Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley will take the stage in Charlotte to lead things off on Thursday, the third day of this week's ACC Media Days.

With him will come quarterback Emmett Morehead, offensive lineman Christian Mahogany, and defensive lineman Donovan Ezeiruaku.

We don't know every question Hafley will field, but some topics seem destined to come up.

This is a big year for the program, isn't it?

The Boston College administration has stood firmly beside head coach Jeff Hafley after a three-win season on the heels of 12 wins over his first two years. The program has been through a lot under Hafley's watch, which began with the very unorthodox season so impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patience has been understandable, but nobody's clueless about the business of college football in 2023. If you go 3-9 one year, you need to be improved the next. That doesn't mean it's necessarily a do-or-die year for Hafley, but most people are going to say it could be a tenure-defining year. Spike upward as one of the more surprising teams in the league and optimism is en vogue. Fail to make a bowl game for a second straight year and the atmosphere will be toxic.

Hafley has given no indication that he won't handle that topic well. He has taken responsibility for the outcomes last year and wants to turn the page. He has generally said the right things. But Year Four is a big one.

How much better will the offensive line be?

If there's one think that sunk BC's season in 2022 it was the complete drop-off in offensive line play.

BC allowed 46 sacks, tied with Kentucky for worst among Power Five programs last season. The Eagles allowed 98 tackles for loss, which ranked 119th nationally. And of course, BC had the worst rushing offense in all of college football - 131st - at 63.25 yards per contest.

Even among those who are the most upset about last year, there should be a general understanding that injuries played a major role in those outcomes. Mahogany, who is accompanying Hafley on the trip to Charlotte, represents one of the main reasons for hope. He was out last season and there have been some too-early offseason mock NFL drafts which feature him as a high pick. Simply putting him on the field for 700+ snaps, if he's healthy, could make the line a whole lot better. He would, in theory, make the players around him better.

There are other reasons for hope, but after a season like the last one many people will believe it when they see it. The program has to be much, much better in the trenches for BC to recapture momentum on the field as a program.

Explaining the offseason staff changes

Staff changes come during pivotal offseasons, so in a sense Hafley's own staffing decisions signaled he viewed this as an important year.

Rod Chunzinski as associate head coach, offensive coordinator Steve Shimko, and Aazaar Abdul-Rahim and Sean Duggan sharing the co-coordinator role on defense.

Chudzinski's credentials at the professional level have been well established and Hafley has long respected his voice on the offensive side of the ball. In announcing Shimko, Hafley made it clear he views him as an essential member of the staff who he wants to keep around.

Ultimately how these hires are viewed will hinge entirely on the 12-game schedule which begins just more than a month from now. But for at least the duration of fall camp, making a strong case for the new staff situation could generate some optimism.

Replacing Zay Flowers

Flowers was one of the lone bright spots during a very rough 2022 season for the BC program. He was selected by the Ravens in the first round after another stellar season, which saw him post 78 receptions, 1,077 yards, and 12 touchdowns. He scored 29 touchdowns over a four year career spanning 2019-2022.

There are plenty of reasons to believe Boston College will be an improved football team this year, but nobody is likely to completely fill Flowers' shoes.

If the offensive line is better then the whole operation should improve and allow for a step forward, but it's in spite of Flowers' absence. BC brought in UCF wide receiver Ryan O'Keefe this offseason and there are a lot of people who believe he can surprise the ACC with his ability this year. But this is certainly a question Hafley will face, if he doesn't mention it straightaway.

This is Emmett Morehead's team - is he ready for it?

He'd better be.

If this is a big year for Boston College under Jeff Hafley then a lot is riding on Emmett Morehead, who is in line to have a late-season duel with former BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec in a road game at Pitt.

Morehead is accompanying Hafley to Charlotte so the fact that the coach is putting him front and center is an embrace of how important he's going to be this season.

In his first extended action in college football last year Morehead completed 59.9% of his throws for 1,254 yards, 10 touchdowns, and six picks. But everyone knows about the kind of line play he was working behind. Morehead wasn't exactly set up to succeed last year in that respect.

We've heard a lot about Morehead in recent years but he's still a relatively green quarterback with about half a year's worth of attempts in games under his belt. It will be interesting to see how he responds to the spotlight.