Boston College has eight defensive backs with significant Power Five starting experience. The Eagles’ secondary, ranked seventh in the ACC in Pro Football Focus’ preview magazine, is deep.
It’s a room that welcomed eight Class of 2021 recruits, including four-star corner CJ Burton, as well as a pair of transfers, FSU safety Jaiden Lars-Woodbey and Southern Illinois cornerback JT Thompson II.
With those kinds of additions a year into Jeff Hafley’s stay in Chestnut Hill, it was only natural that there’d be a few departures, too. In the last month and a half, three Eagles DBs have entered the portal.
Here’s a quick rundown:
1. CB Denzel Blackwell (destination: TBD)
→ Class: redshirt freshman (three-star recruit, 5.5 RR)
→ 5-foot-9, 180 pounds
→ 2020 stats: N/A
Blackwell put his name in the portal on June 21. This one came as a bit of a surprise considering how well the redshirt freshman played in this year’s Jay McGillis Memorial Spring Game. He registered a trio of pass break-ups. Two of those occurred in the first half when he was covering former Ohio State transfer Jaelen Gill, who had a breakout spring. Blackwell stuck to Gill in the middle of the field and disrupted Phil Jurkovec’s passing lane at just the right moment both times.
“It doesn’t surprise me because that’s what he’s done in practice,” Hafley said after the exhibition. “He might be one of the most improved guys from the time he got here till now. Coach Aazaar [Abdul-Rahim] and Coach [Matt] Thurin have done an awesome job with him.
“He’s going to make a run for it in training camp. All he does is work hard. He shows up and competes.”
It appeared as if Blackwell could have jockeyed for a spot behind Jason Maitre at nickelback, as BC spent most of its time on defense last year in a 4-2-5 formation.
At the moment, there’s no update on Blackwell’s next destination.
2. CB Tate Haynes (destination: William & Mary)
→ Class: redshirt senior (two-star recruit, 5.4 RR)
→ 6-foot, 179 pounds
→ 2020 stats: 3 total tackles (2 solos), 1 pass break-up
Tate Haynes, the son of NFL Hall of Fame cornerback Mike Haynes, took a backseat in 2020 after opening the 2019 campaign as a starter, opposite of cornerback Brandon Sebastian. He only played 32 defensive snaps last season, according to PFF. That said, he was reasonably effective when given the opportunity. Haynes didn’t miss a tackle and recorded a coverage grade of at least 65 in his three appearances. His best outing came against Pittsburgh when he was filling in for an injured Maitre. Haynes played 12 of his 13 snaps that game at corner and registered a defensive grade of 68.3. Most notably, he broke up a pass on 2nd-and-5 late in the fourth quarter, setting the stage for a third-down sack of Kenny Pickett. Of course, it wouldn’t matter because Pittsburgh kicker Alex Kessman proceeded to drill a 58-yarder to tie the game at 24-24.
Haynes was responsible for a few penalties in 2020, including an illegal block in the back in Death Valley that negated a Gill punt return touchdown, which would have put BC up, 21-7, in the first quarter. His role in 2020 was heavily reduced compared to the season prior, when he started five games and logged 445 defensive snaps, 34 total tackles, three pass break-ups and an interception. Despite winning the job in training camp, Haynes—like most of BC’s secondary that season—struggled often. His shining moment came in Week 1 when he blitzed right through a gap in the Virginia Tech offensive line and forced a Ryan Willis fumble. But tackling was a sore spot for Haynes in 2019. His missed tackle rate was a meager 29.4%, per PFF. Perhaps none were worse than his whiff against Florida State that allowed DJ Matthews to steal the Red Bandana Game away from BC.
In limited snaps, Haynes actually played his best game, PFF grade-wise, against then-No. 21 Cincinnati in the Birmingham Bowl, where he had a first-quarter PBU and posted a defensive grade of 71.3 (previous high was a 62.1 versus Richmond).
Haynes has two years of eligibility remaining, and he’ll be using them at William & Mary in the FCS. He was originally recruited as a dual-threat quarterback out of Cathedral Catholic in San Diego. Haynes piloted two state championship runs in high school and threw for 22 touchdowns as a senior.
3. CB Bryce Sebastian (destination: TBD)
→ Class: redshirt sophomore (three-star recruit, 5.5 RR)
→ 5-foot-11, 162 pounds
→ 2020 stats: N/A
Bryce Sebastian didn’t see the field like his brother Brandon did as an underclassman. In fact, Bryce played just two snaps, according to PFF, in 2020. Both were on special teams at Virginia Tech. He didn’t make a tackle in either punt coverage opportunity. Sebastian made the move to defensive back after starting his BC career as a wide receiver. He came to the Heights undersized, checking in at 5-foot-9, 160 in 2019. Heading into 2020, BC listed Sebastian two inches taller and 10 pounds heavier, however, this year’s spring roster had him back down to 162 pounds.
Sebastian, an offensive weapon at Cheshire Academy, never got his chance at BC. He did have three tackles in the Spring Game back in April, but, on May 24, he entered the portal.
Sebastian has not announced where he will play next.
