The best Boston College running backs of the Steve Addazio era had tree trunks for legs and bull horns attached to their helmets. Andre Williams could barrel over defenders, Jon Hilliman could spin through tacklers, AJ Dillon could throw them to the ground and David Bailey could bounce off guys like a bowling ball.
All standing close to or exactly 6 feet and weighing more than 220, these old school backs embraced contact while remaining nimble around the line and in open space.
They were effective in BC’s run-oriented, 12-personnel-heavy offense, however, Frank Cignetti Jr.’s pro-style scheme lends itself better to smaller running backs who are equipped to hit the outside zone and turn a screen pass into a 25-yard gain. It’s the reason why Travis Levy (198 pounds) was alternating carries and, occasionally, outworking Bailey (236).
Now, Bailey’s in Fort Collins with Addazio again. A day after Bailey entered the portal, West Virginia’s Alec Sinkfield—a speedy, 5-foot-9 tailback—announced his transfer to BC. Before that, the Eagles signed three-star Lenape High School product Xavier Coleman, a shifty, 5-foot-7 playmaker who got a lot of run in spring ball.
Things have changed significantly in BC’s running back room in just two short years.
Projected Depth Chart:
RB1 Alec Sinkfield
2020 Stats: 78 attempts, 327 rush yards, 4.2 yards/carry, 3 TDs; 9 receptions, 55 receiving yards
RB2 Travis Levy
2020 Stats: 99 attempts, 321 rush yards, 3.2 yards/carry; 35 receptions, 285 receiving yards
RB3 Xavier Coleman
2020 Stats: N/A
RB4 Pat Garwo III
2020 Stats: 33 attempts, 122 rush yards, 3.7 yards/rush; 7 receptions, 31 yards
RB5 Andre Hines
2020 Stats: N/A
Biggest Questions:
Who will be the starter?
We’ll start with the obvious question, but it’s one that hasn’t been asked since the Frank Spaziani days. Sinkfield has the most explosion. He was never a full-time starter in his 27-game career in Morgantown, however, last season he posted a breakaway percentage of 46.5%, according to Pro Football Focus, which is significantly higher than the marks Bailey (11.0%), Levy (12.1%) and Garwo (18.2%) registered. The stat measures the percentage of yardage gained with designed run plays of 15 yards or longer. Sinkfield had six such plays, per PFF. To put that in perspective, Levy had two with 21 more rushing attempts. Granted, they were playing behind different offensive lines, but West Virginia’s (67.1) actually logged a run blocking grade 0.4 points lower than BC’s (67.5).
Sinkfield recorded a pass blocking grade of at least 63.7 each year he suited up for the Mountaineers, which is relevant given how often BC dropped back to throw in 2020. Levy could give the transfer a run for his money in training camp, though. Cignetti loved using the veteran back last year, not only in outside zone situations but also straight up the gut. In fact, five of his 16 first downs, as well as 79 of his 320 rushing yards, came through the middle left gap last year, per PFF. Levy, like Sinkfield, is a receiving weapon. He reeled in 35 catches in 2020, one fewer than he piled up in his first three years with the Eagles combined. Levy’s reception total was tied for 26th in the ACC. He was a safety valve for quarterback Phil Jurkovec and could share that role with Sinkfield and Coleman in 2021.
How much will we see of Xavier Coleman?
Speaking of Coleman, or “X” as his teammates call him, the true freshman frequented the spring practice reports and got five touches in the Jay McGillis Memorial Spring Game. He had a hard time establishing his footing in the backfield and stumbled for -1 yards on three carries, but he showed his talent in the passing game with two catches, including a one hander, for 12 yards.
“Oh, he’s so versatile,” Jurkovec said of Coleman after the game. “He’s able to run the ball up the middle, but he can also get out there and be great in the pass game. Him and Travis [Levy] are going to be great at catching the ball out in the backfield.”
