The Podcast For Boston: Committed to BC Episode 24.01 -- Bill O'Brien

[Music] on the Boston College sports network this is the podcast for Boston the official podcast of Boston College athletics welcome to the latest episode of committed to BC the official team podcast of Boston College football and now your hosts former Eagles quarterback Scott mutran and BC eagles.com Dan Ruben hey everyone welcome inside the podcast for Boston the official podcast network of Boston College athletics and welcome to a very special season debut episode of committed to BC the official podcast of Boston College football I'm your host Dan Rubin joined as always by my partner in crime Eagles Legend former starting quarterback Scott mutran a very special season getting set to get started as 2024 opens a new era in Boston College football Scott we got a pack show on tap it is uh it is just great to see you it is great to get this year underway it is great to be back it is great that's the only thing I can keep coming back to it is great football is back without a doubt great not as great as your three intros that it took to get into this but you did a great job getting us to hear Dan everyone it's preseason for everyone right now buddy so you we live we learn and we get better we're always improving as Tom O'Brien would say you either get better you get worse you never stay the same so we're going to get better better you're going to get better and I'm excited for it you you really had to call out the three the rule of three for me which is I either get it in one or I get it in three I never get it too though but we we just got to let the audience know that this isn't just a fine well-tuned machine right out the gates that there's some work to this the process we're gonna talk about that later too the process not the 76ers process either well that one is still going well committed to BC is the official podcast of Boston College football and it is brought to you by seek geek the official ticket Marketplace of the Boston College Eagles find tickets to Eagles games and more on SeatGeek and Scott we are going to be joined in this podcast by head coach Bill O'Brien coming hot straight out of the gates first episode of the new era we're going to talk to the head coach and there is a lot to get to for a first game namely because well I don't know if uh people are aware if they'll if they've been living under the proverbial Rock for the last seven months but but this is not just a continuation of success from last year this is a whole brand new uh brand new set of wheels for the Eagles to be driving this year new head coach pretty much everybody's back but a new schedule new ACC with with the amount of teams it is uh it is it is not your your daddy's old ACC season coming up for the Eagles welcome to the Ever Changing landscape of college football today so it's a beautiful thing things change things will change but uh I always love summer I do love summer but it's always good to uh you know start talking about football and it's good to you know get my mind off some other things that are going on but it's uh it's you know it's always I always enjoy the football season and really looking forward to this team with Coach O'Brien have had some chance is to spend some time with him and and the the staff I have not seen as many practices as I would like because other commitments but really excited to to see this team and to see where they're head I think this is the first time we've had a coach on that has actively coached against you in uh in college football yeah I mean he knows my he knew my true uh my true abilities and was Was Fear had some fear there so that was uh you could you could sense it in his voice there was trepidation there but uh you know it's uh it's good to have those in there and uh still get my athleticism made fun of every so often always good well BC entering 2024 in the heels of a seven and six record last year three and five in the ACC a uh Bowl Championship win in last December's Fenway bowl by beating SMU a team they will face this year as an ACC conference opponent after the Mustangs join the League with Ken Stanford that's right the Atlantic Coast Conference has teams stretching all the way to the Pacific coast and I am I couldn't be happier I love the fact that smu's there uh K and Stanford two great institutions who will not appear on this year's BC football SE uh season schedule but things do kick off Monday night night at the supy swampy dop Campbell stadium in Tallahassee Florida it's going to be 90 degrees in muggy but the Florida state seminal a top 10 team entering this season who uh lost their opening game to Georgia Tech last week in week zero out in Ireland 24-21 really strange setup that it's a week one Monday Night opening night matchup and Florida State's already 0 and one and that was not something that anybody saw coming Scott uh yeah to say the least uh did not expect that I did not expect um did not expect to see that that upset but when when you talk about the travel schedule uh I always cheer for early games you know for the far games that the earlier the better and of course we start the year off on a Monday at 7:30 in Florida so I'll probably be pulling into my driveway just as I'm sending my daughter off to her first day at school if I'm lucky that is uh that that's I'm looking forward to the next morning because I am sending my daughter to preschool and if I had to guess she'll be up at about 5:30 in the morning