Reflecting on Louisville: What Did Hafley Say During His Sunday Presser?

Jeff Hafley got off the plane at 12:30 a.m., woke up early and watched the tape of Boston College’s 28-14 loss at Louisville.

Then he held a team meeting. Hafley, who was preparing a video for his players, was the last one to enter the room, which is normally quite talkative on a Sunday but, after a third straight ACC defeat, fell nearly silent.

That’s not the way Hafley wants it.

“I don’t want guys to change who they are,” the second-year Eagles head coach said. “I want them to be pissed off. Because I’m pissed off, and you guys should all be pissed off. I want them to be a little bit frustrated. I mean, it’s human nature.”

Hafley isn’t, however, going to “turn into some raging lunatic,” he said. He believes in consistent leadership, and he plans on encouraging his team while showing tough love.

This is the first time BC has suffered a three-game losing streak in Hafley’s young tenure, but the 42-year-old player’s coach emphasized that he’s been around his fair share of roller coaster seasons, both in college and in the NFL. He pointed to 2017 when he was San Francisco’s defensive backs coach. The 49ers started that year 0-9 before winning six of their final seven games. Two years later, that team made it to the Super Bowl, Hafley said.

“We have five football games left, and we need to get better,” he said. “I know that. And I need to coach better, and I’m going to.”

The Eagles have combined for 34 points in their three ACC games this year. They averaged 3.9 yards per play Saturday at Louisville. The week before that, BC averaged 4.2 yards per play against North Carolina State.

All last year, the Eagles never averaged fewer than 4.6 yards per play.

The eye sore of this weekend’s loss, though, was BC’s seven points off four Louisville turnovers. BC couldn’t capitalize on free possessions, in large part because of an anemic passing offense. Redshirt senior quarterback Dennis Grosel completed approximately 53% of his attempts for the second week in a row and committed a trio of turnovers, including a red zone interception.

Grosel missed receivers, short and long, and is now 3-of-22 on passes traveling 20 or more yards through the air, according to Pro Football Focus. Hafley was adamant that Grosel was “the guy” following BC’s heartbreaking defeat in Death Valley on Oct. 2. But, after the Eagles loss at Louisville, Hafley didn’t double down on his allegiance to longtime backup.

During Sunday’s press conference, Hafley discussed how he watched the film closely that morning. What stuck out, of course, was that the offense needs to execute at a higher level, and that includes both the coaches and the players, he said.

Hafley noted that, often, credit is directed toward the head coach and quarterback when a team succeeds, even if it isn’t deserved. The same goes for blame, he explained.

“I think we gotta look hard at everything,” Hafley said. “How we’re coaching, how we’re playing: the plays, the players. Have I made a decision in my head right now of what I want to do? No.”

Hafley continued: “I’m not trying to BS you or work my way around it, I’m just being very honest with you. I think there’s a bunch of things we need to talk through right now. We need to play better. And we need to score points. So we need to figure out what gives us the best chance to do that.”

Hafley said that there are three other quarterbacks currently behind Grosel on the depth chart: redshirt sophomore Daelen Menard, redshirt freshman Matthew Rueve and true freshman Emmett Morehead. He said that Grosel gets most of the reps in practice right now.

“Daelen is a guy who knows the scheme really well,” Hafley said. “Moves well in the pocket. He can run around a little bit. I think he has a really great grasp on the system. Matthew Rueve, another guy. He processes really quickly. He’s good on the run, he’s good outside the pocket. Emmett Morehead is a big true freshman who has a phenomenal arm. He’s got a really bright future.”

Morehead was the highest-rated recruit of the bunch. Originally from Woodside, California, the 6-foot-5 quarterback played for Episcopal Collegiate School in Alexandria, Virginia, where he was ranked as the 29th-best Class of 2021 prospect in the state.

Whoever will be starting under center will have to hope that Tyler Vrabel gets back to full strength. The three-year starting left tackle returned Saturday after missing the previous game against N.C. State with a knee injury that he sustained at Clemson.

Vrabel struggled, giving up three pressures and a sack while registering a PFF pass blocking grade of 59.2. Things were even worse for Jack Conley, who came in for Vrabel for three snaps and conceded one sack.

BC allowed three sacks in back-to-back games. Teams are stacking the box and pressuring the Eagles, making Grosel complete passes over the top, something that he hasn’t been able to do with consistency.

BC had four first-half three-and-outs at Louisville, and it put the Eagles’ defense in a tough position, especially the depleted D-Line, which was trying to stop a four-pronged Cardinals rushing attack.

“I think our interior guys got a little gassed,” Hafley said. “And I don’t want to make an excuse because we definitely need to play better than that. But it was just uncharacteristic to see those guys out of their gaps.”

The Eagles ended up giving up 331 rushing yards, including 133 to quarterback Malik Cunningham. Still, Hafley isn’t worried about BC’s run defense—disappointed, not concerned, he differentiated.

Two weeks ago, Hafley was asking students to get in the stands early to pack Alumni Stadium for the team’s first night game with fans since 2018. The Eagles were trying to nab their first win over an AP-ranked opponent since 2014.

Now, BC is just trying to grab its first ACC win of the year. And Hafley is asking for patience. He said he received supportive texts from boosters, alumni—namely Doug Flutie—and coaches such as BC women’s basketball’s Joanna Bernabei-McNamee.

“Those who stick around, and those who get through this tough time with us, those are the real people,” Hafley said. “And they will be rewarded.”