Grading the Boston College Defense vs. Duke
Boston College started the season off strong with a convincing 26-6 win against the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday. The Eagles rode five turnovers, and 300 yards passing to give new head coach Jeff Hafley his first head coaching win. We’ve broken the game down in many ways, and now it’s time to hand out grades. We started out earlier with the offense, now here is the defense.
Just going to warn you on this. I thought the defense played incredibly well, and only allowed six points, so this is going to seem very positive. Based on the play from last year compared to this year, it justified these gradings. In the future I'll be harder on them.
(Because of COVID-19 this evaluation was done using the network TV feed. There certainly were moments the video missed)
Coaching: A. Jeff Hafley praised his defensive coordinator Tem Lukabu after the game and rightfully so. The defense had an excellent scheme prepared for Duke. Instead of letting the pocket break down and allow Chase Brice to scramble, they kept him in there with the linebackers, pressured him, and had the secondary play incredibly physical with the wide receivers. It worked to perfection. All of the major issues that plagued this team in 2019 looked much improved. Tackling was better, players were where they needed to be, and the secondary was sharp. Also testament to the staff that the defense was cycling players in and out all game long, and it didn't seem to impact their play.
Marcus Valdez: A. Thought he might be the sparkplug on defense, and did he show up. Very good motor, was able to get pressure on Brice on multiple plays. Hafley explained after the game that there was a reason the team voted him captain. Impressive game for the junior. Offenses are going to scheme on him now after watching the tapes, the next step in his development is how he handles extra blockers.
Chibueze Onwuka: A. He was all over the place in the first half, making plays and grabbing a QB hurry. For a big guy he was quick, and moved extremely well. Thought the Buffalo transfer played well and really solidified the middle of that defensive line.
Shitta Sillah: C. Didn't see him do anything wrong per say. He just didn't see impactful in the pass rush. Had a pass defense in his first start of the year. He's a younger player, but will need to step up more as teams scheme more on Valdez.
Luc Bequette: B. This was a tough one to grade, because the TV cameras only focused on the tackler, and the Cal transfer didn't make a tackle. However the announcers praised his play, so clearly he had a solid game.
Isaiah McDuffie: A. He looked like the linebacker of old stalking the field for the Eagles. Great hands on the interception, he showed what he means to this defense with strong play throughout the game.
Max Richardson: A. No surprise he led the team in tackles. Very efficient Max Richardson-esque game.
The Entire Secondary: A. Instead of parsing this down for each player, I'm going to cop out and give an A to the entire unit. The only real critique I have was the coverage against the tight ends as Noah Gray and Jake Bobo both had good games (but that was also on the linebackers). But in terms of the coverage, they allowed only 9 receptions by the wide receivers. They played tight on the wide outs, and was physical after the catch. The group just beat up the Duke wide receiving corp, which was exemplified when Josh DeBerry just ripped the ball out of a wide outs hands. Transfer Deon Jones looks to be the perfect fit at safety, and Elijah Jones, Jahmin Muse, Mike Palmer, Brandon Sebastian and Jason Maitre all showed up with big plays of their own. A total unit effort, and a real testament to the work the players and coaches put in.