Boston College 35 VT 28: Stock Report

Whose stock was helped today, hurt?

With Boston College grabbing a solid win yesterday over a good Virginia Tech squad, it's time to look at some of the individual performances during the game. Of course there were some players who stood out, but there were also some players who may have had their stock hit a little by their play. Let's take a look at yesterday's game and give out some stock recaps:

Stock Went Up

Anthony Brown: After many questions following his sophomore year it was his time to show what he was capable of doing against a solid opponent. How did he respond? Only by throwing for 275 yards two touchdowns through the air and another on the ground. He was basically held in check the second half, so we will want to see him continue to be consistent in future games, but he checked all the boxes in his first game of 2019.

Zay Flowers and Kobay White : Lots of talk going into this game that the freshman Flowers was going to be an X factor this season, and that was exactly what he was in this game. He made two huge catches for the Eagles, showing good speed and concentration. He finished the game with 2 receptions for 91 yards and three rushes for 25 yards. Kobay White also had three big catches and a touchdown grab that was beautifully thrown but also was a nice job by White to get his feet in. 

David Bailey: If he can do what he did yesterday on a consistent basis he will clearly be a great backup for AJ Dillon. He had a huge catch for 27 yards on 3rd and 22. 

John Lamot and Joe Sparacio: The pair of linebackers were big time play makers for the Eagles yesterday. Lamot was just instinctual throughout the game, with 6 tackles including a big time hit in the backfield. Sparacio had a big time interception in the end zone, and would have had another if Ryan Willis didn't have such great touch on a touchdown pass. If Isaiah McDuffie will be out for a while, the linebackers will be in good hands with this duo. This is not to downplay Max Richardson either, he played a solid game as well. 

Brandon Sebastian: Beautifully played the position all night, including a circus interception in the end zone where he ended up on his neck. Sebastian is going to be legit, and looks like he is ready to take the mantle of CB1 for the Eagles. 

TJ Rayam: BC needs a second defensive tackle and he could be the answer for the Eagles. Mark Herzlich compared him to BJ Raji on the telecast, which could be the biggest praise he could receive. 

Hunter Long: Once BC got him involved in the passing game, he showed why he looked like he could be the heir apparent to Tommy Sweeney. Three big catches on one drive, if he continues to put those type of performances together he will be a household name sooner rather than later. 

Pass Protection: Was fantastic. Anthony Brown had all day on some of his passes to make reads and look for an open receiver. Good work by the offensive line in this regard. 

STOCK DOWN

Kicking Game: Aaron Boumerhi had an opportunity to really make the game a blow out with a shorter field goal, and he missed it. If you want to be optimistic it wasn't like he missed it by a mile like in year's past, but you can't feel good that BC missed their only FG opportunity of the game. 

Pass Rush: BC had two sacks in this game, one came from a cornerback blitz and another came from a blown assignment that allowed Joey Luchetti to go in untouched. Steve Addazio addressed this concern in his press conference and will be something that will need to be addressed and worked on moving forward. 

Third And Fourth Down Defense: BC allowed Tech to go 8/18 on 3rd down and 3/3 on 4th Down. What was the most difficult to watch was a 3rd quarter drive where the Hokies had a 3rd and 21 that Virginia Tech converted on a Hezekiah Grimsley, followed by a 3rd and 9 that they also converted. This led to a Ryan Willis touchdown pass. Later in the 4th quarter they had Tech back on a 4th and 7, and still allowed Ryan Willis to scramble for another first down, which, like the previous example led to a touchdown. 

Safeties: Mike Palmer and Mehdi El-Attrach had a couple of miscommunications including the first touchdown pass. Tate Haynes and Sebastian looked good, but they are going to need safety help against some of these offenses. 

NO CHANGE IN STOCK

AJ Dillon: I was very close to putting Dillon in the stock down column because he only averaged 3.6 yards per carry, but he had two HUGE runs that changed momentum for the Eagles. On a run where he looked to be hit for a loss, he changed direction, stiff armed a defender and scored, and then probably the play of the game on 3rd and 9 with the entire defense keying in on him he ran for a first down. BC was able to kneel it and end the game. 

Trick Play Dial Up: Personally I didn't have an issue with Steve Addazio calling up the WR pass with Kobay White. Sometimes they work sometimes they don't. Luckily this mistake didn't cost them the game.