Boston College Athletics
Beyond Depth, A Cultural Awakening Among Players
August 17, 2023 | Football, #ForBoston Files
Sure it's great when a freshman hits a play, but there's more to it than meets the eye.
Every preseason has that one moment where an upstart athlete makes a head-turning play. It's completely unscripted, and even though it's as reliable as anything during training camp, watching a young player blossom on an individual play still surprises veterans, media, coaches, and any observers to the degree that it draws the loudest cheers of a scrimmage or practice session.
For Boston College, the first of those public moments occurred on Sunday morning when freshman quarterback Jacobe Robinson found fellow rookie Reed Harris on a downfield route. The first teamers were on the sideline, already unbuckling their pads, and the families attending the scrimmage were busy packing chairs and bags for the inevitable walk back to their cars. Nobody was really expecting much from players battling down the depth chart, but in that moment, a rainbow pass caught a receiver with a step for the type of vertical touchdown that would have sent Alumni Stadium into a frenzy.
It being Fish Field House, Robinson and Harris settled for the smiles and adulation of their teammates, and in the aftermath of the scrimmage, even head coach Jeff Hafley had to acknowledge the moment as one of those rewarding pieces of film for a team bent on rebuilding its chemistry and culture after a disappointing 2022 season.
"We wanted every player on our team to get in," Hafley said. "That was for evaluation, but those guys deserve to play. Their parents were here, and they're a part of the team, so I made sure that we were going a little extra to give them a chance to play."
Coaches don't always have an opportunity to evaluate young players during the season, so gathering film on depth chart recruits and prospects is critical at a time when they often have to understand a program's future foundation. The players themselves are incredibly competitive because they only receive limited action during practice, and the speed with which they operate exudes an energy for people relegated to the shadows of a regular season.
On even more rare occasions, players without established histories battle veterans in the one-on-one preparation drills for possible game snaps. On Sunday, redshirt freshman Ismael Zamor found himself locked against defensive back Elijah Jones in one of those such situations, to which the rookie who didn't play last year nearly scored a touchdown on a fade route before the graduate student made a play to break up the pass.Â
"Elijah goes about his business as extremely intelligent and with confidence," said co-defensive coordinator Aazaar Abdul-Rahim. "That type of confidence exudes off on the rest of his room, where he's not out there [playing] nervous. He's a leader on and off the field. He understands the defense, not just his position but the entire defense, so beyond playing inside and outside, he can help even if he's sitting out of a practice. He's like a coach on the sideline, and the way he coaches these kids is so invaluable. We're a little young in [some] roles, and he's helping out there by going about his business. Every day is a good example, more than just what he says."
To a degree, understanding those roles underscores Hafley's balance beam preparation for the upcoming season. He loves going "good-on-good" in practice as a way of sharpening iron with more iron, but repeated blows and overworking the first teams under the muggy, humid summer conditions contributes risk towards a delicate injury report. In event someone gets hurt in a hyper-competitive situation, it's better to have someone capable of stepping into those roles, a fact BC learned all too well last season.
Gathering film on depth players then opens possibilities and competition, and the idea is that the entire roster remains fluid based on how formations and game plans change. Injuries aside, figuring out what type of football works against a different opponent opens the playbook if more players are game-ready. Even if a player isn't operating at the top of his potential, having extra weapons creates more deception within an offense, something BC utilized during Zay Flowers' first year when he primarily ran jet sweeps while developing into a top-flight receiver.
"We're ahead of where we've been in the past," Hafley said, "and that's all install. I think in many areas, you call it a scrimmage and get reps, and it's the same plays that we run in practice but with the coaches not on the field where they're helping you a little bit. It feels a little bit different, and there are some mistakes where something gets sloppy, but there was a lot of good. We've never had [the installation] done this quickly, so now we have the rest of the time to just play football."
"You're doing certain things that you would as if it were a game," agreed Abdul-Rahim. "Just being on the sideline is a big difference than coaching someone from behind [because] you're letting these young men play. I really believe we made a concerted effort for them to be process-driven to focus on [the scrimmage], and we really stressed technique and finishing."
Those serious undertones are why those explosive moments by depth players aren't just fun and games. It's great to see a third or fourth quarterback deliver a perfect pass to a receiver, but even getting burned builds a database for a defensive back who might need to step on the field. Playing a two-minute drill against a second string equally constructs knowledge, and everything, every ounce, is transferable to situations where a second or third option is required.
"We have a phenomenal staff," Abdul-Rahim reiterated. "It starts with our head coach, who is one of the greatest DB coaches I've been around. You bring in [outside linebackers coach] Paul Rhoads, who is a secondary guy, plus with [safeties coach] Matt Thurin and myself, there are a lot of eyes on these individuals. We have a lot of competition at all positions, and we'll meet together as a group before separating and really getting into the specifics of a position [with the players]. That leads to a lot of eyes that are nickel-specific, free and strong safety-specific, on boundary corners and field corners. So we're blessed to have that staff."
