Takeaways From First Day of Boston College Football Training Camp

CHESTNUT HILL — Fall training camp is really the initial kickoff event of the year for college football teams—not conference Media Days. Media Days are mostly for talking, but all the talk can only be backed up through action.

Pads aren’t even on yet, but for the Boston College Eagles’ football program, there was finally action Wednesday morning at Fish Fieldhouse, which conjoins the two additional outdoor practice fields which the Eagles’ 2025 roster filed onto at 8:45 a.m. sharp.

Returning BC quarterback Grayson James, a senior, was ahead of the pack as the team marched from Alumni Stadium, where the football locker room is, to the practice facilities.

James is in the midst of a quarterback competition with Alabama transfer Dylan Lonergan, a sophomore and previous four-star recruit who BC head coach Bill O’Brien recruited to Tuscaloosa, Ala. when he was the offensive coordinator under legendary head coach Nick Saban for the Crimson Tide.

"In the end, somebody will start and somebody will be the backup,” O’Brien said. “We'll make that decision when the timing is right. I don't have that timing down right now. But I have a feeling that both guys are going to end up playing in some way, shape or form."

Also of note was that freshman quarterback Shaker Reisig, who BC's coaching staff is high on, was seen in a medical boot on Wednesday with an undisclosed injury which shouldn't sideline him for too long, according to O'Brien. While the starters are not decided yet, redshirt junior quarterback Enzo Arjona took the majority of reps following James and Lonergan in Reisig’s absence.

After an initial period of team and individual drills, then some stretching, the offense and defense went head-to-head for the first time, starting in 7-on-7, then 11-on-11.

Overall, the defense won the day, highlighted by lockdown secondary—BC is coming off a season in which it ranked second in interceptions in the ACC.

The Eagles’ defense dominated in today’s first practice, especially the secondary in team drills.

In 7-on-7, 11-on-11, by my count, here are the QB stats:

Grayson James: 3-for-8 with an INT (was a good throw that got tipped and picked by Will Straka).

Dylan Lonergan: 4-for-9. pic.twitter.com/1DJnc27uT9
— Graham Dietz (@graham_dietz) July 30, 2025

But just one day is not nearly a big enough sample to make predictions for the season yet. Realistically, that won’t be the case until at least two or three games into O’Brien’s second year at the helm.

“I’m very fortunate to be a head coach,” O’Brien said. “I love being a head coach. I mean, these are great jobs, man. These are awesome jobs.”

Here are some key takeaways as the first day of fall training camp is in the books.

Quarterback Competition Remains Even

Quarterback play was certainly not the highlight of the first day of fall camp. Far from it, but that is to be expected.

For Lonergan, especially, learning the playbook of the offense in a new system is no small task. Lonergan never looked flummoxed when he was in the pocket during team drills, but he was not dialed in, either.

Dylan Lonergan firing a dart into his intended target on the throwing net while moving to his right: pic.twitter.com/k3OdXZle4V
— Graham Dietz (@graham_dietz) July 30, 2025

Lonergan missed two deep balls on either side of the field, one to Lewis Bond, the other to Reed Harris, in 7-on-7 by roughly three to five yards. On both occasions, the receiver won outside leverage on the defensive back and could have at least gone up for a contested catch if Lonergan had thrown the ball with the correct amount of hang time.

Junior wideout Jaedn Skeete hauled in arguably Lonergan’s best throw of the day, also in the 7-on-7 period, but the ball was still slightly overthrown, forcing Skeete to dive back to the ball and secure it while falling out of bounds.

James, who threw the only interception of the day in team drills—picked off by senior linebacker Will Straka—showcased his strong arm and tight spiral but still had trouble locating his pass catchers with accuracy on deeper routes. His most impressive throw consisted of a heavily-covered, mid-tier in-cut which hit Reed Harris in stride.

Practice No. 1 was not a good indicator of who has the upper edge in the quarterback competition, largely due to the dominance of the secondary. The total number of throws from James and Lonergan were also minimal—between the two of them, there were less than 20 balls that actually made it into the air.

Secondary Flashes Scary Potential

The Eagles’ defensive backs room has not lost its step in 2025 so far.

BC ranked second in interceptions in the ACC last year and is already looking promising after the first day of fall camp.

From returning starters KP Price, Amari Jackson, Cameron Martinez and Max Tucker to players who primarily came off the bench last year or didn’t play at all, like Syair Torrence, Omar Thornton, Carter Davis and Isaiah Farris, it is safe to say the BC secondary is stacked.

“Some guys who were even here last year that didn’t play a whole lot, [like] Syair Torrence, that guy’s had a great offseason—a hell of an offseason,” O’Brien said. “Omarion Davis, he’s gonna be a really good player, TJ Green, Ashton Cunningham. There’s some good young DBs in addition to the Amari Jacksons, the Max Tuckers, the Ashton Cunninghams, and obviously the safeties.”

O’Brien said that the secondary is one of the strongest points of the time, and rightfully so.

Torrence bounced all over the field in team drills on Wednesday, showing off his ballhawk abilities and wreaking havoc for the Eagles’ signal callers—whether it was in man coverage or as a secondary defender in zone. He was easily the Day-One most valuable player, followed by the rest of his position group as a whole.

“We got a lot of guys back there that can play good football,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien Finding Comfort in Year Two

No first year on a job is very easy, regardless if it is in the realm of head coaching at the collegiate level of a sport or as a chef at a restaurant—that is a simple fact of life.

But O’Brien handled his position at the helm of the BC football program with composure in 2024, his first year, despite being hired late in the recruiting cycle of 2025 and having to step into coaching responsibilities right away.

In year two, he is more solidified.

“It helps, you know, definitely helps,” O’Brien said. “Knowing these guys a lot better than this time last year, still learning a lot of the guys, but now I know these guys pretty well. From a skillset standpoint, from a personality standpoint, I have a pretty good feel for most of the guys. Having better knowledge, it’s a little bit easier to coach them.”

"We're a tremendous Jesuit Catholic education that forms the whole person and plays good football, gives back to the community. We do a lot in the greatest city in the world, and so, like, that's what we offer these kids. It's not just like 'Hey, we're able to pay you this.'" https://t.co/16wBP4LfTe
— Graham Dietz (@graham_dietz) July 30, 2025