Five Takeaways From Jeff Hafley's National Signing Day Press Conference

BC's best class to date is signed and delivered, and the head coach had lots to talk about.

On Wednesday, Boston College signed 21 recruits from the Class of '22. After the names came in, head coach Jeff Hafley spoke with the media. Here are some of the takeaways from his comments. 

Other Schools May Be Leaning on Transfer Portal, But BC is Going To Build It Through Recruiting. 

An interesting comment that Hafley made had to do with other school's reliance on the transfer portal and the fact that it is hurting high school recruiting. He mentioned that while others may only take 10 recruits, Boston College is going to be active, which could be a good sign for the Eagles down the road. He further went on to talk about how some of the best players he has coached were late commits, either from camps or later evaluations. If BC were to just rely on the portal, they'd miss out on these players.

The Eagles Aren't Done with Class of '22

While managing rosters has been challenging given the extra year due to COVID-19 waivers, Hafley still is on the trail of Class of '22 recruits. As we mentioned that could be as simple as securing wide receiver RJ Maryland, who has still yet to sign. But there may be other names out there that Boston College has yet to reach out to that could be signed by the next signing period. "We’re not done. This class is not done. There’s another signing period, there’s other recruits we’re still on."

BC Will Pick And Choose In Massachusetts, But There Will Be No "Fence"

One of the most publicly derided comments of the Steve Addazio era was his insistence on building a fence around Massachusetts and New England. While he certainly had some success in the area, it was never a fence. Plenty of solid local recruits that BC wanted went elsewhere. Jeff Hafley has a different philosophy. "“I’m not going to be one of these guys that says I’m going to fence this area." He said. "No, I’m not going to talk like that. I said when I got here we were going to do our best to evaluate this state and we did” The Eagles brought in four of the top 10 recruits on 247sports, one recruit they missed on (Ty Chan who ended up at Notre Dame) and never were high on the other five. 

Landing and Keeping Amari Jackson Was a Big Deal

Defensive back Amari Jackson was one of the names that was still up in the air a few days before National Signing Day. He was rumored to have been courted by Tennessee, though in the end he never took an official visit and announced on Twitter that he was sticking with BC a few days before NSD. This was a big deal for Hafley. "When he called me today and he had signed. I’m a DB guy, so that’s probably the loudest I’ve screamed in a long time." Hafley went on to say that Jackson could be a two way player for the Eagles. 

Peter Delaportas is Going to Be A Big Quarterback

Quarterback Peter Delaportas, one of the Eagles first commitments in the Class of '22 is the top quarterback out of New Jersey. Hafley predicts big things out of the signal caller. "Really talented, big kid, tall. He’s a wrestler, which is very rare. He’s got a really live body. So he’s not gonna be a guy that runs a 4.4, but he’s got a live body, he can move, he’s mobile, he’s got a big-time arm. And he’s gonna be a big kid.

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A.J. Black
A.J. BLACK

Editor and publisher of BC Bulletin.  '06 graduate of Boston College, who has followed the program as long as he can remember. Has been covering the Eagles for the past nine years, giving expert analysis, recruiting news and breakdowns.  Also the host of Locked on Boston College, a daily BC podcast that is part of the Locked On Podcast Network. When he is not writing or producing content on the Eagles, he can be found running, skiing, enjoying craft beers, or spending time with his family. You can follow AJ Black on Twitter @AJBlack_BC and our official site Twitter account is @BulletinBC