6 | 2023 SOUTHERN FOOTBALL GUIDE
BOSTON COLLEGE
2022 RECORD: 3-9 (2-6) FOUNDED: 1863 STADIUM: Alumni (44,500)
HEAD COACH: Jeff Hafley OC: Steve Shimko DC: Aazaar Abdul-Rahim and Sean Duggan
Chestnut Hill, MA
OFFENSE
DEFENSE
The Eagles’ offense floundered early last year and stayed mired in a rut the entire season. The offensive line struggled through injuries while undergoing a rebuild. Quarterback Phil Jurkovec rarely had time to operate, and running backs Pat Garwo III and Alex Broome couldn’t find any room to run as the team averaged just 2.1 yards per rush. They scored just three touchdowns on the ground vs. FBS competition. The Eagles are determined to improve in 2023, and the outlook is promising. Christian Mahogany is a true talent upfront, and Logan Taylor (Virginia) and Kyle Hergel (Texas State) should help greatly. Emmett Morehead was allowed to play through some tough times late last season and had two 330-yard passing games. He welcomes Ryan O’Keefe from UCF and George Takacs is one of the best receiving tight ends in the ACC.
The defense allowed 5.6 yards per play last season, which translated to 33.5 points a game in ACC play. Six of the Eagles’ ACC opponents scored more than 30 points on BC. But there is good news on the defensive side. The line struggled mightily last season and welcomes back Shitta Sillah, who left the first game of the year with a season-ending shoulder injury. The addition of George Rooks from Michigan should be a huge lift. Those two additions with Donovan Ezeiruaku will provide a formidable front. Ezeiruaku had 14.5 tackles for loss last season with very little help upfront. Linebackers Kam Arnold and Vinny DePalma are experienced and talented. They are the leading tacklers, and DePalma has a knack for getting in the backfield. Cornerback Elijah Jones broke up 13 passes last season and picked off two. Safety Khari Johnson from Arkansas is a big lift.
DEPTH CHART
DEPTH CHART
NO 14 24 2 13 4 80 70 60 66 73 65
PLAYER POS Emmett Morehead QB Pat Garwo III RB Joseph Griffin Jr. WR Dino Tomlin WR Ryan O’Keefe WR George Tekacs TE Ozzy Trapilo LT Kyle Hergel LG Drew Kendall C Christian Mahogany RG Logan Taylor RT
HT 6-5 5-9 6-4 5-11 5-10 6-6 6-8 6-2 6-4 6-3 6-7
WT 240 208 200 186 172 247 310 316 283 333 300
CLASS SO SR SO SR SR SR JR SR SO SR SO
NO 6 96 91 19 42 5 1 3 23 21 24
PLAYER POS Donovan Ezeiruaku DE Cam Horsley DT George Rooks DT Neto Okpala DE Vinny DePalma LB Kam Arnold LB Elijah Jones CB Khari Johnson CB Cole Batson S Victor Nelson S Amari Jackson NB
HT 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-0 5-11 6-1 6-2 5-10 6-4 6-2 5-10
WT 250 314 276 250 225 228 184 195 209 215 186
CLASS JR SR SO JR SR SR SR SR SO JR SO
20 11 0 84 17 77 79 78 53 67
Thomas Castellanos QB Alex Broome RB Lewis Bond WR Jaden Williams WR Taji Johnson WR Jeremiah Franklin TE Jude Bowry LT Kevin Cline LG Jackson Ness C Dwayne Allick RG Jack Conley RT
6-5 5-6 5-11 5-9 6-3 6-3 6-4 6-6 6-5 6-2 6-7
228 193 188 184 212 238 308 317 307 313 327
SO SO SO JR SR SO SO JR SR JR SR
11 74 55 13 8 2 14 10 25 0 29
Shitta Sillah Owen Stoudmire Kwan Williams Khris Banks Jaylen Blackwell Bryce Steele Jalon Williams Jalen Cheek Jamareeh Jones Alex Washington Jason Scott
DE DT DT DE LB LB CB CB S S NB
6-4 6-0 6-1 6-2 6-0 6-1 5-10 6-1 5-11 6-0 5-11
245 298 312 301 217 225 196 199 207 190 181
SR SO SO SR SO JR SO SO SO SR JR
6-1 6-0
191 196
SO JR
KR PR
5-10 5-10
172 186
SR SO
SPECIAL TEAMS 43 90
Sam Condotti Connor Lytton
P K
2023 SCHEDULE S.2 ..............Northern Illinois
O.21 ........... at Georgia Tech
S.9 ......................... Holy Cross
O.28 ............................ UConn
S.16 .................. Florida State
N.3 .......................at Syracuse
S.23 ....................at Louisville
N.11 .................Virginia Tech
S.30 ............................ Virginia
N.16 ................ at Pittsburgh
O.7 ..............................at Army
N.24 ..............................Miami
SPECIAL TEAMS 4 24
Ryan O’Keefe Amari Jackson
NEWCOMERS George Rooks, DL — The transfer from Michigan immediately improves the toughness along the front of the defense. Ryan O’Keefe, WR — The Eagles don’t expect O’Keefe to be another Zay Flowers, but he will be the most talented wideout on the roster. He also improves the return game. Khari Johnson, DB — The transfer from Arkansas eases the pain of losing Josh DeBerry through the portal to Texas A&M. Johnson will see time at both corner and safety. Kyle Hergel, G — The big guard should help improve the Eagles’ running game this season.
