Assessing the Boston College Football QB Competition Through Six Days of Fall Camp: Just a Minute

Everything about the current situation at quarterback for the Boston College Eagles’ football program screams “even.” That word epitomizes the status of BC’s quarterback competition unfolding during 2025 fall training camp, at least as far as BC head coach Bill O’Brien will say.

After practice No. 5 of fall camp, O’Brien spoke about how each quarterback—Grayson James and Dylan Lonergan—is performing with the amount of exposure they have received, notably citing Lonergan’s recent improvement since his winter arrival in Chestnut Hill, Mass. from Tuscaloosa, Ala., where Lonergan transferred from.

“I think the last two days, Dylan’s had two good days in a row,” O’Brien said. “[But] look. Grayson has played well, too. I think it’s a great example, [and] I’ve told the staff this, that competition brings out the best in everybody. … You see that at quarterback. Like the competition has really brought out the best of both guys.”

Since fall camp started, every defensive player on the Eagles’ roster who has publicly spoken after practice has concurred with O’Brien’s statement.

From the offensive players’ standpoint as well, there is agreement over the fact that both James and Lonergan are capable of playing at a level which can help BC succeed in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

But the reality is that a starter has not been named.

“Eventually somebody will have to start the games,” O’Brien said on Tuesday. “We’ll take care of that at some point here in the future, but both those guys have done a great job.”

In terms of their actual performances through almost a full week of training camp, O’Brien is mostly correct.

Their completion rates are nearly identical during team periods, in which the quarterbacks go through drills of 7-on-7, 11-on-11 and redzone 11-on-11.

To the naked eye, without seeing the daily routine of practice, it would be an impossible task to choose the starter. That's where the fundamentals and decision-making abilities of both quarterbacks come into play.

James, who made six starts for the Eagles last season after a mid-season quarterback change and produced 1,202 passing yards with a 6:2 touchdown-to-interception ratio, has shown more zip on his throws and will opt for a harder, less touchy throw when he is able to.

That is not to say that Lonergan’s throws are better in the realm of touch passes, but his decision-making process is oftentimes influenced by not forcing the difficult throw and opting for positive yardage instead.

While James is more likely to take a shot downfield with extra force, Lonergan is comfortable taking a check-down pass in order to not turnover the ball.

Against a secondary as strong as BC’s, turnover-prone balls just won’t cut it for O’Brien, and there have been some instances in which tipped balls have morphed into interceptions because of the power in James’ arm. Sometimes that power is just not necessary.

Because the quarterbacks are not hittable during team practice, it is ultimately hard to tell how James and Lonergan move when they are forced to scramble or when the pocket collapses. But film shows that both are capable downfield runners and can scurry if O’Brien and offensive coordinator Will Lawling require them to.

There were a number of goal-line situations in which James kept the ball last season in a run-pass option scheme and scored as a result. Lonergan’s high school tape, along with the practice tape from his freshman season at Alabama, shows that he is comfortable taking the ball with his hands as a runner as well.

There are only 25 days until the Eagles host Fordham at Alumni Stadium for their first contest of 2025, so a decision is likely to come sooner than later.

O’Brien said earlier that both quarterbacks will have a chance to play in some capacity this season, and with an easier opponent like Fordham on the schedule initially, that is probable to play out right away.

But there are also plenty of opportunities for either James or Lonergan to prove they should be the starter before that happens with fall camp running until August 23—the day fall camp ended in 2024—or so. Nothing has been settled quite yet.