Boston College Football Player Departures Increases to Seven With Loss of OL and ATH

The Eagles will have to rebuild some of their lost depth to the transfer portal following the conclusion of Bill O'Brien's second year with the program.

Nate Johnson III (@shiftteamnate) via X.

The quantity of changes within the Boston College football program in the past week have not been minimal, to say the least.

In the last seven days alone, the Eagles signed 23 recruits in the class of 2026 on Early National Signing Day, which happened on Dec. 3, added a new general manager, and fired three coaches—including former defensive coordinator Tim Lewis.

The list of alterations includes the losses of multiple key players to the transfer portal, most prominently redshirt-sophomore quarterback Dylan Lonergan, who decided to leave the program after just one season on the Heights. 

The former Alabama transfer led BC in all passing categories in 2025.

Aside from Lonergan, defensive lineman Sterling Sanders, linebackers Daveon “Bam” Crouch and Jason Hewlett Jr., and defensive back Ashton McShane declared their intention to enter the portal once it opens on Jan. 2, 2026.

But there were two additional players, redshirt freshman Jadon Lafontant (OL) and junior Nate Johnson III (ATH), who took to social media to state their formal goodbyes to the program as well.

Lafontant tweeted that he was planning on entering the portal on Thursday, Dec. 4.

I'd like to thank Boston College for believing in me and offering me the opportunity to play. After talking with my family, I decided to enter the transfer portal with three years of eligibility. @on3sports @247SportsPortal @RivalsPortal @TransferPortal @Coach_Wayne55 pic.twitter.com/Fn5yh3e4Io

— Jadon Lafontant (@JadonLafontant) December 4, 2025

“I'd like to thank Boston College for believing in me and offering me the opportunity to play,” said Lafontant. “After talking with my family, I decided to enter the transfer portal with three years of eligibility.”

Johnson, meanwhile, was the most recent former Eagle to post on X about his decision to test the waters of the free-agency system at the collegiate level.

“I'd like to thank Boston College for the past years,” Johnson said. “After talks, I will be entering the transfer portal. FOLLOW and DM for tape!!”

Lafontant, a 6-foot-3, 321-pound lineman, appeared in just one game in 2025 after redshirting his freshman year (2024). 

The Brunswick School (Greenwich, Conn.) product was rated the 11th-best prospect in the state of Connecticut by 247 Sports in the class of 2023. Lafontant was a recruit of former BC head coach Jeff Hafley, not Bill O’Brien, however.

That is also true of Johnson, who joined the program in 2023 from Central Catholic (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and played in eight games, making one start. 

As a freshman, Johnson carried the ball five times for 29 yards and made one catch, but he appeared in just one game in 2024, which allowed him to maintain a redshirt. 

Johnson also practiced at cornerback during bowl prep before the 2023 Wasabi Fenway Bowl, in which the Eagles defeated No. 24 SMU, but he did not log any game snaps.

Before his career in Chestnut Hill, Mass., the 5-foot-9, 172-pound athlete was a four-year starter in high school, playing both sides of the ball at wide receiver and defensive back. 

Johnson totaled 2,368 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns in his career on offense, adding 77 tackles and 10 interceptions on defense.

With Lafontant and Johnson’s departures, BC has now lost a total of seven players to the transfer portal following the culmination of its 2025 campaign, which concluded with a 34-12 road win over Syracuse. The Eagles went 2-10 and 1-7 in O’Brien’s second year at the helm.