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Published Oct 5, 2022
Dirstine 'Doubtful' for Clemson, But Hafley 'Hopeful' Takacs Can Go
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Andy Backstrom  •  EagleAction
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Boston College left guard Finn Dirstine and tight end George Takacs both didn't practice Tuesday and Wednesday.

Eagles head coach Jeff Hafley said Dirstine is "doubtful" for Saturday night's game against Clemson, however, Hafley is "hopeful" Takacs can go.

"Just don't want to put any unwarranted reps on a guy who has a ton of reps and is older and might not need as many reps to play in the game," Hafley said of Takacs.

Takacs left last weekend's game against Louisville in the second quarter with an undisclosed injury. The Notre Dame grad transfer has been a safety valve for quarterback Phil Jurkovec this season. Takacs is second on the team with 17 receptions. His 176 receiving yards are good for third.

Takacs recorded seven catches against Rutgers and Maine, but he's combined for only three receptions in ACC play. If he can't go against Clemson, BC will rely on a committee at the position. That includes redshirt sophomore Hans Lillis, redshirt junior Spencer Witter, true freshman Jeremiah Franklin and redshirt sophomore Charlie Gordinier.

Hafley mentioned that redshirt freshman Quintayvious "Q" Hutchins has moved from defensive line to tight end because of BC's depth concerns at the position.

Witter is the only other Eagles tight end with a reception this season. He has two grabs for 28 yards.

BC is abnormally thin at tight end. The same goes for the Eagles up front.

Dirstine was sidelined for the Louisville game with an upper-body injury. He became the Eagles' third Week 1 starting O-Lineman to miss time this season.

Redshirt junior Jackson Ness—who switched from D-Line to O-Line this offseason—started in Dirstine's place. Ness held his own and even registered the team's best Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade (77.0) in the win over the Cardinals. What's more, BC rushed for a season-high 144 yards and averaged at least four yards per carry for the first time in 2022.

If Ness gets the start again versus Clemson, it will be the first time BC has had the same starting five up front in consecutive weeks this season.

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What about the DBs...

As for other injury updates, cornerbacks Jalen Cheek and Amari Jackson—both of whom were out for the Louisville game—practiced Wednesday, according to Hafley. So did fellow corner CJ Burton, who left the Louisville game with an undisclosed injury.

When Burton went down against the Cardinals, BC had to move free safety Jason Maitre to nickel—where he spent most of 2020—and nickelback Josh DeBerry to corner.

"We went from early in the year rotating all those guys (Cheek, Jackson and Burton) in to having none of them," Hafley said. So that's why we did what we had to do."

LB Jaylen Blackwell has to miss the first half...

Blackwell was ejected in the second half for a targeting penalty, meaning that he also has to miss the first half of the Clemson game. In Blackwell's absence, Catholic Memorial product Owen McGowan saw the field for a few snaps. Hafley said the staff is preparing both McGowan, a redshirt freshman, and Blackwell this week in pracice.

"We're working hard on getting [McGowan] ready with Vinny [DePalma], Kam [Arnold], Bryce [Steele]. But Owen's a guy that I think will be a really good player here. Smart, tough, reliable, kind of like Vinny, and I think his confidence has grown."

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