancer, and I just paid tribute to him. He's definitely still watching over me, and I think that would have been a cool experience for him if he had been in the stands. I had [over a dozen] friends and family at the game, so it was cool for everyone to be there and support me."
Every defense has that one player who represents the core identity of the unit, and it's that brand of heart and soul that uniquely positions Sebastian as that person for the 2021 team. He possesses passion but displays it only after he plays with a coolness and calmness. He has a natural magnetism to the way he talks, but he remains committed to working on every piece of his football game. He plays one of the most recognizable positions on BC's team, but he rose to the top of a unit known for its depth and competition among teammates.
"Coach Hafley has definitely embedded [my IQ] within me over these past couple of years," he said, "and especially this year and this past spring. It's helped me gain a better understanding of where I am on the field. If I'm in the red zone, I don't usually have to back up that much because the offense doesn't have to work with a lot of space. So I'm just reading the quarterback. It's really helped me with a bunch of IQ stuff, and technique-wise, I feel like my press-man [coverage] definitely got better.
"I still pay tribute to my old coaches because [people like] Anthony Campanelli were a big influence on me," he added. "[Eric] Lewis definitely taught me how to play freely. So I'm taking pieces from every coach and put it all into one, and it's showing out on the field."
Boston College and No. 25 Clemson will kick off on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. from Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. The game can be seen on national television via the ACC Network as well as on the ESPN online platform of streaming for cable subscribers with access to the channel.
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