Boston College Football 2025 Fall Training Camp: Day Five Takeaways
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The physicality and intensity at Boston College football’s fall training camp continues to surge.
From Tuesday until Sunday, Aug. 10, the Eagles will practice a total of five times in a six-day span, including suiting up in full pads for the first time on Wednesday.
Graduate-student safety and punt returner Cameron Martinez said that the air of intensity comes from the way the offense and defense have dug into each other in camp so far.
“I mean, honestly, it’ll probably be some live periods here and there, but I mean really no different,” Martinez said. “I think since we put these [upper] pads on, so far everything’s been kind of physical and competitive. I don’t really expect that to change.”
The fifth day of the Eagles' fall training camp featured another impressive outing from the secondary, which has the potential to be the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference and is riddled with young talent.
Quarterback Dylan Lonergan showcased his steady progression with the offensive scheme and is evidently developing better chemistry with BC's wide receivers, tight ends and running backs. He slightly outplayed Grayson James on Tuesday as the two compete for the starting job.
With Lewis Bond sitting out most of practice despite suiting up in gear, freshman wide receivers Ned Boldin Jr., Dawson Pough, Semaj Fleming and Duke Brennan were gifted an opportunity to put their skillset on display with a larger share of team reps, including during a period of 1-on-1’s.
Redshirt junior wide receiver Luke McLaughlin remains a standout player every day of camp and is the most-targeted player of the room by a decent margin. BC head coach Bill O’Brien has said that McLaughlin is a key special teams player, but there is hope for him to see a better share of work with the offense if he keeps performing the way he has.
Here are some more takeaways from Day Five of BC football fall training camp.
QB Battle in a Deadlock
This could sound like a bad thing, but the Eagles' quarterback situation is arguably the best problem to have for Bill O’Brien and the offensive coaching staff.
While O’Brien refuses to hint at who the starter will eventually be, he is ultimately pleased with the competition taking place.
Grayson James and Dylan Lonergan have both seen their share of success, have both made mistakes and misplaced throws, and have both shown the type of leadership they bring to the field and the way they communicate off the field as well.
“Dylan's had two good days in a row,” O’Brien said. “Look, Grayson's played well too. … Competition brings out the best in everybody. You know, it really does. And I think you see that. … the competition has really brought out the best of both those guys.”
From a play-by-play standpoint, neither James nor Lonergan has significantly outplayed the other. James and Lonergan have manufactured nearly the same completion percentage in competitive team drills—11-on-11 and 7-on-7—and have both been tested by the top and secondary defensive unit.
O’Brien has switched the offensive line, wide receivers and running backs corps with both of them so that there is a true comparison—neither one of them is playing with one set of players versus another.
From a skillset perspective, there are some noticeable differences.
James’ arm is as strong as any in the ACC. His spiral and zip on the ball is impressive and there is not much work to be done in terms of his throwing fundamentals. O’Brien even acknowledged that fact.
“Grayson James is one of the most improved quarterbacks that I've been around in a long time,” O’Brien said.
Lonergan’s game is more mind-heavy, however.
His decision making is just a tad quicker on his reads, and he gets the ball delivered faster than James. While his ball has some more air under it, and has the tendency to wobble more, Lonergan is able to locate his pass catchers in a timely manner and put the football into play, which is an underrated skill.
Above all, O’Brien prioritizes intelligence in his quarterbacks. He wants them to make good decisions, first and foremost, and operate well in the scheme he is running.
The Young Guns
From the secondary to the wide receiver and running back room, there is no shortage of depth from younger players who are taking advantage of the reps they have received in camp.
On Tuesday, this was more so the case than the first four practices.
Redshirt senior wideout Lewis Bond sat out of team drills for what O’Brien termed a “veteran day,” enabling more opportunities for the youth to test themselves against the Eagles’ lockdown secondary.
Samaj Fleming, Dawson Pough, Ned Boldin Jr. and Duke Brennan stepped into a heavier role within team offense in practice Tuesday, which made O’Brien take notice of the sheer amount of talent the unit possesses.
"I think some of them are a little bit ahead [of the curve],” O’Brien said.
Before, it was players like second-year defensive backs Syair Torrence, Omar Thornton and Carter Davis showing a major improvement since their freshman year. Now, the offensive rookies are picking up a ton of momentum.
This includes running backs Bo MacCormack III and Mekhi Dodd, two freshmen backs from Mass. who O’Brien thinks can have extremely successful careers on the Heights.
Rise and grind#NEXTLEVEL pic.twitter.com/qhX2KGf3uJ
— Boston College Football (@BCFootball) August 5, 2025
MacCormack and Dodd each scored on hard-nosed runs in the final redzone 11-on-11 period and are feeding off each other’s energy as the newcomers of the unit, staying after practice to put in extra work together when the coaches are not present.
"I don’t think they have a ceiling,” O’Brien said. “I think both those guys are very talented guys. They push each other."
That also includes freshman punter Andy Quinn from Galway, Ireland. During BC's punt-team session on Tuesday, Quinn made the punt of camp so far, perfectly placing a boot to the 1-yard line which was recovered and downed by freshman Charlie Comella.
McLaughlin Magic
The most dialed-in wide receiver of 2025 fall training camp is far and away Luke McLaughlin, a redshirt junior from Hudson, Ohio.
A 5-foot-10, 181-pound slot receiver, McLaughlin continues to be the most targeted wideout in camp and is just as focused in the catching realm as well. He has been James and Lonergan’s most reliable 7-on-7 target and has made plays with his feet and hands all over the field, primarily in short-yardage distances but also at the mid-tier level on deeper outs and comebacks.
“I made an example of Luke in the team meeting the other day,” O’Brien said. “He’s a great example of the role player that you're looking for. Really good on special teams. Got a good role on offense. ... He's a BC guy. Practices hard, in great condition, does everything the right way.”
O’Brien has ample experience coaching smaller-statured slot receivers from his time as the New England Patriots offensive coordinator—Julian Edelman and Wes Welker are the two best examples of players with this mold—and McLaughlin appears to fit into this shoe exquisitely.
Size is almost always a deterring factor in sports, notably football due to the physicality of it. But if there is a player who has shown that size is irrelevant to what happens on the field, it is McLaughlin.
Graham Dietz is a 2025 graduate of Boston College and subsequently joined Boston College On SI. He previously served as an editor for The Heights, the independent student newspaper, from fall 2021, including as Sports Editor from 2022-23. Graham works for The Boston Globe as a sports correspondent, covering high school football, girls' basketball, and baseball. He was also a beat writer for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League in the summer of 2023.
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