POSITION BATTLES: Boston College Football Opens Camp With Competition At Every Position

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Bill O'Brien did a nice job of addressing Boston College's death issues in the transfer

portal this off season, and now we get to watch some really good position battles during

Spring Camp.

I'm going to show you some offense and defensive ones I'm going to be looking for.

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It's party time ordered out at 5HourEnergy.com or on Amazon on a today's show BC's four-star

basketball player is gone, Tray Beamer to decides to get his release.

We'll talk about what that means and why I don't think this will be the first one we're

going to hear about.

And additionally, we're going to talk about position battles.

One more camp is a spring camp is open for BC football.

What's look on the offense and defensive side of the ball at some position battles I'm

going to be watching for.

So let's kick this off.

The offensive side of the football, just like this entire team is going to see a lot of

new faces.

Obviously, the big talk going into camp is going to be the quarterback spot.

We've already seen a little bit from Mason McKenzie, his athleticism, he's a bit smaller

than some of the quarterbacks we've seen in years past, well, not smaller than Tommy

Castellino's.

His speed, his athleticism is going to bring something that I think is going to be really

fun to watch as he develops and gets more confidence in the system.

I've heard nothing but great things about Mason McKenzie, not, I'm not talking about

my BC sources, former coaches, things like that.

Really strong discussion about how, you know, his leadership qualities and just the way

he's determined to make this work.

Then you get Grayson Wilson.

Grayson Wilson is in, you know, his second year, you know, he was recruited by Arkansas.

Didn't get a chance to start, was recruited by Jonathan D. Biasso as a freshman, didn't

go there, but now he's here, you know, he's got a lot of similar skills.

He's a little bigger than Mason McKenzie.

How will that position battle?

That's one, the one and one A and one B when you have no quarterback officially yet is

always the talk of camp and one that everyone's going to be talking about is McKenzie versus

Wilson.

And of course, it's always dark horse and that would be Fermi Babelola.

After freshman, big kid, I was talking to Mike Siddly about him.

He's 6465, 200 plus pounds.

He's big raw, but you know, we'll put him in down there as, you know, someone to keep

an eye on.

So that position battle is going to be a lot of fun.

And obviously that, that, just because it's the quarterback position, it does grab a

lot of those highlights.

Now the running back position in terms of battles, there's a lot going on there this year.

You have two new players, Nolan Ray and Evan Dickens.

In Evan Dickens, we heard already looking impressive and sorely and can't be really can't

gauge that much.

But you know, Mike was telling me, you know, he's looking good that he's starting to look

explosive.

That's great.

That's what you need.

But you have him.

You have Nolan Ray, the transfer from Maryland, a bigger running back and Mitch's favorite.

Mitch Wolf has been on the show before.

But then there's other players.

I've heard a lot of good things about McKay Dodd.

McKay Dodd, we didn't see, you know, this is the red shirt freshman from Catholic Memorial,

didn't play a whole lot last year.

Size, explosiveness.

I think there's a chance we see more of Dodd this year.

He's, you know, got a big battling boom, McCormick.

So again, all this, this, this, this competition is what's going to make the camp discussions

even more exciting because every position seems like it's up for grabs.

You look at the wide receiver position.

You lost Reed Harris, Lewis Bond, and you know, you're two top wide receivers.

How is Dawson Pugh going to fit in?

Is he going to get there?

Is VJ Wilkins that going to figure this out?

Are we going to ever see him again?

But you get all these other transfers coming in.

Guys like Reed Swanson from Colgate, who's six, five, he's huge.

You got DeVaris Green for a speedy wide receiver from North Carolina.

And Landon Wright from Washington State, along with Jackson Wade from Florida.

Get these names.

I'm getting them.

I'm messing them up.

So all these names are going to be coming in.

And I think you can slot Jaden Skeet as your starter as long as he stays healthy.

But then all those other spots, it's anyone's game.

Who would I like to see jump in is the guys that can make the big plays.

You need a lot to come in to replace your Harris's and bonds.

I love Jaden Skeet.

He could do it, but for at least one of the wide receiver spots, but he can't do it alone.

Dawson Pugh, you see all of him just kind of take a step forward last year.

Could he do it?

Could you see one of these transfers like DeVaris Green's the one I keep hearing more and more about?

And how is Reed Swanson going to translate from FCS to Power 4?

That's a big question there too.

So all of that, how does this like a malgamation of wide receivers kind of play itself out,

given that it's only 15 practices.

But we'll start to see maybe some steps here.

And again, I want to preface this by saying, yeah, we could see it now.

I can remember a couple of years ago that I thought Geron Bradley was going to be the next big thing

because he looked great during spring camp and then he disappeared.

So who knows, right?

Tight end.

I think we know what's going to happen there.