so while you you at least get the serenity of the plane I have I will have the uh I will have the the child come running in and uh waking me up from a sound sleep I'm I'm really stoked about that the seven :30 p.m. Monday starts are not conducive to uh to to men over the age of 35 anymore 100% I can 100% agree with that by the way well the 2024 season even though it kicks off against Florida State it is part of a season that is uh you know it's G to be a fun year regardless of how anyone you know tries to slice the schedule record predictions I hate record predictions I don't do them uh for largely because you never know what's you you never know what's going to happen you can't look at September 21st until you get through September 2nd Etc uh but BC a season that kicks off with Florida State includes games at Missouri in a in a reboot or remake of uh of a matchup that happened a couple of years ago uh up here in Chestnut Hill uh hosting Michigan State hosting Western Kentucky and then of course like I mentioned the the one division ACC Louisville Syracuse they're coming in North Carolina Pittsburgh they're coming in you're on the road at Virginia at Virginia Tech and at SMU uh it's going to be a tough Hall and it it's going to be a tough Hall regardless of how uh of how you look at a Scott but look at this BC team and and think about that is it that much of a tough Hall if everybody makes the next step and every makes a jump in their development because this was a pretty darn good team last year and seven and seven and six a six and six regular season does not quite indicate how good this team played uh in the in the middle stretch of the season yeah and you know the tough thing here you know coach O'Brien we discuss it with him is every new year is a new team and if you look at on paper everything looks like hey it's really front loaded for BC if they can get through these first you know three weeks of the season um minus a couple here or there um the schedule lines up based on last year but last year it doesn't mean anything when you head into this year you just never know what type of Team you're going to have you don't know what type whether injuries or performance you really just take some time uh to figure out who you're going to be and I know you don't like the prediction here I don't even I can tell you the type of Team BC will be probably in the after the first half of the second game because you just need a full game and some change to figure it out um the amount of times that people win the first game of the season and then go out to have a terrible uh year um are more than you can imagine and vice versa when they lose their first game everyone thinks the sky's falling and then what do you know they come back and have a great season so you know after three weeks you're going to have two really tough road games out of the way you'll have three Road games the rest of the year it'll set up well for them but it doesn't mean anything if you um you know everyone doesn't kind of do their job everyone doesn't stay healthy and then you see the progress throughout the year it's you always want to be getting better through throughout the year and finding out who you're going to be and then identify the scheme that's going to be most successful you offensively and defensively and you know that's going to be the challenge I think this last six months that coach O'Brien's been there he's getting to know his Personnel not not just as uh as people but as to know what it's going to take for them to be successful um how to run his offense the way he wants to based on the Personnel he has and how to run a defense that suits what they have and uh it's going to be it's going to be a great um experience I you just see the way coach O'Brien carries himself the way his coaches carry himself these guys um they know what they're doing and there's a good mix of some younger and older guys on the staff I think it breaths a lot of life in there you got four I think it's four former NFL head coaches on this staff nobody at least three uh but you can't um you can't underestimate how big of an impact that is with some guys that have a lot of experience in BigTime um settings to be able to to learn and to share that knowledge with uh their teammates and some of the younger coaches too with they I think it's great I think uh you know Hope Springs Eternal and if this team embrac his coach O'Brien and and gets through the adversity because there's always going to be adversity in some shape or form but that's the true test of a team is when you look adversity in the mouth and you're willing to uh look it in the face and just stare it down and and pick yourself up and I think that's going to be the big thing it's how they handle that adversity and it takes strong leadership to do that and a sign of how strong Boston College is as a team and and obviously results or or performances this is not necessarily what we're talking about here but we're talking about how the culture is how the team locker room is the Eagles lost virtually nobody to the transfer portal after a coaching change and to bring you back over kind of the timeline of what we looked at uh in the offseason uh Bill O'Brien and we allude to it with him uh was hired as the offensive coordinator at Ohio State in mid January roughly two weeks later as he's uh shuttling between Boston where he had just wrapped up his tenure with the Patriots shuttling out to coach with Ryan day out of Ohio State