Photo by: Jordan Arnold
The 2025 Boston College Preseason: Allick Front and Center For Moment
August 09, 2025 | Football, #ForBoston Files
BC's most versatile lineman spent his first years sacrificing for the team. Now it's his time.
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- The relationship between a center and a quarterback is a unique and intimate partnership. So much occurs between their signals and communication that it's impossible to rate what happens when they're not talking to one another. The way the ball is snapped within a particular scheme, the ability to call out blitz or rush coverage packages, the unwritten sightlines from the passer to his most critical ally - they're all part of a cohesion and chemistry that can unravel a football team if they're not managed properly.
Having a center capable of managing the offense's most important player is almost as important as the quarterback position itself, and it's been a huge reason why Boston College entrenches its "O-Line U" reputation on an annual basis. The history of snappers and their ability to command leadership within the offensive room is no small component, though the physical stature is often elevated by a quarterback's overall success.
Losing a center creates a void and hole that's incredibly difficult to replace, but Dwayne Allick's ability to fill the hole created by Drew Kendall's departure became one of the more pertinent storylines of the first week of BC's training camp practices. A former guard who spent time with the defensive line room, his full embrace of an ever-fluid changeover is why attention on the quarterback position is more about passes and completions than about exchanges and play calls.
"Coming from a position of just playing guard, it was an adjustment period," said Allick. "I think it's just repetition, just like every position. When you're playing a new position, it's all about reps and how much effort you put into doing the snapping motion. It can't just be in practice. Like any position, you have to work after practice. That's something that we do well at BC, our after-practice work. If you watch the guys, we stay on the field and we work."
Allick's non-linear journey to the center position wasn't on his scouting itinerary. He aligned closely with BC's offensive line profile after posting three-star prospect ratings in the state of Maryland, but entering a position grouping with Zion Johnson, Ben Petrula, Tyler Vrabel, Christian Mahogany and Alec Lindstrom prevented him from earning regular snaps with the top units. He spent a redshirt season as an understudy to depth chart players like Nate Emer and Jack Conley before finding himself without a full-time role, but he continued to sharpen his iron - even as the 2021 season saw Trapilo, Kendall and others step to second string roles.
"Coach [Matt] Applebaum expects a lot from us," said Allick, "I think it's harder on the first-year player. As you go up in the system, it becomes very helpful. I know talking to Drew, Ozzy, the older guys and Zion, they have said that his system was what they ran in the NFL, and his way of thinking is going to put us so much ahead. Having him in our ear and as our coach really puts us ahead."
Applebaum's departure and return from a one-year stint with the NFL's Miami Dolphins coincided with Allick finding himself in football's no man's land. He was an offensive lineman at heart, but he moved to defensive tackle to help strengthen a position of need during the 2021 season. He hadn't played, but resembling a player who could absorb and learn positions as needed offered unique value to a team emerging from the line entrenched through the 2020 and 2021 seasons, so his transition back to offensive line ahead of the 2022 season helped a unit move between eras.
By 2023, he was starting at guard on a line with those former recruits turned BC into a top-30 team in preventing sacks. He again shifted away from a traditional position by becoming the team's jumbo-set blocker, playing in 12 games and seeing action during the Eagles' Wasabi Fenway Bowl win over SMU. One year later, his reserve status was arguably as important as the starting roles, and he eventually started the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl as a left guard before shifting to center in the first quarter.
"Drew Kendall was a great guy and really intelligent," said Allick. "The biggest thing I learned from him was his work ethic. He's a hard worker. I like Drew's game a lot. He taught me about the center position while still being a guard. I watched a lot of his film, and how he approached blocks."
Losing Kendall and Trapilo cost BC significant experience at the guard and center positions, but Allick was uniquely positioned for his own run in the coming year. The recruiting class didn't have an outright starter at the center position, and any incoming transfer lacked the experience with Applebaum and the rest of the room. Allick previously spent time snapping to Grayson James, but his flexibility in shifting positions made him the perfect candidate while maintaining the concepts and totems built for a running backs room looking for its own adjustments.
"It's been a competition on both sides of the ball," said Allick, "We need that. If the offense was out there destroying the defense, it would be really bad because we want them to destroy guys on Fridays and Saturdays and vice-versa. Competition is what Coach O'Brien really harps on. It breeds good athletes. Having that competition on both sides, having those high-level players, older guys, really pushes us and really has us ready for the season."