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For Boston College, the first of those public moments occurred on Sunday morning when freshman quarterback Jacobe Robinson found fellow rookie Reed Harris on a downfield route. The first teamers were on the sideline, already unbuckling their pads, and the families attending the scrimmage were busy packing chairs and bags for the inevitable walk back to their cars. Nobody was really expecting much from players battling down the depth chart, but in that moment, a rainbow pass caught a receiver with a step for the type of vertical touchdown that would have sent Alumni Stadium into a frenzy.
It being Fish Field House, Robinson and Harris settled for the smiles and adulation of their teammates, and in the aftermath of the scrimmage, even head coach Jeff Hafley had to acknowledge the moment as one of those rewarding pieces of film for a team bent on rebuilding its chemistry and culture after a disappointing 2022 season.
"We wanted every player on our team to get in," Hafley said. "That was for evaluation, but those guys deserve to play. Their parents were here, and they're a part of the team, so I made sure that we were going a little extra to give them a chance to play."
Coaches don't always have an opportunity to evaluate young players during the season, so gathering film on depth chart recruits and prospects is critical at a time when they often have to understand a program's future foundation. The players themselves are incredibly competitive because they only receive limited action during practice, and the speed with which they operate exudes an energy for people relegated to the shadows of a regular season.
On even more rare occasions, players without established histories battle veterans in the one-on-one preparation drills for possible game snaps. On Sunday, redshirt freshman Ismael Zamor found himself locked against defensive back Elijah Jones in one of those such situations, to which the rookie who didn't play last year nearly scored a touchdown on a fade route before the graduate student made a play to break up the pass.Â
"Elijah goes about his business as extremely intelligent and with confidence," said co-defensive coordinator Aazaar Abdul-Rahim. "That type of confidence exudes off on the rest of his room, where he's not out there [playing] nervous. He's a leader on and off the field. He understands the defense, not just his position but the entire defense, so beyond playing inside and outside, he can help even if he's sitting out of a practice. He's like a coach on the sideline, and the way he coaches these kids is so invaluable. We're a little young in [some] roles, and he's helping out there by going about his business. Every day is a good example, more than just what he says."
To a degree, understanding those roles underscores Hafley's balance beam preparation for the upcoming season. He loves going "good-on-good" in practice as a way of sharpening iron with more iron, but repeated blows and overworking the first teams under the muggy, humid summer conditions contributes risk towards a delicate injury report. In event someone gets hurt in a hyper-competitive situation, it's better to have someone capable of stepping into those roles, a fact BC learned all too well last season.
Gathering film on depth players then opens possibilities and competition, and the idea is that the entire roster remains fluid based on how formations and game plans change. Injuries aside, figuring out what type of football works against a different opponent opens the playbook if more players are game-ready. Even if a player isn't operating at the top of his potential, having extra weapons creates more deception within an offense, something BC utilized during Zay Flowers' first year when he primarily ran jet sweeps while developing into a top-flight receiver.
"We're ahead of where we've been in the past," Hafley said, "and that's all install. I think in many areas, you call it a scrimmage and get reps, and it's the same plays that we run in practice but with the coaches not on the field where they're helping you a little bit. It feels a little bit different, and there are some mistakes where something gets sloppy, but there was a lot of good. We've never had [the installation] done this quickly, so now we have the rest of the time to just play football."
"You're doing certain things that you would as if it were a game," agreed Abdul-Rahim. "Just being on the sideline is a big difference than coaching someone from behind [because] you're letting these young men play. I really believe we made a concerted effort for them to be process-driven to focus on [the scrimmage], and we really stressed technique and finishing."
Those serious undertones are why those explosive moments by depth players aren't just fun and games. It's great to see a third or fourth quarterback deliver a perfect pass to a receiver, but even getting burned builds a database for a defensive back who might need to step on the field. Playing a two-minute drill against a second string equally constructs knowledge, and everything, every ounce, is transferable to situations where a second or third option is required.
"We have a phenomenal staff," Abdul-Rahim reiterated. "It starts with our head coach, who is one of the greatest DB coaches I've been around. You bring in [outside linebackers coach] Paul Rhoads, who is a secondary guy, plus with [safeties coach] Matt Thurin and myself, there are a lot of eyes on these individuals. We have a lot of competition at all positions, and we'll meet together as a group before separating and really getting into the specifics of a position [with the players]. That leads to a lot of eyes that are nickel-specific, free and strong safety-specific, on boundary corners and field corners. So we're blessed to have that staff."
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Players Mentioned
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