Highlights and Takeaways From Boston College Football's First Scrimmage of 2026 Training Camp

The Eagles practiced inside Alumni Stadium for the first time, going through all sorts of game scenarios with real game officials in attendance.

Boston College Football.

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — The Boston College football program held its first official scrimmage of 2026 fall training camp at Alumni Stadium on Saturday morning.

Eagles head coach Bill O’Brien, sophomore defensive lineman Israel Oladipupo, and redshirt-sophomore wide receiver Jonathan Montague Jr. all spoke with the media after the scrimmage.

Coach O’Brien’s initial thoughts on how the scrimmage went: pic.twitter.com/t0pdSSBwtv

— Graham Dietz (@graham_dietz) August 15, 2026

Here are all the highlights and takeaways from the morning:

Scrimmage Notes:

- O’Brien said the focus offensively was establishing the run game, and one player who stood out in that realm was Maryland transfer Nolan Ray.

A bigger back than his peers at six-feet, 210 pounds, Ray broke loose for a 70-yard rushing touchdown early in the scrimmage, showing off his explosiveness as he drove right through the gut of the defense for the biggest play of the day.

“Nolan’s had a really good camp,” said O’Brien. “[We’re] really excited about him. Again, depth is the key there, right? Mekhi [Dodd] did some good things today, and then we have, obviously, Evan [Dickens] and Bo [MacCormack III]. But you’re going to need all four, and so it’s good to see that Nolan’s coming here ready to go. It’s been fun to watch him.”

- While the offensive line fared well in terms of run blocking, for the most part, the same could not be said of its pass protection, which O’Brien spoke on in a mildly-concerned manner.

“I thought the protection was not great,” O’Brien said. “And our O-line’s done a good job, but today I thought, you know, coach [Ted] Roof threw some stuff at us that was tough to pick up, and we got to go back and watch it and get better at it and walk through it and do it again. Protect is going to be key in that deal. If we can protect, we’ll be able to throw. If we can’t protect, we’re going to have an issue.”

Backup centers DJ Williams and Amir Johnson also had snap troubles, which flummoxed O’Brien. There were about four botched snaps in total during the scrimmage.

“I don’t know. I don’t know,” O’Brien said. “We got to get them better.”

- Starting quarterback Mason McKenzie made a pair of very impressive throws, one to wide receiver Jaedn Skeete around midfield that resulted in a 30-yard pick up for the offense, and one to tight end Brady Clough for a touchdown that zipped right through two defensive backs. The touchdown pass was from inside the 25-yard line.

“I think game experience definitely helps,” O’Brien said of McKenzie. “There’s no doubt about it. He’s been in a lot of games, been productive in a lot of games, whatever level, that doesn’t matter. He’s had that experience, so I definitely think that helps.”

While McKenzie was forced to scramble a decent amount because of the pocket collapsing, one part of his game that has continued to impress throughout camp — and is arguably an underrated attribute of his — is arm strength. He throws a speedy ball that spirals tightly, delivers it on time, and is quite accurate as well.

- True freshman quarterback Femi Babalola was intercepted by sophomore defensive back Marcus Upton, who returned it for a pick six.

Babalola is seeing a ton of action for somebody who was in high school less than a year ago, so O’Brien isn’t too worried about mistakes here or there.

“Femi’s made a lot of improvement,” O’Brien said. “He had a couple plays he wished he had back, right? A pick six there, but he’s made a lot of improvement. You guys can all see his visibility. He’s a very young guy, you know, you’re coming from high school to this, and you’re seeing Roof’s defense.”

“One play’s four down, one play’s Okie, the next play’s base, you’ve seen all kinds of different coveragers. He’s never seen that in his life, so he’s making a lot of strides, and we’re fired up about Femi.”

- Linebacker Bodie Kahoun, safety Carter Davis, and defensive tackle Micah Amedee were the all-stars on defense for the day. 

Amedee, in particular, feasted against the O-line. He consistently broke through protection, put pressure on the quarterback, and blew up multiple runs. He is looking poised to be a top player among that unit, which needs to see major improvement from last year.

- Kicker Luca Lombardo knocked in a 46-yard field goal early in the scrimmage but went 1-for-2 in the game-winning scenario to finish practice. Bryce LaFollette missed his one attempt, which he attempted from approximately the 35-yard line with the clock ticking down from 20 seconds.

Punters Andy Quinn and Jonathan Hewitt were clobbering punts. The hang time, distance, and spin were extremely promising.

- Defensive back Max Tucker, who suffered an undisclosed injury during Wednesday's practice that required him to be taken away by ambulance, was back on the sideline for Saturday's practice. He helped out the DBs during Indy drills and hyped up the defense during the scrimmage period.

DB Max Tucker was on the sideline for Saturday’s scrimmage after leaving Wednesday’s practice with an undisclosed injury.

O’Brien mentioned that the team wasn’t dealing with any major injuries “knock on wood” besides soft-tissue and concussions.

— Graham Dietz (@graham_dietz) August 15, 2026

New seating alert! Check it out:

The new-look, middle-of-the-field seats in Alumni, cushioned and decently spread apart: pic.twitter.com/Ut4jQj1osx

— Graham Dietz (@graham_dietz) August 15, 2026

Follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram for the latest Boston College Athletics news.