CHESTNUT HILL - With three games left in the regular season and a bowl bid officially out of the question, eyes in and around the BC football program need to start looking towards the future.

There is a delicate balance for head coach Jeff Hafley and the staff when it comes to this scenario. Some guys need to continue building draft stock, while others need to start showing they deserve to play next season.

The biggest example of this is obviously at the quarterback position. Right now, the decision whether to start Emmett Morehead the rest of the way or let Phil Jurkovec try and show NFL scouts some more stuff on film is easy because Jurkovec isn’t medically cleared to play yet. At other positions, the situation isn’t as clearly defined.

Hafley insists that with an eye towards the future, he will still provide as much help as he can to the veterans on the team looking to play in the NFL.

“If Phil were healthy and Emmett were healthy, I think it’s a question with an answer, but Phil’s hurt right now,” Hafley said during his weekly availability on Tuesday. “If Phil can’t play, Emmett’s going to be the quarterback, but just with the question in general…we still have a good amount - not too many - of older guys who are playing and being productive. I told them I’m not going to turn my back on them. There’s a small group of guys that have the chance to play at the next level. My goal for the next three weeks is to get as much good tape and production for them so we can help change their lives and let them go to the league, I’m not going to turn my back on them.

“I know what’s ahead and I know what I wan to build on too…I want to gain momentum going into next year and what you say Friday night was a lot of those guys doing that. But, by no means, I’m not going to do that. You’ve got guys on the verge of being drafted, my job also is to help change lives and I’m going to do that for them.”

While Hafley’s loyalty to his older players is admirable, he also knows that guys going about things the right way these last three weeks is the most important part of this final stretch, young and old.

“What’s important is not just for the younger guys to do well, because right now, they did do well, we had six true freshman play or whatever it was and a lot of them have played well,” he added. “What’s most important is, when Zay Flowers played like he did. If you watch the film and watch him block in that game…what that said to not only everybody that’s going to watch him as they get ready for the draft, but it sends a message to Joe Griffin and all of our younger players.

“That motivates me and I can’t wait to continue to coach them and try to get them better.”