Aaron Boumerhi is out indefinitely with a right hip injury, according to Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley.

The graduate place kicker didn’t play in Saturday’s season opener against Colgate. Senior Danny Longman, who has shouldered the team’s kickoff duties since 2018 and occasionally filled in at place kicker, started in Boumerhi’s place, converting a 24-yard field goal and making 4-of-5 extra points. True freshman Connor Lytton also added two PATs in the blowout victory.

“Boom didn’t play because he lost his job,” Hafley explained Sunday via Zoom. “He’s battling that hip again. He was out for the game, and I know it still bothers him. I know he wants to be out there.”

This offseason, Boumerhi was gearing up for what appeared to be a normal season, something of a rarity during his eventful six-year career.

But then the former Temple preferred walk-on re-aggravated the same hip that he’s had two different surgeries on: the first of which cost him most of the 2018 season and ultimately led to his transfer, and the second kept him out of last year’s Week 1 game at Duke.

In 2020, his recovery timeline was touch and go. He had surgery in March, just before BC’s campus shut down because of COVID-19. Boumerhi didn’t actually start kicking again until fall camp, and, even after missing the season opener, it wasn’t guaranteed he’d be back for the Eagles’ Week 2 matchup versus Texas State—of course, that is in fact when he returned and booted a game-winning 36-yard field goal.

It marked the start of a special season for the central Pennsylvania native. Boumerhi was one of three ACC kickers in 2020 to make 14 or more field goals and convert at least 80% of his attempts.

This time around, though, Boumerhi’s hip could very well keep him out longer than one week. Hafley said that he doesn’t have an estimation on Boumerhi’s return at the moment.

“It’s kind of like last year with him,” Hafley said. “It could last a long time. I know he’s been out periodically throughout this career, but I don’t [have a timeline] right now.”

Hafley voiced his confidence in Boumerhi this offseason, demonstrating the trust he has in the veteran kicker, who knocked in 16-of-20 field goals and 30-of-30 PATs last year.

“You guys know how I feel about him and the success he had last year,” Hafley said. “But, for right now, he’s out. And we’ll see how he progresses.”