While at Lenape, Coleman became the school’s all-time touchdown leader, capping his career with a nine-score 2020 season and earning first-team All-State honors along the way. He did everything in high school: took direct snaps out of the “wildcat,” lined up in the slot, housed punts and kickoffs and made guys miss, both through the tackles and on the outside zone. Put simply, he’s a swiss-army knife. And Cignetti will likely find a way to use him right away. Don’t be surprised if “X” is BC’s X-factor in a game or two this season.
What will BC’s rushing identity be this fall?
BC’s rushing attack nosedived in 2020. The Eagles went from eighth to 118th nationally, averaging just a hair over 100 yards per game on the ground. In Pete Thamel’s Yahoo! Sports Jurkovec feature from this week, he reported that Hafley admitted BC “didn’t have an identity in the run game” last season. Cignetti brought in a zone-run scheme that changed the look of things up front dramatically. The Eagles returned four All-ACC offensive linemen but moved around all but one of them: center Alec Lindstrom, who had the best year of the bunch in 2020. Zion Johnson slid from left guard to left tackle. Tyler Vrabel shifted from the blind side to right tackle. And Ben Petrula—the most versatile of BC’s O-Linemen—went from right tackle to right guard. Meanwhile, offensive line coach Matt Applebaum slotted Christian Mahogany in at left guard. As expected, there were some growing pains. Those affected the run game.
Through the first four games of the 2020 campaign, BC ball carriers mustered a mere 1.87 yards per rush. The Eagles ran the ball 129 times in the span and eclipsed the 40-carry mark twice. The offensive line yielded a sub-60 PFF run blocking grade in three of those games, yet the running backs weren’t up to par, either. Even as BC started to sort things out in the back half of the season, inconsistency riddled the run game. The Eagles followed up their three 180-plus-yard rushing games with a 67-yard performance at Clemson, an 85-yard outing versus Notre Dame and a pitiful net of -7 yards at Virginia to round out the year. BC’s offense was potent last year, but it also disappeared at times. A more stable rushing attack would help prevent that in 2021. Last season, the Eagles’ zone/gap split was 208:69, whereas the final leg of Steve Addazio’s seven-year tenure saw BC call 364 designed gap run plays and just 163 zone, according to PFF. Comfortability in Cignetti’s scheme will be key in year two.
Best/Worst Case Scenario?
Best: The full year of preparation and experience in the new offensive system proves fruitful. A season removed from BC passing the ball 60.3% of the time—the 24th-highest rate among FBS teams, per PFF—the Eagles settle into a more balanced attack. BC bumps its yards per carry average above 4.0, thanks to a multi-purposed trio of Sinkfield, Levy and Coleman. The Eagles don’t get anywhere close to their 2019 levels, but they do finish in the top half of the country in rushing offense. The running backs team up for 45 or more receptions and more than 1,500 yards on the ground.
Worst: Neither Sinkfield nor Levy can shoulder the workload of a lead back, and the duo is inefficient by committee. Coleman is called upon to carry more of the burden, and Garwo, as well as redshirt freshman Andre Hines, see extensive time, too, as the Eagles ride the “hot” hand and switch the two-deep every week. BC bottoms out the ACC in rushing offense, leaving the Eagles one dimensional. BC’s running backs are employed in the passing game, but, without a reliable ground attack, Jurkovec’s job becomes that much harder in a pivotal redshirt junior season. For the second straight year, BC uncharacteristically finishes in the basement of the FBS in rushing.
Outlook: No longer is running back the Holy Grail of BC’s offense. The Eagles’ wide receiver corps is the talk of the town. Sinkfield, Levy and Co. have a lot to prove, especially after BC was occasionally inept on the ground in 2020. The Eagles will have some time to work out any lingering kinks because of their manageable non-conference slate. But Jurkovec can’t be piling up 40-plus dropbacks in ACC play. Not for his health or the consistent success of BC’s offense. The Eagles just need decent production from their running backs this fall. That’ll go a long way in making an already exciting offense more dangerous.
