Treshaun Ward & Jerand Bradley highlight Boston College transfer portal class that give Eagles depth

he may no longer be the head coach of Boston College football but Jeff Halley's efforts in the transfer portal are going to pay dividends for Bill O'Brien in [Music] 2024 you are locked on Boston College your daily podcast on the Boston College Eagles part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hello and welcome this is locked on Boston College I am your host AJ black today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn these days every new potential hire can feel like a high stakes wager for your small business that's why LinkedIn jobs help you find the right people for your team faster and for free post your job for free at linkedin.com lockon colge terms and conditions apply so the transfer portal has been closed now for about a week and a half two weeks two weeks we're at two weeks and we're going to talk today about the hall that Jeff Halley brought in and I'm going to go by each position and talk about why I think the additions the former head coach has brought in is gonna put bill obrien in a better position to win so on Friday we found out that one of BC's former uh transfer portal players uh Jo Jeff uh Jeff uh Joseph Griffin Jr wide receiver uh you know former for star is heading to Wisconsin he took an official visit there that makes sense EMT Morehead he's going to Old Dominion both good fits for both of those guys I think EMT Morhead will be very successful at Old Dominion but we're looking here at the guys coming into BC and I think there were three specific positions that halfly addressed that I saw during practice made Boston College look like a team ready to build they're building depth and that's the key here Boston College brought in a very small recruiting class you know if you look at the rankings they what the 90 90s or something like that but a lot of that has to do with the fact that they took a tiny class because halfy knew he needed to address that uh depth that they had on their team through guys that have played more guys that are established and he did that and the first position he did that effectively at is the running back position now let's rewind two years Jeff Halley was recruiting running backs that fit this following mold about 5'8 59 about 180 pounds built in the mold of hoping that you're going to get a Dion Lewis that could uh run the ball and catch the ball out of the back field now hle built the running back position in that mold with at least three guys that did that with Xavier Coleman with Cameron Barfield and Alex broom now Coleman and Barfield are gone Barfield is going to play for Hawaii which God bless Zach man that sounds like a great gig sometimes I I wish I went to Hawaii for for college I I probably never would have went to class but good for him they bring in Jordan McDonald who is about 230 pounds they bring in trewn Ward an established you know regular back and then they bring in Turbo Richard who is a running back who is more in the size of Tron Ward now all of a sudden you look at the running back room you have ta KY roash show who missed a bunch of practice this spring I don't think it's gonna be major injuries but he was hurt but last year he was so critical for that offense when roash show wasn't playing this offense was a different Beast because they didn't have any depth you're throwing Cameron Barfield out there and he just wasn't ready for that you put Alex broom out there he's a good you know situational back but you can't make him your every down back now all of a sudden you have three backs when you add in Tron Warden and Jordan McDonald that you can rely on and that is huge depth and a and a real bonus for Bill O'Brien because now if one of them gets dinged up you have these other guys and and they dinged up they did as I said robish show was out for a big part of the spring and Alex broom who's now a junior and expected to be a contributor he was in an aircast on his leg at the spring game that did not look good that looks like an injury that could mean maybe no playing at all this year but you they haven't said anything yet but that looked pretty significant but you can absorb those types of injuries when you bring in trean Ward trean Ward I think is a great fit for Boston College this is a kid that played for Florida State and torched Boston College and then went to Kansas State and tried his hand there and just wasn't as successful he's going to be coming in in in a perfect situation where there's going to be times where he could be the feuture back we saw it during the Spring he was he was good at that there's GNA be other times where he's more of a guy for certain packages and that's good too I love what he you know this is a guy that's established that's played a bunch that's got some size to him you know he's like 6 feet 200 lb he's not huge but he's a good size to him he can be a guy that you can lean on if you need to you don't have to put all your eggs in the basket for Kai robish show and that depth is so critical for Bill OB Brien he doesn't have to worry about what do I do if robish show goes down because you got trewn Ward there so