By Tiffany Williams –
With their season kicking off in just a month on the road at Florida State, on Saturday morning Boston College Football was out at Chamberlin Field at Fish Field House in Boston for day one of preseason training camp.
Quarterback Thomas Castellanos is back for his second year, but Eagles football is not the same as year one for Castellanos, who now has learned the Bill O’Brien way of playing the game but is also learning mentally and physically how to prepare for the new season.
In 2023, in his first season as the Eagles QB, Castellanos finished the session playing in 12 games, tallying 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards, third most in the ACC, to become the first 2,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher in BC history and just the fifth in the ACC since 1996. Castellanos went 189-for-330 through the air for a 57.3 completion percentage, while tossing 15 touchdowns… averaged 5.2 yards per carry on the ground, and ran for 13 touchdowns, which ranked third in the ACC.
Castellanos, on Saturday, logged three completions to Treshaun Ward, Kamari Morales, and Jeremiah Franklin. In the first team session, Castellanos started with two completions to Ward and Jaedn Skeete, with Ward finding open grass up the right sideline. Castellanos also showed off his speed as well, escaping for a nice scramble up the left side in the second team session.
Eagles wide receiver Lewis Bond was also back Saturday. Last season, Bond started ten games and played in and caught a pass in all 13. He produced the sixth season by a BC receiver since 1996 with at least 50 catches, 600 yards, and seven touchdowns as he totaled 52 receptions, 646 receiving yards, and seven scores In the Eagles’ first game of the 2023 season against Northern Illinois, Bond had a touchdown and four catches for 40 yards.
Running Back Kye Robichaux, who started last season in eight games, played in 11 and rushed for 780 yards and eight touchdowns, was also back Saturday ripping off two consecutive chunk runs, first bouncing to the right sideline and then powering through the middle. The veteran running back followed with a conversion on a screen pass from Castellanos up the left side.
Back in December, Treshaun Ward announced his intentions to transfer to Boston College for his sixth and final year of eligibility. On Saturday he was out with the team and though Ward may not be a veteran with the BC program, he is a veteran collegiate football playmaker having played four seasons with Florida State from 2019 to 2023 before transferring to Kansas State to play for the Wildcats for one season. Last season with the Wildcats, Ward played in 11 games and logged 780 all-purpose yards (651 rushing and 129 receiving) and seven touchdowns (five rushing and two receiving).
Back in April, when Ward was asked what made him pick BC, Ward replied, “You know, first off, you know, they had a pretty good season last year. You know, when talking to them, you know, they needed a piece, a home run hitter, a running back. Not only that, but they have a dynamic quarterback, some dynamic people coming back, and we just needed some pieces to make something shake this year. It’s a pretty deep running back room this year.” Ward also said, “I’m really just trying to be the best I can be. You know, when it comes to that, whatever the coaches need out of me, that’s what I, you know, do. And just really trying to be the best for my teammates too, you know, when it comes to helping them out and teaching them some things since I have experience. So, you know, really whatever the coaches need.”
Ozzy Trapilo is also back this year on the O-line. A homegrown player with the program who attended Boston College High School and is from Norwell, Massachusetts. Trapilo, last year, started 12 games at right tackle and earned a 78.4 pass blocking grade from PFF. He didn’t allow a sack in 363 dropback snaps. He played 720 offensive snaps and took the field for every offensive snap in eight games played.
At the podium Saturday following the first day of training camp, Trapilo said, “I think the tempo was really good. He said, “We’re not gonna be out there three hours, three plus hours. We’re gonna be out there two hours and get a lot and have a productive day. So that was something we really focused on. I felt like you were never standing still. And we accomplished that today for sure. I mean, it was humid. We got a lot of good work. Yeah, ready for tomorrow.”
When asked if to a certain extent, up front, this is his team and Drew Kendall’s team now, and if it feels like it’s time for them to kind of step up as leaders, Trapilo said, “Yeah, I mean, as we get older, take more game reps, you kind of assume that position naturally. So it does feel like I’m going into my fifth year. It feels like it’s that time in my career. And then I’m gonna go into the next thing, and other younger guys are gonna step up, do the same thing. But it is cool, like you said, to kind of finally be there at that point in my career, and emerge as one of the leaders on the O-line.”
When asked about Coach O’Brien’s style, Trapilo said, “Fast-paced, I would say productive, like I mentioned earlier. We get a lot in, in that time period of practice. Never stand still, again, it’s really efficient. I think it’s something that he emphasizes on a lot in the team meetings. And then we come out here, we all stick to the plan, and we get a lot in. So productive days, for sure.”
When asked about O-line Coach Matt Applebaum, Trapilo said, “Yeah, I would say super attentive to detail, like you said. Especially with the older guys, the young guys, they just got here. They gotta work on basic stuff. I think he’s really able to flip the switch when he’s working with the young guys to basic stance work, first step. And then he gets to the older guys, we can have more elaborate talks. I think he can seamlessly transition between that during practice. So I think he keeps the flow going at the O-line. He knows all the guys really well. We have a great bond with him, really easy to talk to, but also demanding in the same way. He has high expectations for us, and so do we. So, yeah, we’re just out there to work every day.”
