Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec told reporters last week that the Eagles' coaching staff doesn't place a huge emphasis on the spring game. That said, it's an annual event that will be graced with fans for the first time since 2019, and it's a chance for BC to roll out a vanilla version of its new offense.
To prepare for Saturday's Jay McGillis Memorial Spring Game, the Eagles scrimmaged this past weekend during practice 12 of 14.
Although the scrimmage wasn't open to the media, the program outlined some highlight plays on BCEagles.com.
Here are the major notes:
• Junior linebacker Kam Arnold had himself a day. First, he went the distance with a pick-six that he snagged in front of the right pylon. Then, shortly after, he made a stop inside the five-yard line, which was part of a goal line stand for the Eagles' defense—a triumph that culminated with Jurkovec rolling with no open targets in the end zone.
• For the second year in a row, Xavier Coleman has had a good spring. Saturday saw him score from four yards out after the redshirt freshman running back churned out a chunk gain earlier in the drive. Coleman carried the ball six times for just 13 yards in 2021, appearing in three games. His most action came in the opener against Colgate.
• Dino Tomlin isn't running with the ones, but the redshirt junior wideout made his case for more playing time Saturday. He had a 15-yard catch-and-run inside the 15-yard line to set up an Emmett Morehead scramble touchdown. Then, during situation drills, he hauled in back-to-back catches, including a deep ball down the right sideline. Tomlin, the son of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, had only two receptions for 12 yards at Maryland last year.
• Quarterbacks using their legs was a bit of a theme Saturday as third-string quarterback Matthew Rueve also found the end zone on the ground. The drive started with Rueve hitting running back-turned-wideout Tony Muse up the seam for a pickup of 25 yards. Near the goal line, redshirt sophomore tailback Andre Hines did the dirty work, converting a 3rd-and-short to get BC to the 1-yard line. From there, Rueve scored on a keeper to the left side.
• There was one drive with the first-team offense where tight ends were heavily involved. Jurkovec dialed up passes of 25 and 15 yards, respectively, to Hans Lillis and Spencer Witter. Lillis' grab vaulted the Eagles to midfield. Witter laid out for his reception. That series, however, ended with a 44-yard field goal from Connor Lytton after sophomore defensive end Neto Okpala sacked Jurkovec for a loss of seven yards.
• Lytton also drilled a 34-yarder to end practice on the same drive where Tomlin logged two catches in a row. It was a Morehead-led series that also featured a 20-yard, toe-tapping reception from redshirt freshman wideout Dante Reynolds.
• The first-team offense might have had the best drive of the scrimmage during its go at the situational drill, which placed the ball at the offense's own 25-yard line with a minute to go, one timeout remaining and a three-point deficit. Right off the bat, Jurkovec connected with old Notre Dame classmate George Takacs for a big gainer. The 6-foot-6 graduate tight end picked up some yards after the catch, too. After that, Jurkovec went over the top for sophomore wideout Jaden Williams, who made the catch and sprinted to the paint for a 48-yard touchdown.
