Quality over quantity. That’s the mantra of this recruiting class. With all the turmoil of BC’s late stage coaching transition and the college football transfer portal writ large, we have ourselves a class primarily composed of kids that the current coach didn’t initially recruit. All of them, however, have stuck by and bought into what Bill O’Brien had to say to them. There is an opportunity here. It’s a big jump from high school to college, so as always there may not be much playing time this year (although there have been a number of exceptions for the Eagles these past few seasons), but glass half full the incoming freshmen may have more attention given and room to grow.
Starting on the defensive front, we have Jayzen Flint, an edge rusher from Philly. Standing in at 6’2 225 pounds, Flint is a three-star prospect who committed to Hafley all the way back in June of last year. Army, Nebraska, James Madison, and UMass also put Flint in their sights, but he has since stuck with Bill O’Brien. A top 20 product from his state, Flint joins a position group with a lot of upperclassmen.
The linebackers in the incoming class are Kemori Dixon and Omar Thornton. Dixon is a top-25 player and three-star prospect. from Virginia, who similarly signed early on and stayed even as the Penn State and Michigan State offers came in. Hafley remarked at how hard this fight was in the end. Great to see Coach O’Brien keep him committed. The 6-1, 200 pounder was initally looked at as a defensive back, but played both safety/linebacker and some receiver in high school. Thornton is a different case. He committed just days before Hafley departed. He went on to sign his letter of intent just days before Bill O’Brien was hired. This is commendable loyalty. He’s a three star prospect from Florida and comes in at 6-0, 195. He was named the league’s defensive player of the year in his senior season, posting 81 tackles, 8 sacks, and 2 interceptions.
The Eagles bring in a trio of three-star defensive backs, Ashton McShane, Charlie Comella, and Syair Torrence. The Texas native McShane is 5-11, 175, but Hafley said he “slipped through the cracks in Texas.” McShane logged 34 tackles, 2 picks and fumble recoveries, to go with 11 pass break-ups, He picked up offers from all over including the likes of Mizzou and Indiana as well. Next up is the local product Comella from Xaverian. He’s listed as a top 10 player from the state and is the son of seven year pro fullback and Stanford grad Greg Comella. Charlie is no fullback at 6-0, 180 but was listed as an athlete originally. Hafley called him “one of the most competitive high school athletes” he’s seen and he’ll be staying home. Finally, we have Torrence who was an under the radar steal from BC. Initially committed to both Syracuse and Michigan State, and with an offer from the defending champion Wolverines, Torrence found his way home to BC. A Syracuse native, the Orange were a natural choice and the Spartans lost out after their coach was fired. The 5-10, 191 pounder was rated a top-5 prospect from New York. Torrence is a versatile athlete who played some wide receiver and running back.
Most of the class will certainly end up redshirting, but that still will keep them eligible for four games. Last season, five freshmen exceeded that in playing time including two defensive backs. Heck, Max Tucker and KP Price were out here starting in games including the Fenway Bowl. Anything can happen. These incoming freshmen were not on the spring rosters, so they’ll have been working this summer and starting up in earnest at the start of camp August 1st. Here’s hoping these six will find their stride and be here for years to come.