Mack Brown describes changes to Boston College offense after QB change

With North Carolina set to visit Boston College this Saturday, head coach Mack Brown is getting the Tar Heels ready for a new starting quarterback. But he ultimately thinks the move to Grayson James under center fits the Eagles’ modus operandi.

Speaking at some length about the Boston College offense and program, Brown thinks James’ game fits the pro-style world that head coach Bill O’Brien is trying to build in Chestnut Hill.

“The new guy throws better, he’s more of a consistent passer because he’s tall and he can see. He doesn’t run as well but he can still run. And obviously they made the change so they felt like this guy was better,” Brown said.

In three games this season, James has completed 60% of his passes for 456 yards and a trio of touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also got two rushing touchdowns.

For most of the season, the Eagles had been starting Thomas Castellanos, a bigger threat as a runner but, as Brown mentioned, a more limited passer. Castellanos had 18 touchdowns and five interceptions passing with 1366 yards in eight games for the Eagles, completing 61.5% of his passes. He also ran for a touchdown and 193 yards, including sack yardage. Castellanos has since left the Boston College program and intends to transfer after being benched.

Brown, though, also seemed to think the quarterback change might not matter much given how Boston College wishes to play.

“Bill’s really — you can tell the program’s just modeled after a pro-style program,” Brown said. “And they’re going to be physical, they’re going to run the ball, they’re going to use a lot of formations, they’re going to use tight ends and extra linemen and they’re going to bloody your nose, man. I like watching it. I’m a Bill O’Brien fan. In fact, just to watch the game plan they had against Florida State, everybody thought Florida State had the upset against Georgia Tech, they were going to come back and just kill Boston College and I sat there and watched it and they ran the ball for, I don’t have the exact numbers but you can look it up. It was over 300 yards of 260 something to like 21. It was an unbelievable mismatch on being physical. So that definitely got my attention.”