Boston College released its first official depth chart for the 2020 season on Monday afternoon. Jeff Hafley appears to be holding his cards close to his chest before BC’s opener. There’s a bunch of flexibility on the two-deep, especially in the secondary and on special teams.

Some questions were answered, others were raised.

Without further ado, here are six takeaways:

Still no QB1 decision: Phil Jurkovec had to wait two seasons behind Ian Book at Notre Dame and an additional seven months this offseason when applying for an immediate-eligibility waiver from the NCAA—all for the opportunity to get on the field and play. But he hasn’t been handed the keys to BC’s program just yet. The quarterback position is listed with Jurkovec’s name above Dennis Grosel’s right beside a bold “OR” in the adjacent depth chart column. Grosel, who started the final seven games of 2019 under center, has impressed in camp, especially in regard to his command of the offense and leadership ability.

Hafley and his staff might know who their guy is, but leaving the position up in the air makes Duke’s game planning all the more difficult. Plus, prolonged competition could benefit the two signal callers down the road.

Shakeup on the O-Line: BC’s offensive line returned four All-ACC starters. As a result, many presumed that the Eagles would look nearly identical up front this season. But, turns out, that’s not exactly the case. Of the four returning starters, center Alec Lindstrom is the only one listed at the same position as last year.

Zion Johnson, who played 90% of the team’s snaps at left guard in 2019, has shifted over to left tackle. Tyler Vrabel has moved from the blind side to the other end of the line and is now set to start at right tackle. After two consecutive seasons at RT, Ben Petrula is on the move again, this time settling in at right guard—where John Phillips played last year. Offensive line coach Matt Applebaum tried various different combinations in training camp, a handful of which involved Petrula switching to right guard, so this change isn’t too much of a surprise.

Left guard is where things get really interesting. The position that was expected to be manned by BC’s best lineman is now between two players who have yet to make their collegiate debut: redshirt freshman Christian Mahogany and redshirt junior Nate Emer. Mahogany was the 30th-best prospect out of New Jersey in the Class of 2019. Standing 6-foot-3 and 316 pounds, he was also recruited at the tackle position. Notably, Mahogany is 21 pounds lighter than Emer, who, despite being 6-foot-4, has a less stocky frame. Emer made four appearances in 2018 after redshirting the previous season.

What the F?: You might have noticed that this year’s depth chart lists an “F” position. During the Steve Addazio era, BC’s 12-personnel offense featured two wideouts: an X and a Z receiver. Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr.’s scheme, however, fits in a third WR spot for a slot receiver. That’s where “F” comes in.

Jaelen Gill will blaze the trail at the position for the new-look Eagles. The Ohio State transfer struggled to climb the depth chart during his two years in Columbus. Once the 41st-best recruit in the Class of 2018, Gill began his college career buried behind the likes of Parris Campbell, CJ Saunders, and KJ Hill at the H-Back position. He converted to wide receiver last season and caught six balls for 51 yards and one touchdown. Now at BC, he’s suited for a bigger role.

He’ll be backed up by Jehlani Galloway, a 5-foot-11 redshirt sophomore from Providence, R.I. who went up and brought down a Grosel pass amid traffic in the corner of the end zone during the Eagles’ final preseason scrimmage.

Transfer line: BC will still be playing in a 4-3 defense, but the middle of the D-Line looks significantly different. It seems like the Eagles will plug in a pair of graduate transfers to beef up a position group that was gutted by several opponents last season. After all, BC allowed 193.2 rushing yards per game, ranking a lowly 100th nationally against the run—not to mention that the Eagles had the second-fewest sacks (19) in the conference.

Buffalo transfer Chibueze Onwuka is listed at nose tackle ahead of incumbent TJ Rayam. And Luc Bequette, whose transfer became official just six days ago, is BC’s primary DT for the season opener at Duke. Even though he’s new in Chestnut Hill, Bequette is a seasoned performer. The Cal transfer has started 38 straight games and spent time at defensive end, defensive tackle, and nose tackle during his Golden Bears career. Last year, he piled up a career-high 52 total tackles, 4.0 TFLs, and 3.0 sacks.

A bulked-up Shittah Sillah and newly-named team co-captain Marcus Valdez will come off the edge for the Eagles in 2020, with Brandon Barlow and Bryce Morais backing them up at their respective defensive end positions.

Anyone’s game in the secondary: Hafley is best known for his work with defensive backs. Lately, he’s drawn national praise for his mentorship of first-round picks Jeff Okudah (Detroit Lions) and Damon Arnette (Las Vegas Raiders). When he was hired as BC’s head coach in December 2019, many expected there to be a resurgence in the secondary—sooner rather than later, that is. Hafley has turned the page and facilitated an open competition in the back end.

An “OR” is attached to all four positions. Even Brandon Sebastian, a two-year starter, isn’t a shoo-in at right corner for Saturday’s game at Duke. It could also be sophomore Josh DeBerry. The Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. native played in seven games last year, two of which he started. On the opposite side, it’s a battle between Elijah Jones and Jason Maitre. At 6-foot-2, Jones is the bigger body, but Maitre accomplished more in 2019. The Everett High School product started three more games (six total) than Jones last fall and tallied five more pass break-ups (six total PBUs), in addition to recording a pick-six against North Carolina State.

The strong safety position is between Jahmin Muse and Deon Jones, whereas the free safety spot could either go to Jones or Mike Palmer. All three safeties on the two-deep are veterans—Muse is a redshirt junior and Jones and Palmer are graduate students. Palmer started all 11 games that he played last season, while the hard-hitting Muse made just one start in 2019. Jones, on the other hand, came over from Maryland this offseason, reuniting with his old recruiter, BC defensive backs coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim. Jones started six games at safety with the Terrapins last season, registering 34 tackles, one forced fumble, and a pass break-up.

Little to no clarity on the special teams front: There’s no indication of who the Eagles’ place kicker will be this season. Aaron Boumerhi, Danny Longman, and Stephen Ruiz are all down as possibilities. Boumerhi converted 12 of his 18 field goal attempts last season, good for a 66.7% clip (ninth among ACC teams). The former transfer has quite the leg—Boumerhi hit two 40+ yard kicks last year and knocked in a 52-yarder while he was with Temple.

Longman shouldered the kickoff duties last year, however, he was far from consistent. In fact, he had 11 kicks sail out of bounds, two more than any other FBS kicker. As far as field goals are concerned, Longman is 1-of-1 in his career, having made a 26-yard attempt against Temple while filling in for an injured Colton Lichtenberg back in 2018. Ruiz is a transfer from New Mexico who has yet to attempt his first collegiate kick, although he did nail a 43-yarder in the Eagles’ first scrimmage periods of training camp.

The kick/punt return spots are between Travis Levy, Zay Flowers, and Gill. Levy was BC’s return man last season and averaged 22.5 yards per kickoff return and 7.5 yards per punt return. Last, but certainly not least, the long snapper position could go to either Aidan Livingston (last year’s starter) or TCU grad transfer Donovan Cahill.