Eagles had 27 commits make it official on Wednesday. Here's everything head coach Bill O'Brien had to say during his Zoom press conference in the afternoon:

Opening statement

"This is an exciting day for us to announce the 2025 Boston College recruiting class for football. Look, we spent a lot of time from the day we got hired here recruiting this class. It's a class of what we believe are high-character guys, talented guys. Guys that understand the mission of Boston College. We have guys represented from all over the country. Just to point out though, we have five Massachusetts guys, which is something I think is really good. Guys from the East coast that can really help us, but we have guys from everywhere. Texas, California, from Florida, all over and we're proud of that. I would say it's the largest recruiting class since 2014, which is a good thing. You bring in new guys and add them to the football team a culture of guys that right now exists here that's very, very good. We hope they can teach them about our culture here at BC. I want to give a special shout out to a few people. Let's start with Spencer Dickow. He did an unbelievable job with this recruiting class. He was on top of it. He understood where they came from, who they were. He knew about all of them, he was in contact with all of them. He should get a ton of credit for this recruiting class. A special shoutout to the coaching staff. I think our coaching staff did a good job. These guys recruited every single day. They found time to recruit and they worked hard at it. It's not just the travel. it's the daily interaction with these guys that I think really paid off. Kamryn Rodriguez (Director of On Campus Recruiting) she did an excellent job when these guys came on campus for their visits whether they were unofficial visits or official visits. She did a really good job of helping. We have a staff of recruiting people that did a great job...like Michael Butler, who played football at Tufts and has been helping us out here in recruiting, did an excellent job. We have several other people that helped us...so, just a shoutout to those recruiting staff members and the job that they did, led by Spencer."

On having to play catch up as a staff after being hired in February

"Yeah, we did get started a little bit late and obviously, there is some catch-up that has to be done relative to developing relationships with these guys. That's really what recruiting's all about. Being honest and up front about what we are at BC. We're a place where your son is going to get a great education, he's going to get developed on the football field and he's going to give back to the community. A man for others. That's what we're all about here. So, to be able to communicate that to the families and the parents and all the people involved recruiting these guys, we had to get working on that and I think these guys did a really good job of that, they really did. They worked very hard. They recruited every single day. I think that's something we do. We try to do something in recruiting every single day of the year. 365 days of the year. Whether it's watching film, talking to a coach or obviously, communicating with a prospect. The coaches did a really good job of that."

On keeping 5 Massachusetts kids home and recruiting the Catholic Conference

"Yeah, I think that's so important to us. We've gotta do a great job in Massachusetts. I wish we got every one of them. We certainly did recruit every one of them. We tried to do a great job of recruiting every guy. We were a little bit late on some of these guys that went to other places, but the guys that we got we're very proud. We're very, very proud of the Massachusetts guys that we got and we know those guys are going to be really, really good teammates, good guys for us. They come from great programs. They were coached very well. Personally, myself, I take a lot of pride - having grown up here - in getting guys from Massachusetts. Like, the Catholic Conference is a great conference. There's a lot of great conferences in Massachusetts, but obviously, my background in the Catholic Conference, I take a lot of pride in that conference. I think there's great coaches in that conference, great schools. Schools that are familiar to us here at BC. We looked at (others)...BB&N with Bo MacCormack and being able to get a guy like that was that, so there's other schools in Massachusetts that obviously we recruited. Again, Massachusetts is very important to us."

On striking a balance between filling holes and just recruiting for overall talent

"We definitely had some needs and we still have needs. But, in the end, what was important for us to do was make sure we had guys that were good football players, that were high-character guys, that we felt fit the bill for Boston College. Fit the culture of Boston College. I think that was the most important thing. A lot of these guys play both ways. So, whether they're skill guys that play receiver, or some of these guys played tight end and defensive end, or offensive line and defensive line, so we'll see how that shakes out as we move forward. The most important thing was do they fit what we're looking for relative to what we want in football players, but most importantly being good culture fits for us here at BC."