I don't think this is going to be much of a position of battle.

You've got Kaelin Chitzinski and most likely Cameron Cosman.

But you never know, DJ Johnson could jump into.

But I really think it's going to be those two.

Actually, let me take a step back.

I'm being a little bit too forceful that I think it's going to be that.

There's a chance to, I got to give credit to Brady Kloge and Danny Helfey's healthy.

Both of those guys have busted their butts for the last couple of years.

There's always a chance those guys could step up.

I don't want to like shoot them down.

Like both of those guys have worked really hard.

And I've watched a lot of them at camps from the last couple of years.

They could easily jump in.

So let me take a step back there.

Now offensive line wrapping up this offense offense discussion.

Wow, how many questions do we have in this offensive line?

I mean, I think you have one spot filled.

The other ones are question marks.

Michael Crowns is your starting center.

Because he was your starting center last year.

I think at one of the guards are going to have Chris Phillips from Michigan State.

He's going to stay healthy though.

That's a question.

I think at the other guard position, you're going to probably have Robert Smith.

Again, younger player who knows.

Then at tackle, it looks like Popeye Psi.

And then is it going to be Reggie Jackson?

Is it going to be Ju-ju Vigor?

Who's going to be?

You've got all these other guys that could all jump up.

We're talking guys like Trayvon Hunfries and Juno Norwood from UNC.

You have guys like Judah Pruitt, who's waiting his turn.

How are these guys going to jump up and take that spot?

Could that happen?

The offensive line, I mean, I'm very interested to see how that kind of melds together.

Because of any position, I think BC needs to get that done sooner.

It's there.

Because offensive lines all about communication and knowing and trusting the guys next to you

and knowing what they're going to do and how to react.

And like just the, you know, the comfort levels.

But that's why they always talk a lot about the snaps they take together.

So I would imagine by the end of this camp,

you're probably going to get a better sense of who the starting five is going to be.

Now, as the press, we're not allowed to talk about it.

But maybe Bill will, you know, he could always ask Bill, Bill may tell you.

But I think there's a lot of optimism there.

And I think the piece there too that I'm really interested to see how it develops

is you've got a new offensive line coach, Kurt Anderson, you know, talking to some folks.

There's a lot of excitement because he's a, what the things I hear about him

is that he's a really good coach of young, you know, talent that needs a little bit of development.

So a guy like Drew Vigor, right?

Rock coming from Tennessee State, FCS, but he's six, eight.

Like you can get him a little bigger and teach him a little bit of that footwork.

You got something there.

Reggie Jackson, like Mitch did some film analysis on him.

And like he looked a little raw, came on board.

But maybe he can help take him to that next step.

I've heard a lot about Kurt Anderson and his ability to kind of get that the most out of that group.

Could be something to watch too, because maybe he's going to develop someone that we're not expecting.

And they're going to take that next step and boom, our projections are all of the window.

So a lot of differences here.

That's the crazy part of this camp is that there are so many new names here that anything could happen.

And I think this makes this camp so much more interesting than some of the other camps.

And that's not to say other camps aren't interesting.

It's a different way, because you just have so much unpredictability here.

Now in our second segment, I want to look at the defensive side of the ball.

What are the battles that we're going to be watching for?

Who's the names and what are some things that we might want to see?

I'll tell you a little bit more about that in just a moment.

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Locked on Boston College AJ Black here and we're talking about positional battles.

Campus started, you know, they're in shells.

They're not really hitting full force yet.

So we're not really getting, you know,

they're just doing the drills and kind of getting things acclimated

and getting into the swing and things.

You know, it's, it's a flow through practice where they start off and then they get,

you know, more and more physicals.

The pads will come on, obviously the first practice with pads is always a lot of fun.

But for me watching them, you know, I got, I, for me, I got my, you know,

I'm going to have my pad and I'm going to see all the different names.

It's going to be a lot of new numbers for you.

I can't wait for all of you out there to see the first couple of games because

you're going to be looking and going like between the freshmen, the transfers,

just number changes.

They're like no one.

You're not going to recognize anybody.

It's just so different, right?

So on the defensive side of the ball, the defense has so much to prove this year.

Last year was a disaster for this group and everything has changed.

They got rid of Tim Lewis.

They got rid of, well, Jordan Thomas and Corey Robinson left.

You have Dan O'Brien being the, the lone survivor there on that coaching staff.

And then positionally, you get guys back from injury and you have transfers and freshmen

coming in that are going to be changing how things work.

On the edge rushing position, this is one of the most fascinating

positional battles that you're going to see it can't because it's up to anyone.

And there's actually this year, I feel pretty excited.

There's a lot of talent there.

And guys ready to prove that they could really fix the past rush,

which was a big issue for BC last year.

