Observations from Day 1 of spring ball

They’re back.

The brand new-looking Eagles were back in a football setting at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning for the first day of spring practice.

Over the next month, BC has a whole lot of new and a good amount of old that will need to mesh together and become a team. There’s true competition at just about every single position, most importantly at quarterback.

There’s also a lot of new faces on staff that need to adapt and learn each other’s coaching style on a day-to-day basis, which makes spring ball just as important for them as it is for the players looking to earn a role.

We’re not able to report on ‘ones, twos, etc.’ but it’s pretty useless this time of year anyway. As we’ve seen over the last two head coaches, things can change quickly from spring to summer and into the fall.

Having said that, it was nice to get some sense of what a lot of the transfers look like in action. Here’s what stood out over the two hours:

Quarterback competition

Both Mason McKenzie and Grayson Wilson had their moments of ‘oh yeah, you can see it’ on Tuesday. Femi Babalola is a tank for a QB and has a rocket, but the other two were far more accurate on this first day. Enzo Arjona is still here too (I still think he was pretty good in camp last year when James was injured).

All three of those top guys had some strong sideline throws in various drills and also had some misses deep and over the middle. Feels like the competition will last well into training camp, as it probably should. The more competition with a team full of guys playing with chips on their shoulders, the better.

Running backs room could be deep again

Lots of talent and speed. Tough to get a better coach than Mike Hart too.

Liberty transfer Evan Dickens is really quick and he’s also got the Ashton Jeanty stance going on. Bo MacCormack and Mekhi Dodd are two local guys who made an impact on special teams their freshmen year and will most likely get more opportunities on offense this season. Anthony Ferrucci is back too and can be productive. Don’t forget about transfer Nolan Ray as well, who came in from Maryland. All of those guys run equally as hard too, constantly churning through the first, sometimes second whistle.

O-line size

I was told a week or so ago by someone that the O-line room ‘looks how a BC O-line room is supposed to look,’ and holy crap, he’s not kidding. There’s obviously more to it than just the eye test, but the Eagles are big up front.

Tennessee State transfer Veguer Jean-Jumeau is a VERY large human being and athletic. Don’t forget about guys like Jani Norwood, Judah Pruitt and Pap Sy. Sy in particular looks like he may be in the best shape he’s been in since joining the program a few years ago. He too looked very athletic. Michael Crounse and Robert Smith IV can provide some veteran stability. Michigan State transfer Kristian Philips will obviously be in the mix too.

There’s going to be a lot of work to do for Kurt Anderson figuring out the depth chart, but there are big bodies all over the room, so it’s a good start there at least. I’d say the O-line and D-line probably went 60-40 for the D-line on Tuesday in terms of ‘competitive’ pass rushing during team periods. Tough to really gauge when they’re not in pads though.

Defensive backs

Ashton Cunningham had a few PBUs early on during various periods. Freshman Gerald Green Jr. had a sick one-handed PBU on a deep ball during a rout combination drill. Max Tucker had one on a crosser later in the same drill. Having KP Price in the secondary is so critical too, just that familiar voice and a guy who’s seen a lot is invaluable.

Tucker showed up in 11-on-11 work too, he probably could have had a pick late in practice. Cunningham had a PBU during a team period against VJ Wilkins. Freshman Jordan Rodriguez had an interception during 7-on-7 and had a few other PBUs. Could be a name to watch.

There’s a lot of experience back thanks to the trial-by-fire season a year ago. I’m as confident in this group as any on the team as of March 10.

Receivers

Colgate transfer Reed Swanson is absolutely taller than Reed Harris was and was pretty smooth. Feels like he’ll benefit from the BC strength and conditioning program, if he gets a little bigger he’s going to be a problem (he already was in the Patriot League).

North Carolina transfer Javarius Green was really impressive. One of the first notes I wrote down about him was just ‘he’s going to be a problem.’ He reminds me of Zay a little bit just in terms of quickness and different ways the team can use him. He’s ultimately another VJ Wilkins. If both of those guys can get on the same page with the offense this season, they’re dynamic.

Tight ends

Aside from the DBs, this is the other position group I’m most confident in early on.

Kaelan Chudzinski still absolutely looks and plays the part. New Florida transfer Cameron Kossmann and Brady Clough both had a couple catches during 7-on-7 and team work. Zeke Moore is still a solid option there as well. I’m one of the people that underestimated what Jeremiah Franklin brought to the table, but I think this group as a whole should give BC plenty of options there.

I also think you’re going to see the tight end much more involved this season too. Regardless of who the quarterback is, that security blanket needs to be a staple of the offense in 2026. With Bill O’Brien calling the plays – as a guy who coached two very good ones – it’s hard to imagine he won’t take advantage of the various skillsets in that room.

Linebackers

Always a question around here, but once again I’m confident. Washington State transfer Anthony Palano might be your immediate alpha in that room. He’s not huge, but he just looks and sounds how a linebacker is supposed to when he’s out there. Griffin Collins could be ready for a big leap forward after he sort of arrived on special teams late in camp last summer. Juan Zabal and Notre Dame transfer Bodie Kahoun are probably going to have big roles too. That room might have some sneaky depth that hasn’t existed in a while.

Defensive line

Late during some ‘live’ team action (again, no pads though), Jayzen Flint, Bryce Lewis and Makai Byerson were problems for any combination of O-linemen. Flint and Lewis combined on a sack and then Flint had one solo the very next rep.

I’ll spend more time watching them over the next practice or two.

Overall takeaways

It’s day one, but there’s some pretty good size and speed throughout the roster. Having said that, there’s clearly a feeling out process when it comes to everything and all the new faces.

That’s not to say it’s completely starting over because there was plenty of structure and flow to practice on Tuesday, but there was a little bit of tentative, first day of school vibes inside Fish.