Boston College Football 2022: Last Chance Players (Offense)
Alec Sinkfield, RB
Alec Sinkfield entered last season as a relative mystery. He transferred from West Virginia, where he was a backup and part-time kick returner. BC brought back several experienced veterans, so it was unclear how Sinkfield would contribute. However, even once the Eagles made Pat Garwo the lead back, he carved out a decent niche as a third-down and change-of-pace back. With Travis Levy off to the NFL, Sinkfield is now the primary backup running back as he enters his final season of college football.
Barring injury, Sinkfield will most likely remain Garwo’s relief in 2022. But he will need to elevate his game as the primary running back on passing downs. He was the best pass blocker among the running backs last year, albeit in a small sample. He will also need to fill Levy’s role as a pass-catcher. Sinkfield will also be the lightning to Garwo’s thunder; he has a bit better burst than Garwo and can break open runs for massive gains. If he steps up in his rotational role this year, Sinkfield could play himself into becoming an undrafted free agent or a mini-camp invite like Travis Levy.
Spencer Witter, TE
Spencer Witter is in dire need of a comeback season in 2022. He was TE2 and Hunter Long’s primary backup in 2020, mostly serving as a blocker as Joey Luchetti recovered from an injury. But in 2021, with Luchetti healthy and Trae Barry transferring in, Witter’s snaps took a steep dive. He saw more playing time during the middle-late part of the season due to Barry’s injury but still only took 101 snaps as opposed to 310 in 2020.
This season, Luchetti returns as the presumed starter along with another transfer, George Takacs, from Notre Dame. Witter is still the presumed TE3, but he could struggle to earn snaps again. He will need to improve his consistency as a blocker to get on the field in 13 personnel packages. Unfortunately for him, he will most likely be pushed by some of the younger players on the roster like Charlie Gordinier, Jeremiah Franklin, and Matt Ragan. Therefore, if he doesn’t improve, he could fail to see the field at all.
Finn Dirstine, OL
The “last chance” label applies to no one better than Finn Dirstine. He was the prized recruit of Steve Adazzio’s 2018 class, as a consensus top-two recruit from Massachusetts and the pipeline school of Lawrence Academy. But he has struggled to get on the field since joining the Eagles. He played in a combined nine games from 2018 through 2021 for a total of 54 snaps. Boston College has had the luxury of being extremely deep and experienced along the offensive line, but that all changes this season.
Right now, Dirstine is expected to start at left guard with Zion Johnson off to the NFL. It would be unfair to expect him to play to Zion’s standard. However, if he could channel the examples of solid guards from past years like Bobby Vardaro and John Phillips, that would be more than serviceable. Most importantly, he and Christian Mahogany will have to help and protect redshirt freshman center, Drew Kendall. Up until this point in his career, Dirstine has been a relative disappointment; he could finally change the narrative this season.
