Boston College Adds Another Talent from Transfer Portal

Barton College transfer E'Lla Boykin announced his transfer to Boston College this week, becoming the 15th player to join this offseason by way of the transfer portal.

E'Lla Boykin | Credit @LlaBoykin on X

Bill O'Brien and his staff have been extremely active in the transfer portal this offseason, landing commitments from several talented players and solidifying Chestnut Hill as a premier destination.

According to Matt Zenitz of 247Sports, the Eagles landed the 15th transfer portal prospect so far of this offseason as former Barton College edge rusher E'Lla Boykin announced his decision to commit to Boston College on Friday.

Popular Barton linebacker/EDGE transfer E’Lla Boykin has committed to Boston College, his agency @QCSports tells @chris_hummer and me.

Had ranked as the eighth-best uncommitted front seven player in the transfer portal. The 6-3, 230-pounder had 55 tackles last year at Barton.… pic.twitter.com/voil4PZG05

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) May 2, 2025

One of the top remaining players at his position in the portal, Boykin is rated as a 3-Star prospect. As a freshman in 2024 he finished with 55 tackles, 3.5 TFL's, a sack and an interception and was named the South Atlantic Conference freshman of the year.

After the departure of Donovan Ezeiruaku to the NFL this offseason, Boston College is in need of another top pass rusher. While Boykin may not be at that level quite yet, he has shown flashes of incredibly impressive potential.

He stands at 6-foot-3, 230 lbs., giving him a build similar to that of Ezeiruaku, and is extremely fluid as a pass rusher. He not only possesses excellent strength, but is creative in how he utilizes different moves to get after the quarterback.

While it may take a bit of time for a player like Boykin to catch on, making a major leap in competition like he is, he looks to have a very high ceiling and defensive line coach Jordan Thomas has shown the ability to develop high level talents.

Transfer Portal Arrivals

Chris Marable Jr., defensive lineman: transferred from Wake Forest
Will Straka, linebacker; transferred from Wisconsin-Platteville (DIII)
Favor Bate, EDGE; transferred from Merrimack
Michael Bumpus Jr., defensive lineman; transferred from Brown
Amir Johnson, offensive lineman; transferred from Merrimack
Ty Lockwood, tight end, transferred from Alabama
Dylan Lonergan, quarterback; transferred from Alabama
Tommy Matheson, offensive lineman, transferred from Princeton
Zeke Moore, tight end; transferred from FAU
Chuck Nnaeto, defensive lineman; transferred from Elon
Onye Nwosisi, defensive lineman; transferred from Valparaiso
Vaughn Pemberton, running back; transferred from Ball State
VJ Wilkins, wide receiver; transferred from Campbell
Makai Byerson, defensive lineman; transferred from West Virginia
E'Lla Boykin, edge rusher; transferred from Barton College (DII)