2021 Transfer Roundup: Who’s in the Portal or Already Gone?

With every coaching change comes transfers. Not only in the days following a termination but also throughout and after the first season of a new staff’s tenure.

Especially when a program’s offensive and defensive schemes are completely overhauled, as was the case with Boston College after Hafley and Co. took over in 2020. Nine Eagles have either already left the Heights this cycle or are currently in the transfer portal.

Here’s a rundown of who’s leaving Chestnut Hill, or at least considering other options.

Note: * denotes players who are still in the portal

Just because a player enters the transfer portal doesn’t mean he is leaving BC. There’s no better example than Kobay White. The veteran wideout put his name in the portal after the 2019 season yet, within a month’s time, announced his return for BC’s 2020 campaign.

*QB Sam Johnson III → TBD — Sam Johnson III was supposed to be Anthony Brown’s successor. And the future of BC football. He was the first ESPN four-star quarterback recruit in program history. The 6-foot-3 Johnson chose the Eagles over schools like Michigan, Iowa, and Indiana and enrolled in January 2019. But he didn’t hit the ground running. Quite the opposite actually. The lanky Johnson was just 2-of-7 for 25 yards in BC’s Spring Game that year and even took a seven-yard sack in that outing. He redshirted the 2019 season, and Steve Addazio—his recruiter—was fired. It appeared as if Johnson was turning the corner last summer. Jeff Hafley noted the young quarterback’s development in training camp, however, Johnson was third on the depth chart all season behind Phil Jurkovec and Dennis Grosel.

*RB David Bailey → TBD — This time last year, some thought David Bailey might leave BC after the 2020 season. For the NFL, not the transfer portal. But after seeing his production and workload dip in a zone run scheme that experienced serious growing pains, Bailey decided to look elsewhere this offseason. Bailey, a Doak Walker Award watch list member, was expected to build upon his breakout 2019 campaign—a season in which he racked up 844 yards, posted a team-best 5.7 yards per rush, and eclipsed the 170-yard mark twice. Instead, he and the Eagles’ run game took a big step backward. As BC’s lead back, Bailey rushed for 503 yards in 10 games, averaging 4.0 yards per attempt. Although he scored eight touchdowns (seven rushing, one receiving), he wasn’t nearly as explosive. The junior’s longest run was 34 yards, and he only had two go for 20 plus—seven fewer than the year before. Of course, the O-Line’s struggles didn’t help. And, in the back half of 2020, Bailey was alternating carries with Travis Levy.

*LS Aidan Livingston → TBD — Aidan Livingston started his freshman and sophomore years at BC but put his name in the portal after this season, according to the 247Sports transfer database. Shouldering long snapping duties for punts and field goals/PATs, Livingston worked extensively with Grant Carlson and Aaron Boumerhi the past two seasons. He was part of a BC special teams unit that jumped from 114th in SP+ in 2019 to 28th in 2020. The Eagles have added transfer long snappers the last two years: TCU’s Donovan Cahill in 2020 and, this time around, Wagner’s Gunner Daniel.

DT Kyiev Bennermon → North Carolina A&T — Kyiev Bennermon beat out TJ Rayam for the starting nose tackle job ahead of the 2019 season and made his collegiate debut in BC’s season opener against Virginia Tech. Then a redshirt freshman, the 6-foot-3, Poughkeepsie, New York, native notched five tackles in BC’s win. The next week, though, Rayam was starting in his place. Bennermon rotated in as a reserve D-Lineman the rest of the year, finishing 2019 with 11 tackles and 2.5 TFLs. Hafley beefed up BC’s defensive front with transfers last offseason, leaving Bennermon further down the depth chart. So he transferred to North Carolina A&T, an HBCU that plays in the FCS. Bennermon told the Poughkeepsie Journal in December that he’s down to 285 pounds and will primarily serve as a DE and a three-technique tackle with the Aggies.

*OL Nate Emer → TBD — Nate Emer lost out on the last spot on the Eagles’ offensive line last season. He was competing with Christian Mahogany for the starting left guard gig. The veteran ended up backing up the redshirt freshman all year, in addition to filling out the two-deep at center. The 6-foot-4 Emer made four appearances in 2018 after redshirting the previous season. In 2019, the bulk of his game action came on special teams. During the training camp position battle, Emer received praise from Hafley and his teammates. Notably, the 295-pound lineman outplayed former four-star recruit Finn Dirstine for the No. 2 left guard spot.

*DE Bryce Morais → TBD — Bryce Morais totaled 22 tackles during his BC career, 16 of which came in 2019. That season, the Grayson, Georgia, native registered four multi-tackle games. He had his best performance against Cincinnati in the Birmingham Bowl, where he piled up a season-high four stops. Morais played in four games last year and made two total tackles, one at Duke and one at Virginia Tech. He opened the season backing up Marcus Valdez at right defensive end.

WR Justin Bellido → Notre Dame College — Justin Bellido was the first commitment of the Hafley era. He originally committed to Minnesota but flipped at the end of the early signing period. Bellido was a three-star recruit who was ranked No. 8 overall in the state of New York during his cycle. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound receiver didn’t play a game for the Eagles this season. He was one of two wide receiver recruits in BC’s 2020 class (Taji Johnson was the other). Bellido ended up transferring to Notre Dame College, a Division II program in Ohio.

DT Mike Ciaffoni → Colorado State — Since moving to Fort Collins, Addazio has reeled in a handful of former BC players. Mike Ciaffoni is one of them. The defensive tackle was part of the Eagles’ 2019 class. A two-star recruit from Sudbury, Massachusetts, Ciaffoni appeared in two games as a freshman before redshirting the season. In his limited snaps, he logged three tackles and a sack. He didn’t see the field in 2020.

LB Korey Smith → TBD — Like Bellido, Korey Smith was at BC for less than a year. Also a member of the Eagles’ 2020 class, the linebacker didn’t play a down last season. Smith is one of eight BC recruits in the last five years to earn a Rivals Rating of at least 5.8. He was one of three four-star players in the Eagles’ 2020 class (along with Ozzy Trapilo and Kevin Pyne). Smith drew interest from North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, and Colorado, among other schools, during his high school recruitment.

To learn about BC’s incoming transfers for 2021, click here.