BC Football: Eagles Get Three on Preseason All-Conference List

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As summer camp approaches, the Boston College Eagles find themselves in a place that has become all too familiar to them. The Eagles have three members of the team named to the All-Conference Preseason team in the Atlantic Coast Conference. However, the team itself is still considered a second-division squad. The Eagles received only one vote to win the league outright and they were also given a vote to win the Atlantic Division. In fact, to win the division, BC gained 468 points. One other team got less and that was Syracuse with 201. For coach Jeff Hafley, this should become bulletin board material to start camp.

On the bright side, three Eagles did get mentioned on the All-Conference first team. On offense, WR Zay Flowers and OG Christian Mahogany were named and CB Josh DeBerry was named on the defensive side of the ball. Flowers totaled 104 votes to make this year’s preseason team. A season ago, Zay made starts in all 12 Eagles games. He finished with 44 receptions for 746 yards and five touchdowns. Zay averaged 17 yards a catch. He also ran the ball seven times for 69 yards, an average of almost ten yards a carry. His best run came against Temple on Sept.18, a 47-yard run on his only carry of the game. Flowers had two 100-yard receiving yards game, one out of conference vs Colgate 135 yards on seven catches and a touchdown catch. The other one was in ACC play vs Syracuse on Oct. 30. He finished with 116 yards on six receptions. Flowers is BC’s best game-breaking player and getting him the ball and letting him make plays will be key to this offense’s success. He is the only wideout that can stretch defenses and challenge the opposing team’s secondary.

Christian Mahogany is a 335 LB. offensive lineman who was expected to anchor a line that got hit hard by graduation. However, back on June 16, Boston College had to start thinking about Plan B. That’s because Mahogany announced he had suffered a torn right ACL and will miss the upcoming season. A big blow to a line that could have used his experience in both the run and pass game. In 2020, Mahogany played all 765 offensive snaps and helped the run game rush for over one thousand yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. How BC fills the left side of the offensive line will be one of summer camp’s more interesting decisions.

Senior CB, Josh Deberry, played in ten of BC’s twelve games last fall. He made 37 solo tackles and assisted on 16 more. He was in on seven tackles for loss and one sack. DeBerry had two interceptions, three passes deflected, and one forced fumble. In 2020, DeBerry was credited with two forced fumbles that ranked him 10th in the conference. In his three years at Boston College, DeBerry has 108 total tackles, with 76 solo tackles. He has a nose for the ball and is not afraid of jumping into the hole to make plays.

The issue with the Eagles could be the same as in years past. They have good starters but a depth that is thin. Keeping players like Flowers and DeBerry on the field this season will be huge if BC wants to knock on that first-division door.