On Andy Quinn and if he feels there could be untapped potential recruiting wise in Ireland

"I definitely think there is a little bit of a pipeline that can be set up over there. I think American football - because of what the NFL has done over there - has taken shape. Obviously, in England and then on our team right now, we have Pop Sye who was from Africa and then went to the NFL program in Europe and was able to develop and now he's at BC. Obviously, Andy Quinn we have coming to us from Ireland. I definitely think there's something to that that we always have to look at that. Especially in Ireland. I have an affinity for Ireland. I'm an Irish Catholic from Boston. My mom was a a Murphy, my dad was an O'Brien. I think guys from Ireland that can play football...Andy's a guy that really, at a young age he punted in a punting competition, kicking competition in front of 50,000 people outside of Dublin. So, he has the poise, the demeanor, the ability to be a punter for us and also he's a kicker. We feel very fortunate to get Andy. Andy was recruited by a lot of schools. We take a lot of pride in Andy Quinn coming to BC."

On if there's more of a BC brand nationally on the recruiting trail these days

"I think there's definitely a BC brand. I think it's up to us to continue in many ways spreading the word of Boston College. This is a very special place. This is a place where you can get a tremendous education, a world-renowned education and you can play good football. We're not an undefeated team but we're a good football team...Father Jack Butler talks about this a lot...getting the more. Getting the more out of everybody. Our guys are very busy. They're prepared for life when they get out of Boston College. They have to go to class. They get a great education. They're going to play good football and they give back in the community. Our guys do a lot in the community. I think that's what BC is all about, so there is that brand across the country...when we go out, whether it's California or right here in Massachusetts, people know about Boston College."

On signing Coach Chduzinski's and Coach Lewis' sons

"One of the things that's great, both those guys have great dads. They're on our coaching staff and they're great guys, but we recruited them because they were very good players. Bryce Lewis is 6'6" 230 lbs. tight end. His best years are ahead of him. He's a really good athlete for the size he is. A football junkie. Anytime you got him on the phone all he wanted to do was talk football, just a really good guy. Then, Chudzinski, I watched him personally right out here at Alumni Stadium when (St. Seb's) played Governor's...he had a really good game. He played tough. He was a blocker, but he was a very dynamic athlete in the game. I can see him being used in a lot of different ways in our offense. We were thrilled...I think any time you get the son of a coach, over the history of football, sons of coaches usually turn out really well. That'll be a good thing for us."

On how aggressive he'll be in the portal and working on that during bowl prep

"We'll be involved in the portal. Relative to our level of aggressiveness...the model that we want to use here is we want to recruit high school guys. So, like, in the NFL, you're going to build a team through the draft. That's what we believed in (in New England and Houston). So, we want to build the team through high school recruiting and then we want to supplement the team through free agency in the NFL. We want to supplement this team through the portal. We're not going to be swapping 30 guys out and bringing 30 guys in. That's not who we are. We're going to develop the guys we have in the program, build a culture with those guys and then try to look where we have some needs. Like, we have a need here, we have a need there. Hey, maybe we can use some guys here or there to help fortify those positions. That's what we'll do here at BC. We'll see if it works. We have a strong belief in it and we're going to make it work. That's what we're going to do."

On the impact Coach Brown and DiBiaso had on this class

"First of all, I would say our whole staff did a great job. The coordinators don't have as much recruiting responsibility as the assistants because they're in the office getting game plans together and things like that. The assistant coaches, the position coaches have a lot more responsibility on the recruiting trail and I think all of those guys did a really good job relative to where they were recruiting and how they were recruiting. Coach DiBiaso does an excellent job. He has great knowledge of this area, but he has great knowledge around the country. He's built a great network of connections. He knows a lot of high school coaches. Another son of a coach. His dad is playing for the state championship on Thursday night down at Gillette. Jonathan's a great coach, a great young coach that has a bright future and he did an unbelievable job recruiting for us each and every day. Ray Brown has a great personality. Anybody that's been around Ray, he's a funny guy, he's a smart guy, he's a competitive guy and he's able to connect with these kids. He did a really good job of that. Darrell Wyatt...able to connect with the guys. It's all about connecting, but even...you look at Danny O'Brien. Danny O'Brien was the one that recruited Zacari Thomas. Connections with players and relationships with their parents is so important. That's really what it is. Especially this day and age with portal and NIL, there's gotta be a connection. There has to be a sense that this coach really cares about my son. I think all the coaches did a good job of that."