that's a big addition there I love that addition right there and and we saw pieces of it during and plus plus with ward he plays special teams too you can get him out there to return kicks return punts which we started in the spring as well so he does a lot for this roster Jordan McDonald I I feel will have a spot and play this this this fall he is the big I don't know if he's bigger than kai robish show but he's up there he's a big kid he's you you watch him in the huddle with the other running backs and he's big so we didn't get to see a ton of like you know putting him in situational plays during the Spring but I have to wonder when it comes down to Brass TXS third Downs third and shorts goal line having a back like McDonald you may go stick with robish show but you have a guy like McDonald if you need it to get you know those dirty yard or two here and there I think is a a a a huge bonus like it gives your roster some versatility because you got guys that can do multiple different things I see him doing something like that for BC like when you H I don't want to call him Brian tol because that's a totally different thing but when you have those packages that you can do it you can get those a couple yards and with Thomas castalanos there you also have to impact you know factor in what he can do with his feet so he can also run and it just there's lots of different matchups you can use there so I think McDonald is an A A A welcome addition as well so you just transformed your offense your running back room from a room with a bunch of guys that um do all the same thing they can't do much else because their size kind of limits what they can do you bring in a couple guys that do very different things and all of a sudden your running back room has a lot of potential and it's exciting because you could see many of these guys and I'm not even talking about the guys that are already on the roster like doell Jones and and we don't know what what's going on with Alex BR but maybe someone like turbo Richard who's gonna be a true freshman coming in you have guys that can do some things for you I think that's why this these additions from Halley are gonna pay off for Bill O'Brien in our second segment I'm going to look at the wide outs and tight ends who add some weapons I think that are going to be totally critical for Thomas castalanos we'll get into that in just a moment when you're hiring for your small business you want to find quality professionals that are right for the job that's why you have to check out LinkedIn jobs LinkedIn jobs has the tools to help find the right Professionals for your team faster and for free LinkedIn isn't just a job board LinkedIn helps you hire professional you can't find anywhere else even those who aren't actively searching for a new job but might be open to the perfect role in a given month over 70% of LinkedIn users don't visit other link leading job sites so if you're not on LinkedIn you're looking at the wrong place 2.5 small million small businesses are using LinkedIn for hiring so you're missing out if you're not using LinkedIn post your job for free at linkedin.com lockon col that's linkedin.com lockon col to post your job for free terms and conditions apply locked on Boston College I'm your host AJ black if you are not over on Eagle Insider where I'm the editor I'm the publisher I got all the good stuff over there right now we're hitting recruiting season official visits are coming up I have a full notebook of information I've got crystal balls I've got all the good stuff over on egole Insider come on over check it out if you're if you're if you're skeptical you can get a get the free month you know get a month it's $ Five Doll for the first month or if you just want to Dive Right In and hey I i' recommend that you can get 30% off a yearly subscription get all your BC coverage for the next full year it's gonna be an exciting football season it's going to be an exciting basketball season too we'll get into all that up on the site so check that out now the other transfer portal position that was also greatly impacted one I just didn't think was gonna happen was the wide receiver position BC added two players at wide receiver in this off season one we'll get into first Jayden mcgaan Jayden Macwan comes from Vanderbilt one of the fastest wide receivers in the SEC on a team that was bad last year he originally committed to South Carolina and BC was able to pull him from South Carolina to come up to Boston College which if you're onle Insider you saw the Meltdown from uh Gamecock fans which we don't get many meltdowns but when BC beats out a team for a recruiter a transfer portal player fans usually meltdown which is kind of fun so McGaw is gonna be a multifaceted player for BC I'm interested to see what he does in terms of of getting reps during actual games because he played mostly with the twos during the Spring uh but he was their BC's um kick returner and punt returner on most special teams plays that they had because he's electric he's you know he had a touchdown for a kick return last year for the for the commodor he can do a lot of good things um and he he I see him you know I'm not sure how the