When Tavius Hutchins, Edward Collingier gone, some of the small guys are gone too.

That means you have chances for both edge rushers.

And you got guys, you know, you have your true freshmen in freshmen coming in.

But you have the transfers.

Chris Jones from Georgia, a former four star blue chipper crew,

who is buried on a very good Georgia defense.

This is his chance.

He's an outside linebacker, edge rusher.

He could be a starter.

You have Demetri is ballered.

Don't sleep on him just because he played for Buffalo.

Because the scouts, the 247 national guys,

he was one of their sleeper picks in the transfer portal for good reason.

He's six six.

He's humongous.

He's got good moves.

He is like, he is right on the edge of a guy I would watch for to have a breakout season.

Like he could.

I mean, he could also not, it could take him a year.

Who knows.

But I think he could be a name to watch for.

A name I've heard buzz about.

And we didn't hear anything about him last year.

In fact, I'll be honest with you.

Once his dad got fired, I thought I just figured he transferred, right?

Like he's gone.

Is Bryce Lewis.

Now, Bryce Lewis is a red shirt freshman.

Now he's an edger usher.

He came in as a tight end last year.

But BC brought in like four tight ends in that freshman class.

Like chud and CVMR who's gone.

DJ Johnson.

And there's a fourth one I'm totally blanking on right now.

And, you know, and Bryce Lewis.

So Lewis changed to his position last summer.

And you didn't see him.

But he's huge.

He's six six.

Okay, I've heard great things about potential for what he could do in terms of the past rush.

You know, I didn't see him a lot last year during camp because the way the practice

facility set up, they usually put the media right in front of the first and second teams,

which is great because that's kind of who you want to watch.

And then on the further practice field is like the third and fourth team slash scout team type

of stuff.

So you don't get to see a whole lot.

So I didn't really watch a lot of Bryce Lewis last year.

But I think there's a chance he could be a name we're talking about.

Then you have, you know, a couple transfers.

I think that are going to be big.

Ela Boykin, who started to emerge last year.

On game, Newesee, he was the transfer from Valpo last year.

We saw him for four games and really didn't do much.

I get a sense from things I've heard that he could be a guy that is ready to have a bigger

role.

Like, this is a guy that we could see more from.

They brought him in good size.

That with the hope that maybe if they develop him and I don't know if he was hurt or if that was

a red shirt intentional type of thing, I'm not sure about that.

But you get him a second year.

So he got acclimated.

Now it's his chance to step up.

That could be a big one.

That could be a name you're watching for.

And Israel, it would all of the popoo is in the other name that I think we're going to be

watching for true freshman last year played a little bit.

So I glimpses of it, but really not enough to like grasp what he could do.

But I've heard great things about Israel.

Like, this is a guy that could be stepping up and doing some big things as well.

So all of those headdressers, like, you see what I mean?

Maybe some of them don't work out, but maybe you find something with all the popoo and Wilson.

And then you got it.

It could happen.

And what it's going to look like and who starts to emerge.

That's fascinating stuff for a position that you had real trouble with last year.

Now, the defensive tackle position.

I think it's something that, again, you have some established guys.

Chris Marable Jr.

Probably will be one of your starters.

So with that spot next to him.

And honestly, the defensive tackle, they like, I don't know if Ted Roof is going to be the same way.

But they like to cycle in guys.

I imagine because they're bigger dudes, they're energy kind of saps if you keep them out there too long.

So you want to keep cycling them in and out.

You get Chris Marable.

And then you brought in KJ Samson, who just talked to the media today for the first time.

I mean, maybe a good fresh scenery for him will be good.

You got Michael Ametti, who we haven't seen, because he got hurt.

I think he hurt his hand.

Well, I share it.

It was his hand, but he whatever it was, he was out for the year.

He had a sack in that first series.

And then I think he had a pass rush against Clemson.

We didn't see a whole month, a lot of him.

But he seemed like he was starting to come along.

So then you got other guys that are coming in.

The new defensive tackle from Colorado.

And you have some younger guys that are still here.

All of those kind of lead you to wonder who is going to lead there.

Now, linebacker.

I'm curious if it will actually be a positional battle or if guys are going to jump out real quick.

Anthony Polano, to me, strikes me as the guy that's going to be in immediately.

I feel like Justin Medlock is going to be a situational guy.

Like third down and non-passing situation.

You're going to see a lot of Justin Medlock.

Whether he jumps in and gets more rolls, you never know.

Because he's the transfer from SMU.

And it sounds like he's done a lot in pass protection and that kind of role.

Maybe that's what he does.

Griffin Collins, below Apoah and Camorri Dixon are three guys that are coming back.

All of those guys could be playing.

All of them could be, you know, I imagine Polano is going to be one of the starters on that defensive.

