Before the season, there was no position on Boston College’s roster with more depth than safety. The Eagles had four players with Power Five starting experience.

But two of them, strong safety Jahmin Muse and free safety Deon Jones, missed most of the year due to injury. And now they’re both in the transfer portal.

Muse saw a significant decline in playing time this year following the addition of Jaiden Woodbey from Florida State. Woodbey started every game at strong safety, and Muse totaled just 148 snaps before missing the rest of the year with a neck injury.

Muse finished with 12 total tackles in six games this season. He had a 22-yard pick-six in the season opener against Colgate. It was the fifth interception of his Eagles career.

Muse started all 11 games at strong safety in 2020 and piled up a team-best three picks. He also ranked fifth among BC players with 39 total tackles last year while registering a Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 58.3. He did post a missed tackle rate of 19.6% but allowed 13 receptions on 22 targets.

Muse made one start in 2019 and appeared in all 13 games, recording 18 total tackles, 3.5 TFLs and one interception. His first career pick came in the regular season finale at Pittsburgh, and he went 36 yards on the return. Muse played limited snaps in four games in 2018 and redshirted his freshman season.

Jones, on the other hand, didn’t arrive at BC until 2020.

He reunited with Eagles defensive backs coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, who recruited Jones at Maryland, where Jones played his first three seasons of college ball. Jones considers Abdul-Rahim a father-like figure and immediately thought to contact him when he entered the transfer portal after the 2019 season.

In addition to his relationship with Abdul-Rahim, Jones was also intrigued by BC’s defensive back pipeline to the NFL and the hiring of Jeff Hafley.

Jones was coming off a six-start season at Maryland, during which he played in a total of 10 games, racked up 34 total tackles, forced one fumble and broke up one pass.

He matched that start total at BC in 2020. Although he might have surpassed it had he not been hampered by an elbow injury he sustained Week 2 against Texas State.

When all was said and done, Jones played in nine games and finished fourth on the team with 42 total tackles. He had a career-best 11 tackles against No. 2 Notre Dame. Jones also recovered two fumbles that year.

In the regular season finale, however, he was sidelined with a knee injury that he was still recovering from when fall camp rolled around. Jones made it back on the field for the Temple game and then played the next week against Missouri. He totaled 27 snaps in those two games, per PFF.

But a back injury cost him the rest of the season.

Jones was the recipient of this year’s Jay McGillis Memorial Scholarship, given annually to a BC defensive back that “best exemplifies the personal qualities of team dedication and leadership” in honor of Jay McGillis, who passed away from Leukemia in 1992.

He was also highly regarded by Hafley.

“We miss him,” Hafley said of Jones in early November. “We miss him as a player, we miss him as a leader. I miss him as a person out there. Because he’s one of my favorite guys. He has not been able to go. And I’m not sure if he’ll be able to return, unfortunately, for the season.”

In addition to Jones and Muse, four other BC players have put their names in the portal the last few days: linebackers Hugh Davis and Joe Sparacio, long snapper Aidan Livingston and place kicker Aaron Boumerhi.