Boston College Football: 3 Upperclassmen who must step up in 2022
By Dante Pryor
3. Cam Horsley: Defensive Tackle
The Boston College Eagles are awful against the run. That is terrible news in a division that features Sean Tucker at Syracuse, Will Shipley, Kobe Pace, and Phil Mafah at Clemson, with running quarterbacks like Jordan Travis at Florida State and Malik Cunningham at Louisville.
It will not be a surprise if Haffley and the Eagles look to the portal for size and talent depth. Of the players on the roster, rising junior defensive tackle Cam Horsley is the most significant defensive lineman the Eagles have on the roster.
Horsley had 40 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss, including 2.5 tackles during his sophomore season. He and the rest of the defensive line have to be better to keep linebackers Bryce Steele, Vinny DePalma, and Kam Arnold clean to make plays for a defense that allowed nearly five yards per rush in 2022.
The Eagles surrendered 200 yards or more four times last season. Even UMass averaged four yards per carry against the Boston College defense.
The defense did take some strides in 2022, however. Boston College’s scoring defense was six points better than in 2021. The Eagles also surrendered about 40 fewer total yards in 2022 than in 2021. That said, Boston College football needs to get better down to down and limit explosive plays.
That starts in the trenches.