When asked about Thomas Castellanos and what he has seen that’s different from last year, Trapilo said, “Yeah, he’s taken huge strides, really exciting for the team. Like you said, last year, he kinda got thrown in there, did well. He’s had the whole off-season to work as the guy. So he’s really assumed that position and taken a lot of strides and turned to the playbook, a general understanding of everything that’s going on, and yeah, I mean, he’s done a great job. We’re excited about that. It’s nice to have that as an O-line. It’s surprising.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the BC program has some veteran experience returning with guys like Donovan Ezeiruaku, Cam Horsely, Kam Arnold, and Amari Jackson
In the opening 7-on-7 session Saturday, sophomore defensive back Max Tucker made a nice PBU on a sideline route, and DB Amari Jackson followed had a great diving breakup on a crossing route, while Linebacker Daveon Crouch blew up a rush attempt in the backfield in the first team session.
Cam Horsely, who last season started all 13 games with 41 total tackles, including three TFLs and three PBUs, was at the podium following Saturday’s first day of training camp and when asked what he thought what went well and what didn’t go so well, he said, “I thought the intensity was real, real good today. Guys were flying around, tagging off, cuz we were in shells, obviously. Some stuff we could pick up, just some techniques and stuff like that. We’re getting back right now.”
When asked about the intensity and what has it been like working with Bill O’Brien, Horsely said, “Yeah, yeah, it’s a lot of intensity. Guys just playing around, flying around, playing football. Football’s an aggressive sport, so you gotta be aggressive out there. And just don’t be scared to make a play, and yeah.
When asked to describe Coach O’Brien’s style, Horsely said, “The style, Coach OB, is really old school. It’s black or white, there’s no gray area. So if you do something well, you do it well. You do something bad, you got stuff to work on. Everyone can always improve, no one’s complacent here. Everyone can get better every day, working on something new every day and stuff like that, so that’s what he preaches, no complacency and competition, so.”
When asked about Defensive Coordinator Tim Lewis, what kind of defensive coordinator he is and what he’s taught him about his position, Horsely said, “Yeah, Coach Lewis, he knows a lot. He’s been in the game for a while. He’s teaching us a lot of stuff, a good scheme. We got a lot of stuff going in this year, so it should be really fun. He’s really detailed, too. Everything’s detailed, attention to detail and all that. If you don’t do it right, next guy in type stuff. So everything attention to detail, though, so it’s real good.”
When asked about the defensive line being together for a while now, and if they’re taking that next step this year, Horsely said, “Yeah, yeah, we’re taking that next step this year. Pulling the guys along and stuff like that. We’ve been working overtime, after a workout and stuff like that, working on our techniques, pass rush especially. Cuz I know we lacked in that last year, so we’ve been really working on that this summer. And just getting our bodies in shape. Being in shape, that was the biggest thing, too. We did a lot of running this summer and stuff like that, and guys were looking good, and so it should be fun.
When asked if he has been playing NCAA 25 he said he has, and when asked who’s the best player on his team right now with guys playing against each other, and Horsely said, “Yeah, I’ve been playing NCAA a lot. I feel like I’m the best player, though. I know Seth’s pretty good, I know Seth’s pretty good. Si, Josiah, Edwin, a couple guys there but I feel like I’m the best player. I’m undefeated right now, so it’s been fun, though.”
When asked if it’s a fun game, Horsely said, “Yeah, it’s a fun game.” When asked if it is weird to see himself in a video game, Horsely replied, “I think it’s cool. I don’t think it’s weird at all. I think it’s cool. I see my face scan, it looks exactly like me. They did a good job on that. I like my player, the abilities, and stuff like that. He plays pretty well in the game, so it’s been cool to see that.”
Coach O’Brien’s first day of training camp, he says, “I like the effort. I think these guys have had a good summer. They put a lot of work in. I’m very proud of that. I think it was a little sloppy today. I always like that on the first day. I thought the defense was a little bit ahead of the offense right now. But, you know, a decent start. Decent, decent start.
When asked about the past six months from when he came in until now, Coach O’Brien said, “Yeah, I think these guys have done a great job of buying in. I’m really proud of the fact that they’ve bought into every facet of what we’re trying to do. Everything from academics to, you know, the weight room, conditioning, the community involvement that they are. I’m just really proud of these guys. And now it’s time to, you know, really start coming together as a team and getting ready for the season. But to this point, it’s been really good.”
When asked about Craig Fitzgeral, the new Director of Football Performance for the program, and the work he did with the players this summer, Coach O’Brien said, “Yeah, he did an unbelievable job. He’s the best strength coach in the country, without a shadow of a doubt. He does an unbelievable job of connecting with the kids. He has a great idea of what it takes to get stronger, what it takes to get faster, be able to change direction better and to be in better condition. He’s got a great staff underneath him. He’s got four guys that are unbelievable underneath him. We’re in the process of really improving our nutrition center too, which that’s going to start to take shape over the next six months to a year. So I think we’re on the right track. But having Craig here, Craig Fitzgerald, is a huge, huge plus for Boston College.”
When asked about the depth in the receiver group and his thoughts on that position in the group, Coach O’Brien said, “Yeah, definitely a lot of depth. I mean, there’s a bunch of guys there that can play. I mean, I think the big thing is we’ve got to really try to make plays down the field. You know, that’s going to be the big thing in training camp. We’ve got to start connecting down the field. We did it a couple times today, but not enough. So, yeah, we’ve got a long way to go there. But there are definitely some really good players there.
When asked about Tommy Castellanos, Coach O’Brien said, “Yeah, I mean, he put a lot in. He came in early. He was here every day early working with Coach Dibbs and Coach Long, out before practice. Then he would go back in, get something to eat, and then come out for practice, just mental reps, the studying. His ability to run the offense has improved tenfold since he’s been here. Now we’ve just got to keep improving every day.”
Day two of Eagles football training camp is Sunday morning, and the guys will be up at it every day early the next week as they get ready to come together as a team for the 2024 season.