Why BC Is A Life-Changing Decision For Eagles
August 13, 2022 | Football, #ForBoston Files
Wins and losses matter, but what happens off the field defines what it means to be an Eagle.
Few decisions are more difficult for a high school senior than choosing the right college. There are so many different elements involved that it's impossible to fully fathom how every value as a student or as a person individually or collectively impacts the decision. The options and choices are overwhelming, especially since it ultimately boils down to a singular signature that becomes a reflection of their choices both academically and socially.
Every high school senior knows the stress of that decision, but there's a uniqueness involved when it impacts student-athletes. They have an added layer of complexity because they seek the same decision as their peers while concurrently attempting to maximize their playing career in their sport. Their recruitment is intended to influence or sway the decision one way or another, and the relief or celebration of a signed letter of intent is often the end of an incredible journey of self-discovery and reflection.
That's always meant something at Boston College, an institution founded and steeped in the traditions of the full student experience. Recruits to this school are different and accept the challenge of developing their body and spirit beyond their perceived limitations. They are more than just athletes and more than just students, and every year, new groups matriculate and graduate to and from The Heights understanding that the greater mission is to produce elite level competition, both inside the classroom and on their respective playing field.
"My dad wanted me to get my degree because I'll be the first one in my family [to graduate college]," said wide receiver Zay Flowers about his final year in Chestnut Hill, "and i just felt like I had unfinished business - Phil [Jurkovec], me, the rest of the team. I felt like we could have been the best in the ACC, not just last year because we had a lot of adversity last year, but I thought we could be one of the best [teams] in our division."
This offseason brought Flowers in particular to the front of the conversation when he chose to remain at BC amidst a college football atmosphere clouded by increasing instability. He was a rising senior but was eligible for the NFL Draft after completing his third year, which meant he faced a two-fold decision about whether or not to leave Boston College for perceived greener pastures.
His bona fides certainly backed up the conversation after he went from averaging seven yards per carry with 22 catches in his freshman year to the second First Team All-ACC receiver in program history in 2020. He was 18th nationally and second in the ACC with 892 yards that year, and his 56 catches helped him to a top-15 finish with nine touchdown catches. Those scores ranked second in the BC single-season record books, and his breakout performance in Jeff Hafley's head coaching debut included 162 yards on five receptions from Jurkovec. Later, he posted 180 yards on eight catches in the season finale against Virginia, a game in which quarterback Dennis Grosel tied the program single-game record with 520 yards.
It was a breakout unlike any other receiver in Boston College program history, and it forced defenses to defend him with more exclusive coverage during his junior season. Football itself restored a more traditional season after the strange, COVID-impacted year in 2020, but Flowers posted numbers that broke him into elite company in BC's record book. He caught 122 balls - 12th most in program history - for 1,979 yards (10th all-time for people still keeping score), and his 17 receiving touchdowns were the fifth most by a BC receiver. Two separate occasions sent him over the century mark, most notably when he went for 116 yards on six catches against Syracuse.
"I wasn't the only one that could make big plays," Flowers emphasized. "We have Jaelen Gill and Jaden Williams, and we have a lot of people. We all can make plays, so it's really not just me [contributing] when I make big plays. There's [credit] for them, too."
He was always a unique athlete, but the steadfast improvement dropped a difficult decision at his door at the end of last season. Experts widely believed he could test professional waters, but the more likely prognostication saw him transferring to those better fields of the perceived football factories. They saw BC as a hurdle, and in the era of the NCAA's Name, Image, and Likeness campaigns, they expected flashier programs to lure Flowers away from Chestnut Hill.
The inherent problem overlooked the factors involved with the decision. It's critically important to note how every student-athlete makes the right decision for themselves and their families, and no one person makes a decision that's better or worse than the next person. Tight end Hunter Long, for example, faced a similar proposition to Flowers just one year earlier and opted into the NFL Draft before the Miami Dolphins drafted him with the 81st overall selection in the third round, a decision in line with Luke Kuechly's declaration more than a decade earlier.
But the predictors didn't understand what made Flowers (or any other Eagle, for that matter) tick. It was his decision to do it differently by staying with Boston College, and no matter what happened on the football field, he would graduate in the spring as the first member of his family with a college degree. That opportunity was deeply personal, even though it wasn't wholly exclusive to him as a member of the BC program.
"BC talks about developing the whole person," said defensive lineman Marcus Valdez. "Obviously, we play sports, but [there is] an academic portion, a faith and spirituality portion, that's just developing your character. For me, getting an MBA is great, and I've been working on it for a little while now. It's going to be great to finish my [college football] career here, and at the same time, it's going to open a lot of roads for me when football's over. I'll always be grateful for that."
Valdez joked with the media about coming back for a sixth year, but his commentary was more serious when it boiled down to obtaining his Master's degree. The "COVID season" of 2020 earned everyone an extra year of eligibility, which for him meant he could play a sixth year for the Eagles. Having been retained for that final year, he was now able to complete a Master's in Business Administration degree this winter, his second degree from BC.
Jaiden Woodbey, meanwhile, passed the Massachusetts Life Insurance exam last month and previously announced his intention to graduate with an undergraduate degree, two master's degree and a real estate license, and his summation of what it meant to transfer to BC echoed when he said he wanted to ensure his family's economic well-being.
"I want to make sure my parents don't have to work again," he said, "[and] build generational wealth and just build a legacy outside of football, just in life."
