Notes From Day 1 Of Spring Ball

CHESTNUT HILL - We're back.

Energy was high inside Fish Field House for the first day of spring ball on Monday morning. For the first time since I began covering the team in 2019 the media had full access to practice. So, instead of guessing on who might look good, here's everything I jotted down for the two-plus hours we were there...

-Very different structure already and a more business-like atmosphere as opposed to the loud, club-like vibe Hafley had. There was no coach on the microphone yelling instructions and music was a normal volume as background noise.

-The offense was out on the field at like 8:40 and began doing some light tempo work right around 9:00. The first offense (led by TC) and second offense (rotation of QB's) each ran some no huddle about 20 yards a part while moving up and down the field.

-Nice to see the O-line back (except for Mahogany). That continuity between Kendall, Logan Taylor, Jude Bowry, Trapilo and Kevin Cline should do wonders in terms of hitting the ground running. Didn't see any false start penalties at any point today.

-This wide receiver group is by far the deepest position group on the team, Transfer Jerand Bradley looks every bit the part of WR1. More on him in a bit... Skeete, Bond and Tomlin all looked good too. Redshirt junior Luke McLaughlin might be my sneaky favorite under the radar guy already. Built like Wes Welker (also wears No. 83) and is quick as hell. Looks like an ideal slot guy. Vandy transfer Jayden McGowan is going to be involved quite a bit it feels like too with his speed.

-RB's are loaded too. Transfer Treshaun Ward just looks like an ACC athlete as soon as soon as you look at him and his explosiveness with the ball in his hands jumps out too. Kye and Broome looked a little bigger too.

-At tight end, UNC transfer Kamari Morales is built like a friggin moose. Athletic and caught everything thrown his way. This team might have a legitimate TE for the first time since Hunter Long.

-Ward, McGowan, Broome and Amari Jackson could all be serious weapons in the return game.

-Around 9:20 when guys were heading into a half-speed 11-on-11 period, O'Brien stressed getting details like getting in and out of the huddle and snap count/cadence. Added a "let's make sure we have our sh*t together, disciplined football!"

-First look at the D-line and both Ezeiruaku and Neto Okpala looked bigger and faster. Redshirt sophomore Gilbert Tongrongou and Nigel Tate stood out too. Cam Horsley is taking over a bit as a vocal leader up front. Junior Kwan Williams is listed at 311 lbs. and looks every bit of it.

-The biggest thing that jumped out during the first hour is just how much got accomplished. BC went through eight 'periods' between individual stuff, some team stuff and stretching.

-Very short stretching period, then it was right back to actual football, way shorter than any we ever saw under Hafley.

-As I talked about on Saturday when BOB presented at Gillette and talked about his offense, there's a lot of emphasis on getting the ball out quickly. During 7-on-7 TC hit Skeete for a screen at the LOS and I'm not sure BC ever moved that quickly in a single game last season.

-A wheel to Morales followed and man, he's going to be fun to watch.

-At like 10:20 when the team went to its first 11-on-11 (no contact obviously), TC ran things on one end with FIU transfer Grayson James and Jacobee Robinson splitting reps on the other end. James looks EXACTLY like Morehead when it comes to build and throwing motion.

-Both Cole Batson and Max Tucker had INT's at one point during the 11-on-11 work.

-Another RB that flashed a bit when given a chance was redshirt freshman Anthony Ferrucci, reminds me of a Kevin Faulk type with more speed. Good hands and he had a great leaping one-handed catch at one point.

-Tempo, tempo, tempo. Stressed all day no matter what the period was. No time wasted.

-During some defensive pass rush drills during another indy period an offside misstep meant up-downs.

-During some more light work, this time with WR's working two-man routes, Bradley showed why he's probably already WR1. TC jammed a ball into him over the middle with a defender draped all over him and then he had a sick catch on the sideline on an out with a defender all over him again. Can't teach size and speed and this kid has both. Stands above everyone else except the linemen in the huddle.

-Redshirt freshman Kahlil Ali had a sick leaping PBU against Jeremiah Franklin.

The kicking competition is WIDE open. Didn't see much from the special teams guys, but it's literally going to be a toss up all spring and summer between Lytton, Connor and Luca Lombardo.

-I asked someone about Bryce Steele. While not cleared yet, I was told he has "the intention" of playing. We'll see what happens there.

-Ohio State transfer DB Ryan Turner locked up Ismael Zamor during some late team work. Didn't catch a lot of him but when I did he was very quick.

-O'Brien bounced around a lot throughout the day, but spent a lot of time with the offense. During one particular QB drill where they worked on quick releases to either sideline in rapid-fire mode, he was coaching up a storm.

-As things wound down the team worked on 1st and 2nd down tempo. There was a TON of communication from TC at the LOS and tempo was stressed once again.

-James showed excellent pocket presence during his reps, sliding up and getting the ball out a few different times. Footwork was impressive.

-Pape Sy is friggin ENORMOUS. Like, he looks like a mountain. Raw, but with that size and this staff he could turn into something.

-Punt team worked for about 10 minutes at the end of practice before sprints and a final breakdown at 11:30.

-Blake James and Doug Marrone were both in the building for the duration of practice. Handful of recruits were on hand too.

Solid first day and it felt like the team got a lot done. Definitely a more business-like, NFL camp type vibe. It's only Day 1, but there's a lot to be encouraged by early on.