offense is going to look differently in terms of you know well have Mitch wolf on from E go Insider talk more about that but I you know a role like Ryan O'Keefe seems like it' be a good fit for mwan like a a guy that you can get out there has good speed and you know when plays break down for for um Thomas castalanos so if he doesn't want to run he can throw the ball I could see a guy like mwan getting open when there's you know fire drills and and the pressure is getting to M to to castalanos he's got that kind of of reput Rapport that I think he'll be good at that kind of thing but if I were to tell you who the top three if they're gonna go like three starting W wide receivers I wouldn't put mwan as a starter yet uh he's a depth piece and having depth pieces depth pieces is not a bad thing when you have three starters and the starters most likely in my brain at wide receiver are going to be Lewis Bond Geron Bradley and Jaden ski having guys behind them that can go in and play that can you be useful and aren't a gigantic drop off is a major plus I love that I love that BC when you're gonna look at the wide receiver depth chart you're looking at guys that could play I mean like you have Jaden Macwan you have Dino Tomlin you have guys like Reed Harris who I think is gonna start to perk up in terms of getting a lot of attention he's a big dude that's that's what good teams have that's what separates teams that can absorb the day-to-day blows that college football can uh impact your team with injuries those the teams that have the depth are the teams that can absorb that the teams that don't are the ones that fall apart additionally BC has and I had his picture up um on the title screen of this episode Geron Bradley who's a 65 wide receiver transfer from Texas Tech the darling of spring practice huge kid when you watch them line up and huddle up for a a play you see Thomas Castellano who looks like he's six you have a bunch of wide receivers that are just you know a little bit taller than that you have the offensive lineman who are giants and Geron Bradley is just like a little shorter than them he is big now he didn't have a great spring game I'm G admit that right off the bat but some of the spring practices I watched he was he was good he's got good speed he's got good Cuts uh his hands when I watched him at practice was really good um and he clearly was some sort of answer either to bringing in security for if Joseph Griffin left or to replace Joseph Griffin I'm not sure and this team will never tell you uh what that was right because he basically does the same thing that Griffin did but he's a bigger and honest probably a little bit more talented hopefully um than Griffin Griffin and not not that's not knock a griffin Griffin's good too but I'm just saying like this guy could be the next step um he's gonna start he he was out there with the starters every week um and he should be if he you know can be consistent in terms of Route running hands all those things that are important for a wide receiver he should be a Target and a weapon for for Thomas Castellanos uh that he's gonna need like a guy in the red zone that you can you know High Point the ball get the ball to him um and let him do some things he's going to be one to watch for finally the other piece that like completely adds to a new dimension to this new look offense when you add in the wide receivers you add in the the running backs is Kamari Morales wide receiver a tight end from UNC J Jeremiah Franklin had his moment last year but he was I don't want to say he was any sort of liability but like he didn't he wasn't gamechanging and I don't I'm I'm not not not saying Kamari Morales is gonna do the same thing like I'm not gonna say he's gonna be game changing too but in terms of reliable tight end in the passing game that's something Morales brings and he's not gonna be Hunter along and he you know even when Trey bar is healthy I wouldn't say he would be that but like a guy you can get the ball to um and will you know could be a security blanket for a guy like Thomas castalanos that's that's a critical piece and now you have two tight ends as well you can use Franklin you can use him in passing Downs if you feel comfortable with that or you can use him more for blocking depends but you have depth there now you have a couple guys that can go and again when you have depth you can win more games so I like that I think Kamari Morales is a a um under under recruited not under recruited an under uh appreciated addition to this recruiting a transfer portal class because I think he's gonna be a guy that plays a lot of downs he's gonna make some plays you know when you need him he's not going to be splashy he's not g to make a ton of like highlight reel plays but he's gonna get your offense going where it needs to go and that is a critical thing to bring in and you got to thank Jeff Halley for for being able to do that for you now in our final segment i g to go to the defensive side of the ball I want to look at one position one positional group that I felt got a giant Boost from the transfer portal and should put this positional group in a much better spot to to be productive in 