Boston College Athletics
Photo by: Anthony Garro
The Greatest Receiver In BC History
November 14, 2022 | Football, #ForBoston Files
One record has fallen with more potentially to come, but Zay Flowers' status is unchallenged.
Zay Flowers' second catch against NC State was an innocuous play compared to the later theatrics of Boston College's 21-20 win over the nationally-ranked Wolfpack. The 15-yard reception on second down moved the sticks up to BC's 48-yard line and inched the team closer to midfield with a fresh set of downs, but it wasn't an acrobatic catch in traffic or the dramatic sprint that turned a routine crossing route into a 35-yard touchdown run to daylight.
It felt quiet with his team trailing by two touchdowns, but the catch set Flowers apart from any other pass catcher who ever suited up for the Eagles' familiar maroon and gold because it moved him atop the list of all-time receiving yards. It made him No. 1 on a list that included heroes of decades past, though it was the latest slightly understated chunk of a career spent chasing down the greatest players in Boston College's history.
"It's so much bigger than just football for Zay," said head coach Jeff Hafley in the aftermath of BC's win. "It's the type of kid he is. It's the right choices he's made. It's how he treats people with how hard he practices. He deserves to have the record, and he deserves all the success coming to him because it's rare when the best player, when things are down, is still doing everything that he's done. I would put him up against any wide receiver in the country right now, and there's not another wide receiver I want on my team."
Alex Amidon was a one-man wrecking crew whose 165 passes over a two-year transitional period in BC's history entrenched him on the receiving Mt. Rushmore next to tight end Pete Mitchell and fellow wideout Rich Gunnell. He was responsible for 37 percent of all completed passes in 2012, and though BC moved away from the pass-first offense installed by offensive coordinator Doug Martin during a 2-10 season, his production increased to 47 percent one year later, even as the changeover in offenses removed an emphasis on the passing game under new head coach Steve Addazio and offensive coordinator Ryan Day.
That duo had a pound-the-rock mentality, but Amdion very quietly moved past every major receiving name after quarterback Chase Rettig quietly converted to a roll-out quarterback as Andre Williams rushed for 2,000-plus yards behind a seven-wide line of scrimmage. He was essentially the only option utilized in the passing game, and after BC improved to 7-5 in 2013, his career ended with 191 receptions for exactly 2,800 yards while his consecutive season outputs of 78 and 77 receptions broke and nearly re-broke the record for most catches in a single season.
Those numbers - particularly the career reception and yardage numbers - didn't seem likely to fall all that quickly given Amidon's single-minded targeting, and Zay Flowers was nowhere near the name capable of breaking those records after he had more rushing attempts than receptions during his freshman year. He was a burner with speed but didn't run routes, and the offense wasn't throwing the ball with the regularity needed to post those numbers while Addazio's run-first mentality remained a successful primary scheme.
That didn't mean Flowers lacked explosiveness, but the run-first scheme produced a 2,000-yard Heisman Trophy finalist in Williams before AJ Dillon shattered the all-time rushing yards record with 4,382 yards and 38 touchdowns in three years. It wasn't focused on getting the ball out to receivers with any type of major frequency, but another shift, this time to Hafley and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, inherited a prime candidate for a new style of offense. They just needed to give him a chance to gel with a new quarterback, a new position coach, and a new scheme, even though that didn't immediately mean they saw what was available for the future.
"I remember when we got here and just watched the tape," Hafley said. "He was more of a jet sweep, reverse, bubble guy, and a lot of times, some guys who are small - and let's not call Zay small because he plays really strong - but a lot of times, some of those guys get pigeonholed into those roles."
