Boston College Athletics
Photo by: Ethan Roy
Bringing The Thunder Ahead Of Wednesday's Scrimmage
August 13, 2024 | Football, #ForBoston Files
The first full contact practices added new layers to the team's install and drills.
The chaos surrounding the Chamberlin Practice Field on Saturday night stamped the urgency within the Boston College football program. To one field, linemen battled each other in wrestling scrums designed to harden their bodies for eventual battle in the trenches. To another, running backs simulated hitting holes that they hoped would exist when the runs were for real. A third field featured specialists, and the fourth side opposite the fence lining the serene and picturesque Chestnut Hill sunset had quarterbacks and receivers plowing through red zone drills.
The speed and contact felt more tense. It was the first day of full pads, but head coach Bill O'Brien didn't love the effort from his team. He wanted more from each position group, and the individual sessions built their design around maximizing the output before returning the players to their first 11-on-11 practice session. Units had been hitting each other since the introduction of upper body pads earlier in the week, but this practice was the first with full intensity.
The coach wanted more from his team, and with Wednesday's first scrimmage looming, he used the opportunity to reinforce more baseline install with a team seeking that next level of its own accomplishment.
"We've basically been in pads with shoulder pads for a few days," O'Brien said, "but we were able to have full pads and go live with some of our drills, which is why I thought [the effort] was just okay. They've got to get to the next step of being able to go live and sustain a whole practice, and after it started good, I thought it waned as practice went on."
Each drill instituted by the coaching staff reinforced a different variant of an install that was ongoing through the first week of training camp. It included the baseline knowledge of positioning within the overall scheme, after which the coaches brought the units back together with the expectation of executing things together, while simultaneously reinforcing the fundamentals associated with playing football at a high, Division I level.
It allowed the offense to find its groove against a defense that likewise created moments and plays. Quarterback Grayson James, for example, fired two touchdowns to freshman tight end Danny Edgehille and wide receiver Jayden McGowan before Victor Nelson grabbed an interception as Donovan Ezeiruaku and Neto Okpala got to the quarterback.
Thomas Castellanos, meanwhile, threw a touchdown pass to Reed Harris before lining a second near-score to Lewis Bond, and Kye Robichaux broke through the line of scrimmage with a couple of downhill runs into the second level. He was met on the opposite end by Edwin Kolenge and linebacker Owen McGowan after Ezeiruaku chased down Castellanos for a line-of-scrimmage tackle.
"The philosophy is to meet, do a walk-through, and then do a jog-through," O'Brien said. "In many ways, that's part of the whole mentality. We do some group drills where it's just 7-on-7 or it's half of a line versus the other half of the line, and there are different one-on-one type periods. But we'll try to put it together in an 11-on-11, so it's a progression. Everything that we do is a progression from the meeting room, to that walkthrough, to the jog-through, to the drill, to the group drill, and then to the 11-on-11."
Those drills occasionally offered more intensity than the scrimmage-type sessions. The 7-on-7 drill aligned a line of scrimmage without the trench battles between the offense and defensive units, but allowing full contact set Datrell Jones on a collision course with defensive tackle Kwan Williams while James later connected with tight end Jeremiah Franklin on a crossing route for mid-tier yardage. Amari Jackson later registered a pass breakup in red zone drills that knocked six-foot, five-inch receiver Reed Harris out of position while gaining a massive victory for the first team defense.
"Everybody was energized," said linebacker Max Tucker. "Everybody was competing. There was a lot of talk and banter, but that's because everybody knows we're going to play to our full potential. It's part of the competition. I want to try to get in [someone else's] head, and they try to get in mine. That's just how we were playing."
"We're still trying to install," O'Brien reminded, "and [Saturday] was only practice No. 7. So we're not making determinations on any scheme or anything. We're going to install the two-minute drill and the red area plays, and sometimes you don't know what you're going to see on either side of the ball. So you're not going to throw a play out because it doesn't work in a certain look. You're just going to keep building and keep installing."
That installation continued through a lighter day session on Sunday, but continuing those 7-on-7 drills enabled Castellanos to find Harris and Bond for touchdown passes while throwing a back shoulder, third touchdown to Jaedn Skeete. James once again teamed up with Edgehille for a score before Khari Johnson broke up a second scoring pass, and Bugg Jones and Ryan Turner later prevented scores in those similar, more-orchestrated red zone plays designed to build the internal database.
"Tommy's been leading the way," said offensive lineman Jude Bowry, "and he's been doing a great job. Him and Drew [Kendall] have a great relationship, and they've been coming along with taking charge of the mic points and stuff like that. Just that overall connection has been great. We love our quarterbacks, we love all the guys in that room.
