Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley heaped praise on defensive back Shawn Asbury II this season.

Asbury was one of the Eagles’ standout true freshmen who saw the field in 2021. But a broken arm cut his year short and, ultimately, appears to have been the beginning of the end of his time with BC.

The 5-foot-9 Stafford, Virginia, native put his name in the transfer portal Wednesday.

He’s the eighth Eagle this year to turn to the portal. The others are wide receiver Kobay White; linebackers Joe Sparacio and Hugh Davis; defensive backs Jahmin Muse, Deon Jones and Jiovanny Holmes; and place kicker Aaron Boumerhi.

Asbury was a three-star recruit from North Stafford. He earned all-state, all-region and all-district honors as a junior and senior in 2019 and 2020 before moving on to BC as a mid-year enrollee. Right off the bat, Asbury turned heads in spring ball.

“Shawn Asbury is a guy that has played a lot of football in high school,” Eagles associate head coach and defensive backs coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim said in March. “He started on varsity in the ninth grade. So he came in not in awe of playing college football, which we want.”

Asbury played 74 snaps across six games. He allowed four catches on six targets, however, he conceded just 7.8 yards per reception, per Pro Football Focus.

Asbury recorded a PBU in his collegiate debut against Colgate and even played 13 snaps in BC’s thrilling overtime win over Missouri. He eventually became the Eagles’ backup nickel and finished the year with five tackles and two pass deflections.

When fourth-year starting cornerback Brandon Sebastian suffered a knee injury at Louisville, Asbury’s number was called to play inside. Starting nickel Josh DeBerry was slotted in for Sebastian, and Asbury took over DeBerry’s spot.

For all of six snaps. That’s when Asbury broke his arm. It was a devastating blow for Hafley, who said he and the staff were really excited to see what the true freshman could do with that kind of opportunity.

It also caused a headache for BC when DeBerry got hurt a few weeks later at Georgia Tech.

Asbury was expected to see his role increase significantly the next few years. Instead, he could be on his way out.

Before committing to BC, he also held offers from Pitt, Virginia Tech, Temple, Army and Navy, among other schools.