uh head coach Jeff hafley leaves Boston College to go take the defensive coordinator position with the Green Bay Packers that opens up a very uncertain and I think all of us can admit this uncertain time period for the for the Eagles before they hire Bill O'Brien in the two weeks leading up to that hire which was that the transfer Portal had closed for incoming transfers to to your standard incoming Boston College transfer that that maybe was going to sign with the program and had been recruited by the older staff for that purpose or or brought by that staff for that purpose what happens though after a coach leaves is there is a mandatory outgoing portal and players are allowed to leave anytime there's a coaching change nobody of what I like to say nobody of consequence nobody who everybody was like ah this guy's gone this guy's gone this guy's gone nobody really left the players that did transfer out to seek their own uh improved status or improved situation somewhere else are players that maybe had had had just needed a fresh start or needed a new opportunity and that totally fine nobody ever criticizes anyone for leaving a particular program or shouldn't at least because it's a personal decision uh but the incoming transfers are all in and the roster remains in which means that Tommy castalanos remains your quarterback he didn't go anywhere some of the players Donovan auraku he's still in Boston he's still on the Boston College defensive line this team is none of your offensive lineman left Drew Kendall he's still here uh you know every body was in and nobody left and when you look at the players that came in uh you know the the Kamari Morales as of the world from who's a a tight end from from North Carolina trewn Ward formerly a Florida State through Kansas State now to BC Ryan Turner from Ohio State cam Martinez from Ohio State shake mcgaan from Vanderbilt these are all guys who are potential impact players and Scott the fact that they're coming into a roster that did not have a whole lot of overhaul in a coaching chain some of the coaches were retained for this year that is Boston College handled that as a team about as well could be as could be expected in a period of uncertainty that was basically mandatory because just of the situation that it thrusts your program into a period of uncertainty yeah and I think it says a lot about Coach O'Brian um to be able to to go in there and get his message across and you there's kind of two ways in which that goes there's when you get a new coach in it's everyone is like uh I'm not buying into what this guy's saying I don't like the message I like the other guy or you're hearing that the scheme is going to change and it's not going to accentuate what's best for you so then guys tend to leave um those are kind of the two ways in which you look at it and for Coach obrian uh to be able to come in and for lack of a better term sell what his vision is and for those guys to buy in wholeheartedly and only lose I think one to two guys that that left um that that's a test to him The Testament to the message he's delivering to them but if you're a football player and your goal is to play in the next level and you see the resume of the guy coming in is better than the guy that left and no offense to coach Halley it's just he's you know Bill's a little older and has had the experience and the success that's a win like and the the connections and the the knowledge that he has of the the the Sunday game is something that these players can thrive on and learn from so that's to to be in the situation Boston College was in and to end up at dare I say well it is it's a better situation coaching wise just based on you know coach O'Brien's resumee um I I think that's very very unusual uh especially at a place like Boston College maybe you could see that at like a bigger bigger time program but to see that at BC I I think says a says a lot for the institution and Blake James and everyone on on his staff that was a part of this hiring deserves credit for getting coach O'Brien here um and you know upping the resume of the football coach at Boston College it's such a very very important time as you're getting expansion um as you talked about in the ACC but you're also going to start seeing other TV deals start to end and what's college football going to look like and if BC wants to be in that mix they're going to need to be performing at a high level um in the ACC and on the national stage to put themselves in the conversation um that they want to be in for big-time college football one of the things that that I know I mentioned when Bill O'Brien was hired was beyond the obvious which is he shook Sinatra's hand he worked with Bill bich and and coach Tom Brady like that's the that's the he shook Sinatra's hand of uh of of football uh but I mean beyond that you're you're you're taking a different style and a different perspective on a team that and I know things are different year-over-year but you're taking a quarterback or uh an offensive line or wide receiver and you're giving them different perspectives which is you know last year they had uh one type of offense they had a multiple Pro style they had an offensive coordinator who ran one style they had and Steve shimpo Coach Halley was a defensive-minded coach he gave them different perspectives you're replacing them that largely bulk that that large bulk with an offensive-minded coach who has run a very different style at Alabama uh a defensive