2024 we'll get into that in just a moment it's winner take all time in the NBA and NHL and FanDuel is giving you a shot to bring home a big win of your own right now new customers get 150 bucks in bonus Bets with any winning $ five bet I'm I'm not going to give you betting advice but I've watched the last three Bruins games and they got their you know game five and I think it's in Florida in a couple days if you're feeling like the Bruins are toast and they certainly look toast right now go over to FanDuel you can get some you you can turn your pain into a good feeling because that's 150 bucks to bet on spreads money lines player props and more visit fanduel.com lockon and make every playoff shot count with FanDuel America's number one sports book locked on Boston College AJ BL we're wrapping up our conversation on the current transfer portal and there's other positions that BC added to as well that we're not going to get into on today's episode defensive line they added said McConnell could see see him sometimes this year Grayson James at um quarterback is another one that we we are not going to get into but the position that I think BC definitely needed to address and did so in a way that I'm very interested to see how this group turns out to be is a secondary now last year BC lost Elijah Jones to unknown reasons they're never G to tell you they had some injuries you saw guys like Jaylen Chek go down you saw uh Cole Batson get hurt you saw a few other guys get dinged up right by the end of the year you were worried about where this offensive uh this secondary was looking because you know they got blown out in the air by Miami and Virginia Tech they look made pit look good but somehow they figured it out against SMU this year Halley added three guys and I'm gonna have to give Bill O'Brien credit for closing the deal on one of them which was breque brown and Ryan Turner and then the late edition which we have not seen yet of Cameron Martinez out of uh Ohio State now you have two cornerbacks you have Turner and you have brown brown is more of a boundary cornerback guy who's going to put you know against one of your top wide receivers he's coming from Georgia State he's a local kid Bruce Brown's uh younger brother uh you saw him a lot during spring uh he played a lot with ones and twos so you there was good depth there and I thought he uh looked really good during the spring game so I think he's a guy that could um add some good solid uh Talent behind Amari Jackson who's going to be your number one defensive back Turner also had a very good spring game uh will play probably in in the in the slot uh gives you a guy that's been around for a couple years he was a guy BC recruited under Jeff Halley came in has practiced the spring had a very good um Camp he's gonna be a starter so now you have those two guys on top of Max Tucker um and you've got some guys that you're feeling like okay this team can battle maybe there's not you're not sure if there's a shutdown corner there or a guy that can do what Elijah Jones did uh which was you know have five five interceptions and play really well but you're feeling a little better about that the safety position is a much bigger question mark now I'm not going to get into all the guys that have jumped in that could be starting next year but the biggest news in the last month in terms of additions in the transfer portal is that Cameron Martinez at Ohio State who originally committed to Jeff Halley uh to play as a transfer but never got to campus is going to come now he never got to spring practice he came and met with the staff uh this spring and then he affirmed his commitment and will be there this summer what he brings is gonna be a question mark because he didn't honestly play all that much for Ohio State so I'm I'm a little hesitant to put a ton of eggs in a basket to say that he's gonna be this like Game Changer but he's an established four-star recruit that's been around for a long time he's seasoned you hope that he can add some you you ility to what they have in that safety position so in the end wrapping this all up at the end of the day at the end of spring practice you look at this transfer portal class and you you have right now some schools have seen guys get run off already from the transfer portal back into the portal BC has not had that happen they have guys that are going to be able to either start or add quality depth to the roster that they need to do so they can avoid injuries like they have in years past and I think Jeff Halley did that and I think he did a big favor to Bill O'Brien because he's left this team with some good quality depth at a lot of positions this is AJ black I will be back again tomorrow with another episode we're we're talking summer football we're talking about you know I want to give credit to the women's uh sorry give a big shout out to women's lacrosse had a big win against Princeton uh congratulations to them BC B bball lost two out of three to Maryland but walked it off with a wang bang on Sunday follow me on Twitter AJ black4 ajl 247 or an eagle Insider and I hope to see you all tomorrow for another episode of Locked on Boston College your team every day