And I'm not sure how Ted Ruiz defense is going to look.

Is he going to line up three linebacks?

Well, I've met John to talk about that.

I know he's doing some details on his defense.

But what's the way to see that?

Corners in secondary.

You got KP price.

KP price is going to be your strong safety, right?

And the safety next to him probably will be Carter Davis.

But that could, you never know.

The corners, you're most likely got sight year torrents.

TJ Green, most likely will be your slot receiver.

I don't see that as a huge positional battle with Cam Martinez.

I think TJ Green is starting to really kind of come along there.

That other edge rush.

I mean, that other cornerback position though.

Will it be Max Tucker?

Will it be Isaiah Ferris?

Will it be Ashton Townsend?

Will it be Marcellus Townsend?

Don't sleep on Marcellus Townsend.

I think it's another name too.

They got hurt last year.

We didn't see a whole lot of that.

But I know there was a lot of optimism about him.

So the end point.

I just listed a half a whole bunch of names, right?

There's going to be so much competition at camp.

And I'm not saying how high this talent level is.

I'm just saying competition in general.

It's going to be high.

There's going to be a lot of things.

And I'm sure there's going to be surprises.

There's every year, there's a surprise, right?

Last year, it was Dwayne Out getting benched for Michael Crowns.

And then there was Kaelin Chisincey coming completely out of nowhere

to become one of your starting tight ends.

Like it's going to happen again.

Who is going to happen with?

What's waiting to see?

In our final segment, we're going to wrap up this week

with a discussion about a freshman that was signed to BC

and is now gone because of the exit of Earl Grant.

I'll explain what this means to BC in just a moment.

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Locked on Boston College AJ Black here.

Rapping things up on this week busy week as you know,

Boston College fired Earl Grant on Friday on Sunday.

We still don't have official news on who is going to be

the next head coach.

You know, we're starting to hear rumors.

You know, and I've told you before I've done a lot of shows

on candidates and I'm not pulling those names out of,

you know, where I had on Shane just a couple days ago.

He had his own thoughts.

That's his perspective.

I have mine from some of the guys that I've heard about.

It's just my perspective, okay?

But what I can't change is the news that broke on Thursday afternoon,

where four star top 100 recruit,

Trey Beamer has opened up his,

is asked for his release from Boston College following the firing of Earl Grant.

Beamer has been signed for a while.

And I believe in his opening quotes when he first signed

with BC when he talked to 247 said that the reason he got there was because of Earl Grant.

And now he's gone.

Beamer has opened his, you know, he was looking at schools like Mississippi State,

Maryland, South Florida, there's a few others.

This is a big loss, but it wasn't, it's not unexpected.

When you have a coaching change,

part of the calculus that you have to make is that you're going to be losing things.

Now, Beamer stinks because he was a, you know, a playmaker and someone you were hoping

would be, you know, a pivotal part of your offensive part of your game moving forward.

But if it gets you a better coach and better players in,

it's a, it's a gamble that you might need to take.

Like, did you want Trey Beamer and Earl Grant last next year,

or do you want, you know, potentially other players and a new coach?

You get away that, right?

But now with Beamer gone, the question remains, and we probably won't hear for a while,

what players are going to transfer?

I have to say, of all the things that we've heard about Earl Grant,

one big piece that you heard, you know, it seems clear from the players.

You saw Donald Han, Fred Payne talking about it on their Twitter handles,

our Instagram handles, that they really liked Earl Grant.

So there's a chance there's a lot of players leaving.

And I get to say, you know, they're great players.

They tried really hard, but the fact that they're leaving, it's okay.

Again, with the coaching change, part of the calculus you have to make is,

your team went 11 and 21 or whatever it was last year.

They weren't good.

Are you going to, is it really that devastating if you lose all these players on a team that

wasn't that good?

It's not like they're going to develop.

A lot of the guys that you had were older players.

Is that that big of a deal?

That's something to think about, right?

Could Donald Han or Fred Payne, I know Fred Payne's mom has been on Twitter

or was on Twitter last year, I think it was, saying that if Earl got fired, he was going.

Now his dad's on Twitter.

I saw saying that they're going to pry upon it, figure out when they have the new coach.

I don't expect a transfer portal exodus

until they name a new coach.

And then I think the coach will probably have a chance to talk to them and see what they want

if it works for both sides, but I don't expect a huge change for a little bit.

And it all depends on when the coaches get hired.

And the portal is not going to open.

I don't think the portal opens until after the final four.

So it's a little bit of time.

All right, we'll be back on Monday with more practice talk.

We have a lot of things going on here.

We'll have recruiting updates because there's going to be a huge recruiting

club coming in on Saturday.

We'll have it all here on marked on Boston College.

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