Boston College Football: Eagles will be even better in 2018

Offense

Normally this is where I would talk about the quarterback position but the main focus for the Eagles is running back AJ Dillon. Dillon had a break out freshman campaign as the 6-foot, 240-pound bruiser ran for 1,589 yards and 14 touchdowns on 5.3 yards per carry.

Coach Addazio, who was on the Florida Gators coaching staff that won the national title in 2006 and 2008, used Dillon as his Tim Tebow pounding him into the opposing defense 300 times in 2017. His back up, Jon Hillman, departed as a graduate transfer and the Eagles have to find a replacement to take some pressure off of Dillon. Travis levy has bulked up and could be the next man in option for BC.

Supporting Cast

Dillon’s supporting cast starts at the quarterback position. Anthony Brown and Darius Wade split starting quarterback duty in 2017. Wade has departed and Brown was injured late in the season which caused him to miss the entire spring. The bulk of the reps went to E.J. Perry. The 6-foot-2 Perry is the son of a coach and is a computer science major showing the brains and leadership needed at the quarterback position. Perry played in one game a year ago, the Fenway Park showdown against UConn and is listed as a sophomore.

At the receiver position, the top target will be tight end Tommy Sweeney. At 6-foot-5, 255-pounds Sweeney is a pro-style tight end that will remind you of a bygone era. Sweeney caught 36 balls for 512 yards and four touchdowns a year ago. Kobay White is a sophomore receiver that came on as a freshman in Addazio’s youth movement. White caught 34 balls for 423 yards and two touchdowns in 2017.

Jeff Smith is a quarterback that converted to receiver and has been versatile for the Eagles. In 2017, Smith caught 24 balls, ran for a touchdown and threw two touchdowns which gives Coach Addazio’s offense a weapon to improve from their 101st ranking in the S&P+.