coordinator and Tim Lewis who is is uh a Football Genius I mean this guy has been around the block was a defensive coordinator for the Steelers the Giants uh the been at the the Houston Gamblers in the UFL has been at SMU in the late 80s when they were they were putting things together when they were putting their team back together he is a he is a a brilliant defensive backs mind and you're getting all these different perspectives and one of the things not to give out too much that we talk about with Bill O'Brien is taking that as on a team that is trained to play a certain way and understands a certain type of game and now you're taking little different changes to it it's almost like a different dialect of the same language or installing different parts of an entirely new language altogether Scott is you've been through something like that with a coaching change and you've been through that type of change where you went through a coordinator and a head coach and different mentalities and different languages if you're able to latch on and if you go into it with an open mind as a player the sky the limit because it's all designed to help you see the game differently you know what Dan I'm I'm really I'm really proud of you for bringing this question up um this is a great wellth thought question but I I think it's something that really needs to be addressed um and discussed because here's here's the fact of the matter is a lot of coaches nowadays or actually even back in the in back in the day when I played is a coach was hired and a coach came in and put in quote unquote his system offensively or defensively right and whe whether that system fit the Personnel he had or not he was going to run it because that's the only thing that he knew that's what got him to this level and he was going to coach that system right the sign of a true great coach is to be able to take your system and fit it around the Personnel in which you have now eventually you want to get to the the ideal Personnel in your system but you can't do that in college football right away it helps out with a transfer portal but not at a place like BC because you're just not going to get that many you're not going to get Colorado you know scale of transfers so the sign of a great coach is to be able to identify your team identify your personnel and fit what you are trying to do the scheme you're trying to run around the people that you have and if you can do that that's what gets people to stay and that's you're successful and too many times coaches like these are supposed to be the best coaches in the world if you're the best well next to the NFL guys right but all these guys have had NFL experience but coach at a high level in colge if You' coached on the highest level I would think that you're an outstanding coach and because of that you have to be able to teach and to adapt what you're doing to the people in what you have and if you can do that that transition becomes a lot smaller time frame and it allows you to to really get your team up and running and it doesn't say oh we needed a rebuild year because we didn't have the right guys here well that's kind of not the way it works not in today's society anymore a a good coach needs to be able to take what he has and make the best of it and then win with those guys and then eventually migrate to to the type and to the players in which he wants well we're going to take a quick step aside and let you listen to our interview with head coach Bill O'Brien uh which I think a lot of people will see it completely different side than sometimes you you you catch based off the reports coming out of practice or seeing some of the things uh based on what he's talked about I I think it was a great opportunity for us to to Showcase a bit of of what he brings to the table in a more uh intimate personal setting as they say uh so we'll let you step aside and listen to that interview right here on committed to BC the season debut episode here on the podcast for Boston Our Guest this week very excited for our first episode of the season to to have him on uh head coach Bill O'Brien of Boston College Eagles joining us uh coach uh first off welcome to your uh your debut here on the new version of the podcast for Boston with committed to BC we're excited to have you on thanks for joining us oh thanks for having me yeah I'm I'm looking forward to a great year and uh really excited to join you guys too thank you well we'll see if we can uh keep that keep that expectation higher that means I'm not going to ask a lot of questions cuz Scott I got to let you take this one Scott because if he's excited then the only thing I can do is torpedo this um coach uh heading into the season I know you're you're at the end of Camp you're you're into a game week first the the the excitement level just of of getting into a game week first congratulations on making it like I know that that is kind of one of those like oh you know hey we made it we're here but based on where you were at the beginning of the month just to get into a game week I mean what's the what's the energy for you what's the energy for the guys just to just to have the opportunity to put him on yeah it's definitely a uh you know almost like a second win right so you go through training camp 20 practices was a very physical training camp um and then the next step of the process here is getting ready for a game so it's a whole different you know schedule mindset all of that um and it's very exciting