Having a center capable of managing the offense's most important player is almost as important as the quarterback position itself, and it's been a huge reason why Boston College entrenches its "O-Line U" reputation on an annual basis. The history of snappers and their ability to command leadership within the offensive room is no small component, though the physical stature is often elevated by a quarterback's overall success.
Losing a center creates a void and hole that's incredibly difficult to replace, but Dwayne Allick's ability to fill the hole created by Drew Kendall's departure became one of the more pertinent storylines of the first week of BC's training camp practices. A former guard who spent time with the defensive line room, his full embrace of an ever-fluid changeover is why attention on the quarterback position is more about passes and completions than about exchanges and play calls.
"Coming from a position of just playing guard, it was an adjustment period," said Allick. "I think it's just repetition, just like every position. When you're playing a new position, it's all about reps and how much effort you put into doing the snapping motion. It can't just be in practice. Like any position, you have to work after practice. That's something that we do well at BC, our after-practice work. If you watch the guys, we stay on the field and we work."
Allick's non-linear journey to the center position wasn't on his scouting itinerary. He aligned closely with BC's offensive line profile after posting three-star prospect ratings in the state of Maryland, but entering a position grouping with Zion Johnson, Ben Petrula, Tyler Vrabel, Christian Mahogany and Alec Lindstrom prevented him from earning regular snaps with the top units. He spent a redshirt season as an understudy to depth chart players like Nate Emer and Jack Conley before finding himself without a full-time role, but he continued to sharpen his iron - even as the 2021 season saw Trapilo, Kendall and others step to second string roles.
"Coach [Matt] Applebaum expects a lot from us," said Allick, "I think it's harder on the first-year player. As you go up in the system, it becomes very helpful. I know talking to Drew, Ozzy, the older guys and Zion, they have said that his system was what they ran in the NFL, and his way of thinking is going to put us so much ahead. Having him in our ear and as our coach really puts us ahead."
Applebaum's departure and return from a one-year stint with the NFL's Miami Dolphins coincided with Allick finding himself in football's no man's land. He was an offensive lineman at heart, but he moved to defensive tackle to help strengthen a position of need during the 2021 season. He hadn't played, but resembling a player who could absorb and learn positions as needed offered unique value to a team emerging from the line entrenched through the 2020 and 2021 seasons, so his transition back to offensive line ahead of the 2022 season helped a unit move between eras.
By 2023, he was starting at guard on a line with those former recruits turned BC into a top-30 team in preventing sacks. He again shifted away from a traditional position by becoming the team's jumbo-set blocker, playing in 12 games and seeing action during the Eagles' Wasabi Fenway Bowl win over SMU. One year later, his reserve status was arguably as important as the starting roles, and he eventually started the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl as a left guard before shifting to center in the first quarter.
"Drew Kendall was a great guy and really intelligent," said Allick. "The biggest thing I learned from him was his work ethic. He's a hard worker. I like Drew's game a lot. He taught me about the center position while still being a guard. I watched a lot of his film, and how he approached blocks."
Losing Kendall and Trapilo cost BC significant experience at the guard and center positions, but Allick was uniquely positioned for his own run in the coming year. The recruiting class didn't have an outright starter at the center position, and any incoming transfer lacked the experience with Applebaum and the rest of the room. Allick previously spent time snapping to Grayson James, but his flexibility in shifting positions made him the perfect candidate while maintaining the concepts and totems built for a running backs room looking for its own adjustments.
"It's been a competition on both sides of the ball," said Allick, "We need that. If the offense was out there destroying the defense, it would be really bad because we want them to destroy guys on Fridays and Saturdays and vice-versa. Competition is what Coach O'Brien really harps on. It breeds good athletes. Having that competition on both sides, having those high-level players, older guys, really pushes us and really has us ready for the season."
Players Mentioned
OL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
QB
/ Football
OL
/ FootballWomen's Basketball: UMass Lowell Postgame Press Conference (Nov. 9, 2025)
Sunday, November 09
Football: Head Coach Bill O'Brien Postgame Press Conference (November 8, 2025)
Saturday, November 08
Football: Lewis Bond Postgame Press Conference (November 8, 2025)
Saturday, November 08
Football: Reed Harris Postgame Press Conference (November 8, 2025)
Saturday, November 08