On Shaker Reisig and if he could compete with Grayson James

"Grayson's done a really good job. We're very proud of Grayson. To come where he's come from and the journey he's had, he's done a really good job. He played his best game the other night against Pitt. Very proud of Grayson. Shaker...everybody's a little bit different. Shaker was coached very well in high school. He comes from a really good offense where he had to make a lot of decisions at the line of scrimmage. He had to check plays. He had to check protections. He had to read coverage. He's another guy that loves football. Loves the preparation. He loves everything about football. He comes from a great family. His mom and dad lived in Buffalo and then they moved to Oklahoma to give him a better football opportunity. He's all about ball. He'll come in here and it's hard to play as a freshman.. We don't really expect that. We just want him to come in here and get better. Learn our system, get better and better every single day. That's what he's going to do. He was going to Utah and we were able to get him to come here. I think that says a lot because I have a lot of respect for that program, what they do and the success they've had. So, to be able to get Shaker to come over to BC was a big accomplishment for us. we're thrilled to have him and we can't wait to coach him. He's been a joy to recruit."

On if the staff can go to the Super Bowls this week

"It's a dead period, can you believe that? We can't go. I might go in disguise...we're not allowed to go. We're not allowed to go. I'll be watching the livestream."

On MacCormack and Dodd

"Let's start with Bo. Bo...it's just been awesome to recruit Bo. He comes from an awesome family. His mom, dad and his sister were in on an official visit last week. I've spent a lot of time with his mom and dad. I've spent a lot of time with Bo over the last couple months and he's just a highly competitive, tough...he's a Massachusetts guy and that's what we're looking for. We want the Mass guys that are tough, have big hearts. You look at the guy's stats at BB&N, he rushed for almost 7,000 yards, had 100 touchdowns, that's incredible. You're talking about a guy that's a really, really good football player. Mekhi Dodd is another guy who's been on quite a journey. Has an awesome family. Great mom. Coach DiBiaso at CM has done a great job with him. He hurt his knee and came back this year to dominate the state. I'd say he's the best back from the Catholic Conference. He just did an excellent job and he's got those guys headed to the state championship in Gillette. He's been a fun guy to recruit. He's a good guy and we've had a lot of fun recruiting him. He's a big back, a powerful back and he's done a great job at CM."

On any good recruiting stories from the road

"I wasn't able to go out on the road yet. I got hired in February, can't go out on the road until January. I haven't even been out on the road. I can't go out on the road in the spring, so that's a better question for the assistant coaches. I have good recruiting stories from my 30 other years, but not this year. I won't be able to go out on the road until January. The recruiting calendar has changed a lot.., I'll be out on the road in January."

On if there will be any early enrollees for spring ball

"Yeah. We have 13 guys. We can get you that list. I think there's 13 guys that will enroll this semester...I go back and forth on this. I do think it's important for a guy like Shaker Reisig to be here, a quarterback that can get in on the meetings and start to learn the offense right away. I think that''s important. But, I think it's tough. It's the way it is in college football now. I also think, some of these guys miss out on your high school experience the last half of your high school year...the prom and some of the things that happen in the spring. But, I do think relative to BC and football, you get these guys in early, they understand what the classroom's all about. Where the classes are. What the routine is for our program. We're a morning program. What that's going to look like so when the summer rolls around and when the training camp rolls around they have an idea. Not everything is brand new to them. They know how we practice. They know how we do things. I do think it's good, but I don't think...but, I'm not someone who's all gung-ho about 'hey you have to be here.' If a guy chooses to say 'hey look coach, I'll be there in June,' I'm all about that. I don't think it's the be all and end all to have to be here in January."