Photo by: John Quackenbos
Spring Rewind: Celebrating The Depth Last Saturday
April 12, 2022 | Football, #ForBoston Files
The Jay McGillis Spring Game was an opportunity to learn names that go unrecognized during the week.
Few opportunities exist for fans and analysts to watch a college football program's depth of players on the field. It don't show up on game day, and the absence of open practices during the regular season translates more directly to the third or fourth string's operation occurring more in the shadows than the first string players. Teams and programs have ways to recognize the practice players of the week, but their performances are seldom witnessed in front of television cameras or fans within the confines of a stadium's bright lights.
The Jay McGillis Memorial Spring Game offered one of those rare chances last Saturday when quarterback Jack Brandon and wide receiver Luke McLaughlin scored twice to finalize a 22-10 result. They connected once for each side in the last 10 minutes and electrified both sidelines in a game where the final score didn't matter, finishing a day in which the entire Boston College team was on display before a national television audience.
"That was really cool about [the game]," said head coach Jeff Hafley. "At the end, we had a couple of guys who don't get a lot of reps. One gets an interception, and then Jack makes all those plays to Luke. If you noticed how excited our guys got for them, that's what I take away, how much this team cares about each other and enjoys each other. It's not just the superstars but the guys who show up that [nobody] knows but make plays."
Depth chart players are vital to every football program and are often well-regarded by their teammates for the sacrifices they endure during a season. Their tasks center on learning an opponent's advance scouting to prepare the first and second team units for an upcoming game, but they likewise stand on the sidelines to sponge whatever information is available during the strength-on-strength drills between the top lines.Â
Their input is invaluable, but nobody ever truly sees them compete unless they can attend practice. It's hard to identify their names and numbers without a roster sheet, and fans can't readily fathom how their intensity makes them popular with both teammates and coaches who appreciate their sacrifices.
Saturday was one of those rare chances to appreciate an opportunity in the public sector, and like in practice, the depth chart made the most of its time on the field. Every quarterback struggled to complete passes against a defense playing exclusively in man-to-man, single coverage, but Brandon finished with two touchdowns on three completions and averaged the second-most yards behind Phil Jurkovec.Â
He completed the two touchdowns to Luke McLaughlin, who finished with four catches for 38 yards, and later completed a two-point conversion to receiver Jacob Kraft, who finished with three receptions for 19 yards.Â
"That's my guy," running back Xavier Coleman said of McLaughlin's two touchdowns. "Just seeing him get some touchdowns, the offense exploded. Everybody's so tight-knit, so when somebody makes a play, especially a guy that doesn't get a lot of opportunities to make plays, we're super excited for him."
They led the highlight reel parade of plays for names rarely called on a Saturday afternoon and created a cross-section with fellow young players fighting for position and practice time. Redshirt sophomore running back Andre Hines, for example, finished second to Alec Sinkfield with 41 yards on seven carries, while Jackson Treister rushed three times for 11 yards, a better overall output than stalwart Patrick Garwo.
Walk-on defensive back Brandon Summers, meanwhile, produced the game's only interception when he picked off quarterback Daelen Menard and returned it nearly 50 yards, and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Quintayvious Hutchins joined fellow redshirt freshman Ty Clemons on the sack parade that produced five "takedowns" of the quarterback positions.
"[We] mixed in a bunch of young guys who haven't played so much," Hafley said, "but they're really good players, and I think they're being coached really well by the coaches. I think we have a chance to be really, really good in the back end. There's some [pass interference] calls that I'd like to see on tape and like to coach off to work off of those, but they were physical and finished violent."
Nobody wants to overreach on a spring game, but the plays at the end are what football camps are all about. For the depth chart players, it was a chance to shine before a national television audience and dream about making their way into the lineup. For young players still developing, the spring game was an opportunity to envision their future either in the fall or beyond. It's hard to tell, but for one day, talk about the future prospects shifted to the side in favor of a sideline explosion for the players who are truly the diesel fueling the team on a weekly basis.
Â
The Jay McGillis Memorial Spring Game offered one of those rare chances last Saturday when quarterback Jack Brandon and wide receiver Luke McLaughlin scored twice to finalize a 22-10 result. They connected once for each side in the last 10 minutes and electrified both sidelines in a game where the final score didn't matter, finishing a day in which the entire Boston College team was on display before a national television audience.
"That was really cool about [the game]," said head coach Jeff Hafley. "At the end, we had a couple of guys who don't get a lot of reps. One gets an interception, and then Jack makes all those plays to Luke. If you noticed how excited our guys got for them, that's what I take away, how much this team cares about each other and enjoys each other. It's not just the superstars but the guys who show up that [nobody] knows but make plays."
Depth chart players are vital to every football program and are often well-regarded by their teammates for the sacrifices they endure during a season. Their tasks center on learning an opponent's advance scouting to prepare the first and second team units for an upcoming game, but they likewise stand on the sidelines to sponge whatever information is available during the strength-on-strength drills between the top lines.Â
Their input is invaluable, but nobody ever truly sees them compete unless they can attend practice. It's hard to identify their names and numbers without a roster sheet, and fans can't readily fathom how their intensity makes them popular with both teammates and coaches who appreciate their sacrifices.
Saturday was one of those rare chances to appreciate an opportunity in the public sector, and like in practice, the depth chart made the most of its time on the field. Every quarterback struggled to complete passes against a defense playing exclusively in man-to-man, single coverage, but Brandon finished with two touchdowns on three completions and averaged the second-most yards behind Phil Jurkovec.Â
He completed the two touchdowns to Luke McLaughlin, who finished with four catches for 38 yards, and later completed a two-point conversion to receiver Jacob Kraft, who finished with three receptions for 19 yards.Â
"That's my guy," running back Xavier Coleman said of McLaughlin's two touchdowns. "Just seeing him get some touchdowns, the offense exploded. Everybody's so tight-knit, so when somebody makes a play, especially a guy that doesn't get a lot of opportunities to make plays, we're super excited for him."
They led the highlight reel parade of plays for names rarely called on a Saturday afternoon and created a cross-section with fellow young players fighting for position and practice time. Redshirt sophomore running back Andre Hines, for example, finished second to Alec Sinkfield with 41 yards on seven carries, while Jackson Treister rushed three times for 11 yards, a better overall output than stalwart Patrick Garwo.
Walk-on defensive back Brandon Summers, meanwhile, produced the game's only interception when he picked off quarterback Daelen Menard and returned it nearly 50 yards, and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Quintayvious Hutchins joined fellow redshirt freshman Ty Clemons on the sack parade that produced five "takedowns" of the quarterback positions.
"[We] mixed in a bunch of young guys who haven't played so much," Hafley said, "but they're really good players, and I think they're being coached really well by the coaches. I think we have a chance to be really, really good in the back end. There's some [pass interference] calls that I'd like to see on tape and like to coach off to work off of those, but they were physical and finished violent."
Nobody wants to overreach on a spring game, but the plays at the end are what football camps are all about. For the depth chart players, it was a chance to shine before a national television audience and dream about making their way into the lineup. For young players still developing, the spring game was an opportunity to envision their future either in the fall or beyond. It's hard to tell, but for one day, talk about the future prospects shifted to the side in favor of a sideline explosion for the players who are truly the diesel fueling the team on a weekly basis.
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