Friday Practice Report: The Offense, and Challenges That Await Them
Coach Jeff Hafley isn't about to show his cards when it comes to his offensive scheme. After inheriting a team that was built for power running, he has made adjustments adding transfers like quarterback Phil Jurkovec and wide receiver Jaelen Gill, to go along with other passing weapons like Zay Flowers, Kobay White and Hunter Long. He made it clear that today that his team is going to be more variability on offense, but he had a reason on why he won't explain more about what that means.
"Nobody has much film on us either, we'll keep the scheme at that," he told reporters on Friday.
Keeping their offense basically a secret from opponents, will be an advantage going into the 2020 season. Fans, like everyone else, will have to wait until the season opener to see what the Boston College offense really will be shaped like. This could make preparing for BC challenging for opponents.
Scheme aside, Hafley talked about three pillars to his team. "Our identity, like I said all along, is built on toughness, loving each other and competing." The mental toughness has been evident throughout training camp, as this group of players have gone challenging changes, related to COVID-19, that no teams in recent history have had to deal with. And with the news coming out today that all COVID tests again were negative, it again highlights what the coach has said, that this team is tough.
But the mental grit is going to be challenged even further soon. Students are going to return, and temptations to break these rules will be inevitable. But Hafley has faith in his squad. "We're not going to be able to keep this bubble forever, we know that. Things are going to get harder," he concluded. "That's why we really have to form great habits and follow the protocols we have in place. Wear our masks, constantly wash our hands, keep social distance."
PRACTICE NOTES (please note that practices are not open to the media and these notes are based on information given by BC)
* Zay Flowers sounds like he is really connecting with quarterback Phil Jurkovec. Again today he had two huge catches, and it seems like these catches are a daily event at practice.
* Tem Lukabu praised Marcus Valdez on Thursday, and the defensive end had a fumble and sack today. The new DC praised his energy earlier.
* Ezechiel Tiede, who played quarterback in the spring, has moved to wide receiver, and received praise in the report for a catch in traffic.
* Mike Palmer, could be in for a big year, had an interception during practice.
* Cam Horsley, freshman defensive tackle, who has been mentioned here numerous times, had a blocked field goal.