Boston College Gets Noticed in Pre-Season Watch Lists

Read Time:3 Minute, 32 Second

At 8:30 AM on August 3rd, summer ended for members of the Boston College football team. It was replaced by summer football camp, as the Eagles began their preparation for the 2024 college football season. They do so under a new head coach, Bill O’Brien who begins his first season as the BC head coach. He will take the reins of a team that has some individuals who have been named to pre-season watch lists.

Four members of this season’s team have been named to a watch list. Three of them on offense and one on the defensive side. All four are going to be counted on to have a major impact on a team that finished last year winning the Fenway Bowl over SMU at Fenway Park.

The defensive player that has gotten some attention as camp begins is senior DE Donovan Ezeiruaku who has been named to two lists. The first is the Wuerffel Trophy, which was established for community service. The award was named after Heisman Trophy quarterback Danny Wuerffel who was the 1996 recipient. This award is considered one of the more meaningful awards that gets handed out after the season is over. Ezeiruaku has been involved in several community endeavors since arriving on the BC campus. Team Impact, Catholic Charities, Holiday in the Heights, and the BC Neighborhood Center. As well as Adopt-a-Child and Pack-the-Truck.

His commitment to the BC community has also got him named to the AFCA Good Works Team. It recognizes the commitment to community service while maintaining a grade point average of 3.0 and contributing to the Eagles on the field. As a defensive end on the Eagles defensive unit, Donovan was a second-team All-ACC selection as a sophomore in 2022 with 8.5 sacks. For his career at Boston College, he has 13.5 sacks which is fifth most among active players in the conference.

Graduate student Ozzy Trapilo has been named to the Outland Trophy watch list. This is the 78th year of this award. It is handed out to the best interior lineman in the game and is the third-oldest award in college football. Ozzy is a two-year starter at offensive tackle and second-team All-ACC in 2023. He started 22 games at left tackle and has earned a grade of 81.7 pass blocking and an overall grade of 75 from PFF. He did not allow a sack in 363 dropbacks in 2023. He totaled 720 plays in eight games played. Trapilo led an offensive line that helped BC gain 198.8 yards rushing a season ago. That was good for 13th in FBS and second in the ACC.

The Hornung Award is now in its 18th season and BC junior wide receiver Jayden McGowan has been named to the list. The award is given out to the most versatile player in major college football. In all, 48 players have been named to the list. McGowan was a two-time All-SEC kick returner at Vanderbilt. He finished in the top five in average kick return yards as a freshman and sophomore. He averaged over 24 yards a return and as a WR, he had 80 receptions in 24 career games for 836 yards and three touchdowns. Jayden has run the ball 32 times for 160 yards. As he begins his career at Boston College, McGowan has 1.875 all-purpose yards to his credit.

The Maxwell Award has been handed out to the College Player of the Year since 1987. BC will be represented by junior QB Thomas Castellanos. He will begin his second year under center for the Eagles. He took over the starting job in week two a year ago. He finished last season as the first 2,000-yard passer and 1,000-yard rusher in school history. In the win at the Fenway Bowl, Castellanos was named the Offensive MVP. In the ACC, Thomas became just the fifth quarterback to have two thousand yards passing and one thousand rushing yard year. He ranked third in rushing yards with 1,113, third in rushing touchdowns with 13, and fourth in total offense with 259.5 yards a game.