"We're going full speed," he added, "and we're just trying to get a good feel for it. We're trying to bring those drills to the field at the end of the day. The defense comes to play, and they bring a lot of good pressures and stuff like that. It's really good practice with really good guys."
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The speed and contact felt more tense. It was the first day of full pads, but head coach Bill O'Brien didn't love the effort from his team. He wanted more from each position group, and the individual sessions built their design around maximizing the output before returning the players to their first 11-on-11 practice session. Units had been hitting each other since the introduction of upper body pads earlier in the week, but this practice was the first with full intensity.
The coach wanted more from his team, and with Wednesday's first scrimmage looming, he used the opportunity to reinforce more baseline install with a team seeking that next level of its own accomplishment.
"We've basically been in pads with shoulder pads for a few days," O'Brien said, "but we were able to have full pads and go live with some of our drills, which is why I thought [the effort] was just okay. They've got to get to the next step of being able to go live and sustain a whole practice, and after it started good, I thought it waned as practice went on."
Each drill instituted by the coaching staff reinforced a different variant of an install that was ongoing through the first week of training camp. It included the baseline knowledge of positioning within the overall scheme, after which the coaches brought the units back together with the expectation of executing things together, while simultaneously reinforcing the fundamentals associated with playing football at a high, Division I level.
It allowed the offense to find its groove against a defense that likewise created moments and plays. Quarterback Grayson James, for example, fired two touchdowns to freshman tight end Danny Edgehille and wide receiver Jayden McGowan before Victor Nelson grabbed an interception as Donovan Ezeiruaku and Neto Okpala got to the quarterback.
Thomas Castellanos, meanwhile, threw a touchdown pass to Reed Harris before lining a second near-score to Lewis Bond, and Kye Robichaux broke through the line of scrimmage with a couple of downhill runs into the second level. He was met on the opposite end by Edwin Kolenge and linebacker Owen McGowan after Ezeiruaku chased down Castellanos for a line-of-scrimmage tackle.
"The philosophy is to meet, do a walk-through, and then do a jog-through," O'Brien said. "In many ways, that's part of the whole mentality. We do some group drills where it's just 7-on-7 or it's half of a line versus the other half of the line, and there are different one-on-one type periods. But we'll try to put it together in an 11-on-11, so it's a progression. Everything that we do is a progression from the meeting room, to that walkthrough, to the jog-through, to the drill, to the group drill, and then to the 11-on-11."
Those drills occasionally offered more intensity than the scrimmage-type sessions. The 7-on-7 drill aligned a line of scrimmage without the trench battles between the offense and defensive units, but allowing full contact set Datrell Jones on a collision course with defensive tackle Kwan Williams while James later connected with tight end Jeremiah Franklin on a crossing route for mid-tier yardage. Amari Jackson later registered a pass breakup in red zone drills that knocked six-foot, five-inch receiver Reed Harris out of position while gaining a massive victory for the first team defense.
"Everybody was energized," said linebacker Max Tucker. "Everybody was competing. There was a lot of talk and banter, but that's because everybody knows we're going to play to our full potential. It's part of the competition. I want to try to get in [someone else's] head, and they try to get in mine. That's just how we were playing."
"We're still trying to install," O'Brien reminded, "and [Saturday] was only practice No. 7. So we're not making determinations on any scheme or anything. We're going to install the two-minute drill and the red area plays, and sometimes you don't know what you're going to see on either side of the ball. So you're not going to throw a play out because it doesn't work in a certain look. You're just going to keep building and keep installing."
That installation continued through a lighter day session on Sunday, but continuing those 7-on-7 drills enabled Castellanos to find Harris and Bond for touchdown passes while throwing a back shoulder, third touchdown to Jaedn Skeete. James once again teamed up with Edgehille for a score before Khari Johnson broke up a second scoring pass, and Bugg Jones and Ryan Turner later prevented scores in those similar, more-orchestrated red zone plays designed to build the internal database.
"Tommy's been leading the way," said offensive lineman Jude Bowry, "and he's been doing a great job. Him and Drew [Kendall] have a great relationship, and they've been coming along with taking charge of the mic points and stuff like that. Just that overall connection has been great. We love our quarterbacks, we love all the guys in that room.
"We're going full speed," he added, "and we're just trying to get a good feel for it. We're trying to bring those drills to the field at the end of the day. The defense comes to play, and they bring a lot of good pressures and stuff like that. It's really good practice with really good guys."
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Players Mentioned
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OL
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TE
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DE
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TE
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WR
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DB
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QB
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DB
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DB
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RB
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DL
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WR
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LB
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DB
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DE
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RB
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WR
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DB
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DB
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DL
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