Early FSU Scouting Report: Boston College Eagles

After taking a day to explore Dublin, Ireland, the Florida State football team is returning to Tallahassee today to begin preparations for Monday night’s Labor Day game against Boston College.

The Seminoles and Eagles are scheduled to square off at 7 p.m. ET at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Florida State is 0-1 after falling Saturday to Georgia Tech in Ireland, while Boston College will be playing its season openers. The Eagles are led by new head coach Bill O’Brien, a former head coach at Penn State and of the Houston Texans, as well as a longtime college and NFL assistant coach.

Here is an early look at the team Boston College will bring into Monday’s game against the ‘Noles.

Offensive Outlook:

Boston College enters the 2024 season returning 80 percent of its production on offense. Returning for the Eagles to lead the offense is quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who threw for 2,248 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, while also rushing for 1,113 yards. Thomas also threw 14 interceptions. The dynamic dual-threat QB threw a scare into Florida State in last year’s game, racking up 400 yards of offense (305 passing and 95 rushing) before the Seminoles held on for a 31-29 win.

The lone other returner in the backfield is senior Kye Robichaux. In 2023, Robichaux registered 780 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He is now joined in the backfield by Kansas State transfer and former Florida State Seminole Treshaun Ward, and UCF transfer Jordan McDonald. FSU fans will obviously be very familiar with Ward, who was a fan favorite while rushing for 628 yards in 2022 and 515 yards in 2021. He ran for 643 yards and five touchdowns last season for Kansas State.

The Boston College receiving corps will be filled with new faces in 2024 after the Eagles lost three of their top five route runners. Lewis Bond is the lone returning starter, while fifth-year Dino Tomlin returns as a veteran depth piece. The two combined for 958 yards, but Bond was the sole touchdown scorer with seven. The Eagles will look to juniors Jerand Bradley and Jayden McGowan to step up after strong springs. Bradley is a Texas Tech transfer, and McGowan comes to BC from Vanderbilt.

A bright spot for the Boston College offense is its offensive line, which returns three starters from a group that ranked second in the ACC for rushing. Most notably, the Eagles bring back All-ACC tackles Ozzy Trapilo (first team) and Logan Taylor (second team). The line is also led by center Drew Kendall, a redshirt junior who started all 13 games in 2023.

Overall, Boston College ranked eighth in the ACC for total offense a season ago, averaging 381.2 yards per game. The Eagles threw for 182.5 yards and ran for 198.8.

Defensive Outlook:

Boston College returns seven starters from a defense that ranked 10th in the ACC for total defense in 2023, allowing 215.8 yards per game through the air and 187.9 on the ground. Most of the starting experience is on the Eagles’ defensive line, which sees all four starters and five key linemen overall return for 2024.

Neto Okpala and Donovan Ezeiruaku started most of last season as defensive end; Okpala recorded 26 total tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble, while Ezeiruaku tallied 53 total tackles, two sacks and two
forced fumbles. He earned second-team All-ACC honors. Also returning are defensive tackles Cam Horsley, Kwan Williams, and George Rooks. Horsley led the group last season with 41 tackles and three tackles for loss, while Rooks registered 29 tackles and 2.5 TFLs.

The lone returning starter for the BC linebacker group is graduate student Kam Arnold. Arnold finished 2023 ranked third on the team in tackles with 66, the most of all returning talent. He also notched one forced fumble, one sack and three pass breakups. The Eagles will likely look to Bryce Steele and Jaylen Blackwell to step into starting roles. The junior duo were backups in 2023.

Boston College’s secondary experienced a shake-up during the offseason, losing both starting corners. Amari Jackson started at the nickelback spot in 2023 but is expected to move to cornerback in 2024. He registered 39 tackles and one interception last fall, which he returned for a touchdown. The Eagles have brought in transfer DBs Bryquice Brown (Georgia State), Cameron Martinez (Ohio State) to help flush things out.

Also returning in the secondary are Cole Batson, who registered 37 tackles and a forced fumble during his 2023 campaign, and Khari Johnson with 28 tackles.

Special Teams Outlook:

Liam Connor returns as Boston College’s placekicker after connecting on 11 of 14 field goals a year ago, while Lewis Bond and Jayden McGowan look to be the return men. McGowan had an impressive year returning kicks at Vanderbilt, totaling 461 yards and one touchdown. Ward could be a factor as a return specialist as well. Punter Sam Candotti is back after averaging 38.1 yards per attempt.

Mitch Krueger is an FSU student and intern with Warchant.com.

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