That first season, though, produced an immediate explosion, and Flowers' immediate chemistry with quarterback Phil Jurkovec helped spur a 56-catch season. His 892 yards were seventh all-time for a single season, and after Jurkovec missed time with a late injury, his 180-yard game during the season finale against Virginia helped Dennis Grosel throw for more single-game yards than any other quarterback not named Doug Flutie.Â
A year later, another injury to Jurkovec cost the offense some of its explosiveness, but Flowers remained productive with 44 receptions for 746 yards and five scores, and he hit a high-water mark with eight catches for 62 yards and a touchdown against Missouri before later adding 116 yards on six catches against Syracuse with multiple downfield catches against Georgia Tech and Florida State. The offseason tempted Flowers with a well-publicized decision to leave BC for either a bigger option or the NFL, and he returned this season to graduate Boston College after a fourth year with the Eagles.
"When we got here, he started to learn how to run the routes and become a complete receiver," Hafley said. "I thought in those first few years, he really developed, and I think this year, Coach [Darrell] Wyatt's done a tremendous job with him. We kind of asked him to make it harder [for Zay], and we started moving him around a lot."
Flowers has always been a running storyline for BC, but no questions remain about his status in the Eagles' program after the next two weeks. He's caught passes from multiple quarterbacks ranging from Anthony Brown and Dennis Grosel to Phil Jurkovec and Emmett Morehead. He needs two catches to match Amidon's career receptions record, and his 2,900 career yards are now exactly 100 yards in front of the next-closest receiver. He needs one more touchdown to tie Kelvin Martin's career record for receiving scores, and he needs less than 80 yards to achieve the fourth-ever 1,000-yard season in program history with an outside shot at breaking Amidon's 1,215 yards from 2012. His nine 100-yard games are also two back of the record.
"He's not playing one position," said Hafley. "He's not just lining up in the slot. Sometimes the single-X on the backside, sometimes he plays number one to the field. We've lined him up in the backfield, and we're moving him around. Talking to NFL guys, he's not pigeon-holed into being one of those [jet sweep] guys anymore. He's a complete wide receiver, and he deserves the credit because he's worked at it. He's had to learn it.Â
"I've seen his development go from watching tape of a double-jet guy to developing a new, complete wide receiver playing at one position," Hafley said, "and now where he's at this year, he can run an entire route for you, he can take the top off coverage or run intermediate routes, your digs, your corner routes, your double moves. He's good in the quick game, and with RPOs, there are bubbles and screens where you can get the ball to a complete football player, not just a wide receiver."
It felt quiet with his team trailing by two touchdowns, but the catch set Flowers apart from any other pass catcher who ever suited up for the Eagles' familiar maroon and gold because it moved him atop the list of all-time receiving yards. It made him No. 1 on a list that included heroes of decades past, though it was the latest slightly understated chunk of a career spent chasing down the greatest players in Boston College's history.
"It's so much bigger than just football for Zay," said head coach Jeff Hafley in the aftermath of BC's win. "It's the type of kid he is. It's the right choices he's made. It's how he treats people with how hard he practices. He deserves to have the record, and he deserves all the success coming to him because it's rare when the best player, when things are down, is still doing everything that he's done. I would put him up against any wide receiver in the country right now, and there's not another wide receiver I want on my team."
Alex Amidon was a one-man wrecking crew whose 165 passes over a two-year transitional period in BC's history entrenched him on the receiving Mt. Rushmore next to tight end Pete Mitchell and fellow wideout Rich Gunnell. He was responsible for 37 percent of all completed passes in 2012, and though BC moved away from the pass-first offense installed by offensive coordinator Doug Martin during a 2-10 season, his production increased to 47 percent one year later, even as the changeover in offenses removed an emphasis on the passing game under new head coach Steve Addazio and offensive coordinator Ryan Day.
That duo had a pound-the-rock mentality, but Amdion very quietly moved past every major receiving name after quarterback Chase Rettig quietly converted to a roll-out quarterback as Andre Williams rushed for 2,000-plus yards behind a seven-wide line of scrimmage. He was essentially the only option utilized in the passing game, and after BC improved to 7-5 in 2013, his career ended with 191 receptions for exactly 2,800 yards while his consecutive season outputs of 78 and 77 receptions broke and nearly re-broke the record for most catches in a single season.