That's why it's different at Boston College. It's a marathon built around personal goals embedded deep within who the Eagles are as people. It's fostered and enhanced by coaches and professors who believe in the messaging, and it's a legacy built, brick by brick, class by class, recruit by recruit, all of whom are striving for something bigger and better than their own personal self.
Every high school senior knows the stress of that decision, but there's a uniqueness involved when it impacts student-athletes. They have an added layer of complexity because they seek the same decision as their peers while concurrently attempting to maximize their playing career in their sport. Their recruitment is intended to influence or sway the decision one way or another, and the relief or celebration of a signed letter of intent is often the end of an incredible journey of self-discovery and reflection.
That's always meant something at Boston College, an institution founded and steeped in the traditions of the full student experience. Recruits to this school are different and accept the challenge of developing their body and spirit beyond their perceived limitations. They are more than just athletes and more than just students, and every year, new groups matriculate and graduate to and from The Heights understanding that the greater mission is to produce elite level competition, both inside the classroom and on their respective playing field.
"My dad wanted me to get my degree because I'll be the first one in my family [to graduate college]," said wide receiver Zay Flowers about his final year in Chestnut Hill, "and i just felt like I had unfinished business - Phil [Jurkovec], me, the rest of the team. I felt like we could have been the best in the ACC, not just last year because we had a lot of adversity last year, but I thought we could be one of the best [teams] in our division."
This offseason brought Flowers in particular to the front of the conversation when he chose to remain at BC amidst a college football atmosphere clouded by increasing instability. He was a rising senior but was eligible for the NFL Draft after completing his third year, which meant he faced a two-fold decision about whether or not to leave Boston College for perceived greener pastures.
His bona fides certainly backed up the conversation after he went from averaging seven yards per carry with 22 catches in his freshman year to the second First Team All-ACC receiver in program history in 2020. He was 18th nationally and second in the ACC with 892 yards that year, and his 56 catches helped him to a top-15 finish with nine touchdown catches. Those scores ranked second in the BC single-season record books, and his breakout performance in Jeff Hafley's head coaching debut included 162 yards on five receptions from Jurkovec. Later, he posted 180 yards on eight catches in the season finale against Virginia, a game in which quarterback Dennis Grosel tied the program single-game record with 520 yards.
It was a breakout unlike any other receiver in Boston College program history, and it forced defenses to defend him with more exclusive coverage during his junior season. Football itself restored a more traditional season after the strange, COVID-impacted year in 2020, but Flowers posted numbers that broke him into elite company in BC's record book. He caught 122 balls - 12th most in program history - for 1,979 yards (10th all-time for people still keeping score), and his 17 receiving touchdowns were the fifth most by a BC receiver. Two separate occasions sent him over the century mark, most notably when he went for 116 yards on six catches against Syracuse.
"I wasn't the only one that could make big plays," Flowers emphasized. "We have Jaelen Gill and Jaden Williams, and we have a lot of people. We all can make plays, so it's really not just me [contributing] when I make big plays. There's [credit] for them, too."
He was always a unique athlete, but the steadfast improvement dropped a difficult decision at his door at the end of last season. Experts widely believed he could test professional waters, but the more likely prognostication saw him transferring to those better fields of the perceived football factories. They saw BC as a hurdle, and in the era of the NCAA's Name, Image, and Likeness campaigns, they expected flashier programs to lure Flowers away from Chestnut Hill.
The inherent problem overlooked the factors involved with the decision. It's critically important to note how every student-athlete makes the right decision for themselves and their families, and no one person makes a decision that's better or worse than the next person. Tight end Hunter Long, for example, faced a similar proposition to Flowers just one year earlier and opted into the NFL Draft before the Miami Dolphins drafted him with the 81st overall selection in the third round, a decision in line with Luke Kuechly's declaration more than a decade earlier.
But the predictors didn't understand what made Flowers (or any other Eagle, for that matter) tick. It was his decision to do it differently by staying with Boston College, and no matter what happened on the football field, he would graduate in the spring as the first member of his family with a college degree. That opportunity was deeply personal, even though it wasn't wholly exclusive to him as a member of the BC program.
"BC talks about developing the whole person," said defensive lineman Marcus Valdez. "Obviously, we play sports, but [there is] an academic portion, a faith and spirituality portion, that's just developing your character. For me, getting an MBA is great, and I've been working on it for a little while now. It's going to be great to finish my [college football] career here, and at the same time, it's going to open a lot of roads for me when football's over. I'll always be grateful for that."
Valdez joked with the media about coming back for a sixth year, but his commentary was more serious when it boiled down to obtaining his Master's degree. The "COVID season" of 2020 earned everyone an extra year of eligibility, which for him meant he could play a sixth year for the Eagles. Having been retained for that final year, he was now able to complete a Master's in Business Administration degree this winter, his second degree from BC.
Jaiden Woodbey, meanwhile, passed the Massachusetts Life Insurance exam last month and previously announced his intention to graduate with an undergraduate degree, two master's degree and a real estate license, and his summation of what it meant to transfer to BC echoed when he said he wanted to ensure his family's economic well-being.
"I want to make sure my parents don't have to work again," he said, "[and] build generational wealth and just build a legacy outside of football, just in life."
That's why it's different at Boston College. It's a marathon built around personal goals embedded deep within who the Eagles are as people. It's fostered and enhanced by coaches and professors who believe in the messaging, and it's a legacy built, brick by brick, class by class, recruit by recruit, all of whom are striving for something bigger and better than their own personal self.
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