Trusted Relationships Led Takacs to BC
George Takacs is a big human with a big brain. Not only is the 6-foot-6, 247-pound graduate transfer from Notre Dame the tallest tight end on Boston College's roster, but he also might have the best memory of anyone on the team.
"He's insane at 'Jeopardy!'," quarterback Phil Jurkovec said with a radiant smile Saturday. "Like, he's the best 'Jeopardy!' player we've ever seen."
Jurkovec lives with Takacs, graduate left guard Finn Dirstine and graduate tight end Joey Luchetti. The redshirt senior signal caller said that the quiz competition game show is always on in their house.
"We'll just throw on 'Jeopardy!', and George gets every one," Jurkovec said. You should test him."
Takacs said he started watching 'Jeopardy' every night with his roommates at Notre Dame. His weakness? Musicals and operas.
"No one knows that, right?," Takacs said, jokingly.
Takacs has made a smooth transition to BC after playing the first 29 games of his career with Holy War rival Notre Dame. The Naples, Florida, native emphasized how comfortable he's felt since arriving in Chestnut Hill.
"The guys in the locker room have been overwhelmingly welcome," Takacs said. "There hasn't been a point where I didn't feel like I was part of the team. I'm here to compete, and I'm here to try to win a job. But everyone here has been helpful."
What made the move easier for Takacs was the fact that he already had trusting relationships with Jurkovec, BC's starting quarterback of two years, and Eagles offensive coordinator John McNulty. In fact, it was those relationships that led him to BC.
Takacs first played with Jurkovec on the East Team of the 2018 US Army All-American Bowl. Both were four-star recruits in the same class heading to Notre Dame. They spent two years together in South Bend before Jurkovec—who attempted just 18 passes in two years behind then-Fighting Irish starter Ian Book—transferred.
"I know Phil very well. And I know that he's a hell of a quarterback," Takacs said. "That's the guy I knew loved to throw to tight ends, and that's the guy I had a previous relationship with. So when I was talking to him, I knew that he wouldn't lead me wrong."
Additionally, Takacs was confident in McNulty, who was Takacs' position coach the past two years at Notre Dame.
Last season, Takacs saw his snap count skyrocket from 67 to 407, according to Pro Football Focus, however, his target share didn't budge. Takacs was targeted only four times for the second year in a row. He caught three of those for 36 yards and a touchdown.
His 2021 reception numbers weren't indicative of his 135 routes ran, per PFF, hence his incredibly low 0.27 yards per route run.
Notre Dame All-American Michael Mayer simply gobbled up the tight end targets en route to a team-leading 71 catches—the third most by a tight end in 2021—840 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
"I'm coming here to try to be a complete tight end, not a pass-catching tight end," Takacs said Saturday. "I knew I had all the run game stuff, but I knew I could also catch the ball."
He continued: "Mike's an unbelievable player. When it came down to it, Mike was a better pass-catcher than me. I wanted the chance to go somewhere and showcase my skills. I think BC's a good opportunity for me."
Takacs registered PFF run and pass blocking grades of 65.6 and 67.7, respectively, last year. According to PFF, he was the inline tight end for 81.1% of his offensive snaps, including 70% of his pass snaps.
He's expected to have a more impactful receiving role in 2022, part of which will likely take place in the slot. Takacs could easily double his career reception total this season.
And, come Nov. 19, he'll share an opportunity with Jurkovec to face the program he started his career with: Notre Dame.
It's a rivalry that's firmly entrenched in his 'Jeopardy!'-friendly knowledge bank.
"Knew something about it, growing up and in high school. When I got to Notre Dame, when we played BC, they'd stress that rivalry. The big thing was that BC's a great program. It's a hard-nosed program, it's a tough program. Every time we played BC, it was a physical game, it was a hard game.
"That part was appealing to me. I knew that BC had the right culture and had the right guys, and it was it was a good program to step into."