Those numbers - particularly the career reception and yardage numbers - didn't seem likely to fall all that quickly given Amidon's single-minded targeting, and Zay Flowers was nowhere near the name capable of breaking those records after he had more rushing attempts than receptions during his freshman year. He was a burner with speed but didn't run routes, and the offense wasn't throwing the ball with the regularity needed to post those numbers while Addazio's run-first mentality remained a successful primary scheme.
That didn't mean Flowers lacked explosiveness, but the run-first scheme produced a 2,000-yard Heisman Trophy finalist in Williams before AJ Dillon shattered the all-time rushing yards record with 4,382 yards and 38 touchdowns in three years. It wasn't focused on getting the ball out to receivers with any type of major frequency, but another shift, this time to Hafley and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, inherited a prime candidate for a new style of offense. They just needed to give him a chance to gel with a new quarterback, a new position coach, and a new scheme, even though that didn't immediately mean they saw what was available for the future.
"I remember when we got here and just watched the tape," Hafley said. "He was more of a jet sweep, reverse, bubble guy, and a lot of times, some guys who are small - and let's not call Zay small because he plays really strong - but a lot of times, some of those guys get pigeonholed into those roles."
That first season, though, produced an immediate explosion, and Flowers' immediate chemistry with quarterback Phil Jurkovec helped spur a 56-catch season. His 892 yards were seventh all-time for a single season, and after Jurkovec missed time with a late injury, his 180-yard game during the season finale against Virginia helped Dennis Grosel throw for more single-game yards than any other quarterback not named Doug Flutie.Â
A year later, another injury to Jurkovec cost the offense some of its explosiveness, but Flowers remained productive with 44 receptions for 746 yards and five scores, and he hit a high-water mark with eight catches for 62 yards and a touchdown against Missouri before later adding 116 yards on six catches against Syracuse with multiple downfield catches against Georgia Tech and Florida State. The offseason tempted Flowers with a well-publicized decision to leave BC for either a bigger option or the NFL, and he returned this season to graduate Boston College after a fourth year with the Eagles.
"When we got here, he started to learn how to run the routes and become a complete receiver," Hafley said. "I thought in those first few years, he really developed, and I think this year, Coach [Darrell] Wyatt's done a tremendous job with him. We kind of asked him to make it harder [for Zay], and we started moving him around a lot."
Flowers has always been a running storyline for BC, but no questions remain about his status in the Eagles' program after the next two weeks. He's caught passes from multiple quarterbacks ranging from Anthony Brown and Dennis Grosel to Phil Jurkovec and Emmett Morehead. He needs two catches to match Amidon's career receptions record, and his 2,900 career yards are now exactly 100 yards in front of the next-closest receiver. He needs one more touchdown to tie Kelvin Martin's career record for receiving scores, and he needs less than 80 yards to achieve the fourth-ever 1,000-yard season in program history with an outside shot at breaking Amidon's 1,215 yards from 2012. His nine 100-yard games are also two back of the record.
"He's not playing one position," said Hafley. "He's not just lining up in the slot. Sometimes the single-X on the backside, sometimes he plays number one to the field. We've lined him up in the backfield, and we're moving him around. Talking to NFL guys, he's not pigeon-holed into being one of those [jet sweep] guys anymore. He's a complete wide receiver, and he deserves the credit because he's worked at it. He's had to learn it.Â
"I've seen his development go from watching tape of a double-jet guy to developing a new, complete wide receiver playing at one position," Hafley said, "and now where he's at this year, he can run an entire route for you, he can take the top off coverage or run intermediate routes, your digs, your corner routes, your double moves. He's good in the quick game, and with RPOs, there are bubbles and screens where you can get the ball to a complete football player, not just a wide receiver."
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