Recap: Boston College Football at the ACC Media Kickoff

With just over a month to go before college football season starts, the Atlantic Coast Conference held its annual media kickoff day down in Charlotte, North Carolina. Boston College sent head coach Jeff Hafley, offensive lineman Christian Mahogany, and starting QB Emmett Morehead to represent the Eagles.

Right off the bat, Hafley was asked about BC’s offensive line. They were one of the worst in the country in 2022, but are expected to take a jump after bringing in two great transfers and returning Christian Mahogany from injury. Coach Hafley talked about what that means for their offense:

“At BC you have to run the ball and we’re going to run the ball. The key to our team, the strength of our team needs to be the O-line, and it will be the O-line. [...] That’s what excites me the most about this team is the offensive line. Now we have to go and prove it and we have to go line up in training camp, and now we’re going to be able to practice and be physical which we weren’t able to do.”

Now that Hafley is in his fourth season here on the Heights, he’s completely installed the culture he wants from his team. He talked about why his players have a great attitude in the culture he’s installed:

“I think last year we talked about Zay Flowers and how Zay could have left. Then you talk about Zay Flowers, who was the 22nd pick in the draft at the end of the season when we’re a 3-win team. That guy is playing harder for his teammates than a lot of people. [...] We won three games but we didn’t lose our good young players. Same thing with Christian. Christian could have went to the NFL, I’m sure Christian could have went to any team in the country, but he already said he wasn’t leaving. Our guys believe in what we’re doing. More importantly, our guys believe in eachother, and they believe in the coaching staff.”

Emmett Morehead is preparing for his first full season as Boston College’s starting quarterback after being thrust into that role midway through the 2022 season. The media asked him what he’s looking forward to this season after 2022’s struggles:

“When we have a good run game it opens up the playaction game. We’re efficient on first and second down. Our third down conversions are going to be much higher because we have much better position. I think we probably played on third and long more than any team in the country last year.”

They also asked Morehead about BC’s rich tradition of quarterback play and he didn’t hold back when talking about who he looks up to:

“I’ve watched Matt Ryan my whole life, which is a blessing because I think he does a lot of things the right way. His fundamentals are very, very obtainable. I think that’s something I focused on this offseason is just making sure that I’m as consistent as I can be with my footwork and setting up the throw to be in balance. That’s something Matt Ryan has made a career out of. He is consistently very, very careful with the ball. He has had his touchdown to turnover ratio be really good year after year.”

Mahogany made some strong statements about the culture within the Boston College football program amid the evolving landscape of NIL and big money being thrown around at college athletes. He stated:

“Boston College is special [...] We do things here I can’t explain. Coach Hafley is special, and my teammates.”