As QB1, Dylan Lonergan Ready to Guide Boston College Football on 'Uphill Track'

For the first time as the official starting quarterback of the Boston College football program, redshirt sophomore Dylan Lonergan addressed the media for his post-practice press conference to discuss the news of BC head coach Bill O’Brien naming him QB1.

“I think I’m going to be ready for the moment,” Lonergan said. “We’re all going to be ready for it.”

The journey from Sellville, Ga., to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to Chestnut Hill, Mass., eventually culminated in Lonergan’s dream—getting the opportunity to suit up and play college football at the power-four conference level.

Lonergan and O’Brien go back to the signal caller’s high school football days at Brookwood High School, when the second-year head coach of the Eagles recruited him to Alabama as the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator under Nick Saban.

Now, with only 17 days to go until the first whistle of BC’s 2025 campaign blows, the time for the two of them to show their potential is right on the doorstep.

Lonergan has barely touched the field as a college football player. He took a total of seven snaps for the Crimson Tide, completing 5-of-6 passes and rushing for a 16-yard gain. While he doesn’t have the experience that BC’s second-string quarterback, senior Grayson James, has, Lonergan thinks he is primed for a successful career on the Heights.

“I think I've grown a lot as a player since I got here,” Lonergan said. “I think this offense puts a lot on the quarterback, which is very good for me, just development-wise. Makes it easier that our coaches coach really well every day, [and] let us know all the details.”

Lonergan hasn’t had many reps in a game yet as a college football player, but he said the work that he’s put in has prepared him for the moment.

“I think I'm going to be ready for the moment. We're all going to be ready for it.” https://t.co/JX7rW5itqX
— Graham Dietz (@graham_dietz) August 13, 2025

The quarterback competition which got underway when Lonergan transferred to BC in the winter was settled after only 10 practices of fall training camp. O’Brien felt that Lonergan was ahead of James in the passing arena, pointing to Lonergan’s decision-making ability and fundamental soundness both in and outside of the pocket as factors which went into the coaches’ decision to give him the reins.

James is comfortable with the offensive scheme already—he proved that with a 4-2 record in five starts for the Eagles in 2024 after former BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos was benched and stepped away from the program during the middle of the season.

But Lonergan and O’Brien have the recruiting connection, and being recruited to play for the legendary, future College Football Hall of Fame coach Nick Saban has to say something about what Lonergan is capable of.

There is not an ounce of doubt in Lonergan about what he is going to do on the field once BC’s Week One contest against Fordham rolls around on Aug. 30.

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve got a lot of confidence in my team,” Lonergan said. “I got a great supporting cast, great coaches that have coached [the team] really well since I've been here throughout the spring and the summer. And, you know, we just keep working day by day. We're getting ready for Fordham.”

The dynamic between Lonergan and James could not be more different than the one James and Castellanos had with each other.

The two have pushed one another since the winter all the way up until the most recent day of camp, on Wednesday morning, and have a bond which extends beyond the pads.

Hello from Chamberlin Practice Fields.

BC fall training camp #11.

After being named the starter on Tuesday, Dylan Lonergan is scheduled to speak with the media after practice.

Stay tuned @BostonCollegeSI.

🎥 below: QB1 🏹 1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/BWffL9XuXm
— Graham Dietz (@graham_dietz) August 13, 2025

“Grayson is a great dude,” Lonergan said. “We've gotten along kind of ever since I got here. I think we pushed each other a ton on and off the field … he's going to be there for me, and I'd be the same for him.”

The decision to come to BC in the first place all stems back to Lonergan’s relationship with O’Brien, who has coached arguably the best quarterback in all of football history—Tom Brady—when he was an offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick.

“I [have] a lot of the familiarity with coach O'Brien, him being a great guy throughout the recruiting process helped me a lot to make this decision a lot easier,” Lonergan said. “I just knew it was a good opportunity here to come in and compete. This team [will have a] real uphill track for the next couple years.”