For Kobay White His Heart Always Screamed Boston College

The senior wide receiver talks about the new staff and why he chose to stay with the Eagles.

It has been a busy winter for Boston College football, as they moved on from Steve Addazio and hired new head coach Jeff Hafley. When coaching changes occur, players are bound to leave, due to a myriad of reasons including relationships with coaches, changes in philosophy and just not clicking with the new staff. This has certainly been the case for Boston College as a handful of players have already entered the transfer portal and signed with new programs.

Starting quarterback Anthony Brown was certainly the biggest name to enter the portal, but a surprising name came when wide receiver Kobay White decided he was going to explore his options. BC's leading receiver entered the portal after the bowl game, and only recently decided to return to the Heights. Late last week he spoke to reporters about his decision and his relationship with the new staff. 

When White entered the portal he talked to his family and wanted to check out his options, but quickly he found out that the process had a very different feel than when he was at Bishop McDevitt High School. "It's overwhelming. So many schools contacting you, everyone is telling you the same thing" he told reporters. "I guess it is cool when you are high school but when you get older, the process is kind of annoying".

At first, White wanted to look around but new head coach Jeff Hafley and his staff made sure to keep in contact with him.  "Coach Hafley was amazing through the process" White explained, "when I entered my the portal I got a call and he respected my decision 100%". The wide receiver wanted to make sure that he didn't keep the program dangling, and didn't feel comfortable going to meetings with the his teammates. But it was a phone call from Hafley, who reached out to White and invited him to a team meeting that opened his eyes. He heard the coaches, and what they had to say and it made his decision much easier.

After he left the meeting he knew it would be "impossible to leave", he had unfinished business to attend to with the Eagles. He took some time talked to his family and reflect on his decision, and realized "It would be hard to leave BC because of the relationships I've built here" and deep down he new it was going to the Eagles, "my heart was screaming BC". 

There were a couple of other factors that helped White make his decision. He was impressed with the coaches, and they seemed like winners to him. Hafley seemed genuine to the wide out, and someone that the players could connect with. He was also happy that his former position coach Richie Gunnell was going to be retained with the new staff, even if his role would change.

Now he can focus on the 2020 season. He has already met with fellow Pennsylvanian, Phil Jurkovec, and likes what he sees there. While he never will forget what Steve Addazio did and the lessons he learned from him, White is a huge competitor and is excited for his final season in Chestnut Hill.