Jeff Hafley didn’t shy away from critiquing his team’s scrimmage performance Monday morning. The second-year Boston College head coach simply declared that the Eagles aren’t ready to play a game right now: a message he told his team on the Chamberlin Practice Field.

“We need to get a lot better,” Hafley said. “We did a lot of really good things in the scrimmage, but we did a lot of things that would have beat ourselves no matter who we lined up against. And before you beat anybody, you got to get to the point where you don’t beat yourself.”

Hafley’s star quarterback didn’t hold back, either. When asked how he thought he played Monday, Phil Jurkovec answered with one word, “Badly.”

“Just not playing well enough,” he said. “Not completing the ball, and if I play like this we’re not going to win. So I have to play better.”

Jurkovec pointed to accuracy, footwork and decision making as areas of emphasis these final two weeks of camp. The second-year starter showcased his rapport with tight end Trae Barry and wide receiver Zay Flowers during the thud-contact scrimmage, but the Eagles’ aerial attack—which finished third in the ACC last season—was not the focal point of practice.

“The one thing I thought we actually did really well today in the scrimmage, we ran the ball really well,” Hafley said. “And obviously that starts up front. We should run the ball really well because we have a really good offensive line.”

West Virginia transfer Alec Sinkfield scored two touchdowns, one of which capped a 40-yard, untouched run. Travis Levy punched the rock in from two yards out. Pat Garwo III hit the accelerator for a big run. And Xavier Coleman’s quickness was on display, in and out of the backfield. Notably, the true freshman recorded a 20-yard reception.

“We’ve shown a lot of progress in terms of running the ball,” Jurkovec said. “The line played really well. The running backs are seeing it well. They’re making good cuts. So we’re all pleased with how we’re running the ball.”

As he mentioned earlier in the camp, Hafley said that all four of the aforementioned backs will get looks in BC’s offense. He elaborated Monday, fleshing out his thought process. He said it’s important to have guys who can go on first and second down, someone on third and packages where two and maybe three running backs can be on the field at the same time.

Vague, yes. And perhaps that’s intentional. After all, Hafley noted at the beginning of the camp that he believes Travis Levy is a three-down back. The graduate tailback said that he’d need a bit more conditioning before the season started to take on that role but that he’s game.

“I’m ready for all the load,” Levy said. “I’m ready for everything. I’m just trying to do whatever to help the team win. If that’s being a three-down back then that’s my opportunity to help the team win, and that’s what I plan on doing.”

Levy was alternating carries with David Bailey by the back half of last season. Whether it’s him or a combination of him and Sinkfield, or even Garwo and Coleman, too, BC is hoping to achieve greater offensive balance in 2021 after ranking 118th in rushing last year.

Monday morning’s scrimmage was a great start for the running back room and the offensive line. Here are some more tid-bits from the intrasquad exhibition and camp in general.

Hafley confirmed Chibueze Onwuka’s season-ending injury: Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports reported Sunday that Onwuka suffered an injury in practice that would keep him out this year. Hafley doubled down on that report Monday, specifying that it was a “freak deal” Achilles injury. Onwuka had surgery last week and is embarking on the road to recovery.

“Booze will be out for the year,” Hafley said. “Sadly, he probably had the best offseason he might have ever had. He became a leader for us and was playing at a really high level. Probably would have started for us.” Onwuka started five games at defensive tackle last season and was the Eagles’ second-best run defender in 2020, according to Pro Football Focus. He totaled 19 tackles, including 12 solos and 2.5 TFLs, in addition to 1.5 sacks and a pair of forced fumbles.

BC is thin at D-Line: Hafley said that the Eagles were missing four or five defensive tackles for Monday’s scrimmage. He complimented defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase for making do with a banged up interior. Hafley said that a rotation in the trenches should be expected. He pinpointed that as the area where BC’s been hit the hardest by injuries.

Hafley floated a handful of defensive linemen as potential replacements for Onwuka at defensive tackle. He started with Izaiah Henderson, who Hafley said flies around the field. Hafley brought up Khris Banks, Cam Horsley, Ryan Betro and Ty Clemons as well. Clemons, a 6-foot-2, 250-pound true freshman, helped classmate Neto Okpala secure a would-be sack during Monday’s scrimmage. And Banks had a pair of TFLs.

CB Josh DeBerry says that BC’s defense likes being the underdog: The All-ACC honorable mention from a year ago acknowledges that the Eagles’ offense is the talk of the town. And he’s OK with that. He feels it’s well deserved. Besides, he and his teammates on the defensive side of the ball embrace the lack of attention.

“There’s not too much hype around us, which is good,” DeBerry said. “We always want to be the underdogs. There’s a lot you should know about us—we’re a very talented group. Way more talented than people give us credit for.”

BC improved from 125th to 73rd in total defense and 122nd to 82nd in pass defense last fall. It was a step in the right direction, but there’s still a lot to be desired from the Eagles’ secondary, especially because of Hafley’s track record in the backend. The group had a nose for the ball in 2020, though.

DeBerry muscled the rock away from Duke wide receiver Damon Philyaw-Johnson for a fumble recovery. Mike Palmer ran a tip-drill interception back 70 yards against Texas State. Brandon Sebastian scooped and scored a 97-yard touchdown at Clemson. BC’s defensive backs were part of a unit that was tied for 10th nationally in takeaways last year with 21.

“We did pretty good at attacking the ball last year,” DeBerry said. “That’s kind of our motto: getting turnovers and taking the ball away. We still can be a lot better in that area.”

A player to watch in the secondary this year is Southern Illinois transfer JT Thompson II, who is vying for a spot on the two deep. Sebastian shouted out the corner earlier in camp, and Thompson notched an interception Monday. Thompson piled up 32 total tackles, four pass break-ups and an interception in 10 games for the FSC Salukis last year.