it's always you know football game weeks I said to the team the other day you know in basketball you play you know 80 something games baseball plays 162 games you know football we only get you know 12 opportunities hopefully more than that but 12 opportunities and so we have to make the most of every day of a game week so it's a it's a fun it's a fun time it's an exciting time and these these guys you know they're they're uh they're excited about it and Coach you know a unique aspect in this Florida State your opponent week one has already played a game so you've had a chance to watch them um and see how I always love at the beginning of the uh every new year brings a new team there's always expectations from what the team was before but every new year is a new team no matter how many players you're returning you're coming in the different light where you you know you're this is your first time at Boston College you've probably seen some of these other teams before but how much has being able to watch Florida State play um to to get a sense of what their identity is going to be this year um maybe changes the game plan of what you've watched from last year because just the simple part of Travis is kind of different type of quarterback than dju is so does does a lot of that play into that or do you really use a lot of what last year was to kind of get a get a sense of that yeah we definitely um study this game that they played against Georgia Tech uh you know very closely because exactly what you said I mean every year is different there are s things from last year relative to their team that will carry over whether it's Personnel or scheme or you know things that you can tell that they have a strong belief but they're definitely you know different things like you you mentioned the most obvious is at the quarterback position different types of quarterback than than you know the one that they had last year now with DJ this year so uh and they have a lot of transfers I think they have like 17 transfers on their team you know a couple guys more than a couple few guys that transfer from Alabama when I was at Alabama so they they you know I'm familiar with them whether it's royell Williams or um you know the wide receiver and and then you know the DB or a little so I Malik Benson the wide receiver so you know there there's there's some guys that I'm familiar with and uh but different team than last year for Florida State so we definitely study both we study the Boston College game you know from last year even though that's different schemes we want to we want to watch that game because that's important relative to a lot of the guys that played in that game will be playing in this game so um you know we we we definitely study both both years which brings up an interesting uh question it's when you mentioned scheme um obviously you want to employ your own scheme when you come into this but you also are as being a great coach as you are because you you know you've had success how much of it is recognizing the identity of what your team is and fitting your scheme around the guys you have now and then eventually getting to where you want to get to No Doubt absolutely no doubt I'm more of a you know scheme is don't get me wrong I mean we've got to you know we've got to run the correct play based on what we study on film and things like that on both sides of the ball and on special teams but at the end of the day like who is our team you know and I I feel like we have a a team that uh over the course of training camp is a is a physically tougher team than we were you know six weeks ago I think a mentally tougher team that's got to show up on Monday night you know in all three phases you know I think these games always come down to like you know upfront right offensive and defensive lines who can control the line of scrimmage like that's big and I think it also comes down to taking care of the football in these early games like C can we can we come out of it in a clean way relative to you know 100% ball security and can we get a few takeaways that would be huge for us so but our identity I think is is what I what I believe is Boston College is you know we we've got to be a team that that is is good up front on both sides of the ball and I think I think we are you know and we've got to go out there and and proove that and uh be able to run the ball stop the run and then be be a smart football team you know that's what we have to do we've got to be a very disciplined smart team and you know that's going to help us you know relative to how we play against Florida State coach when you when you look at a team like Florida State as well like I know that you know over the course of training camp I I I know I asked you a couple times just about Bas installs and then kind of building off of that and and how things get refined for you and and how you want to kind of employ things are in a game or or going into a first game are there now at this point things that you understand okay this is maybe what we wanted to do but we can't do but this is now what we want to do and we can do and kind of in the middle are there things that you didn't expect out of this team that you know now you know in a game situation maybe you'll be able to do yeah great question question um I'm not going to give you the exacts on that but that's exactly right right there's certain things that we you know we came out of spring practice say I believe we can do this um there's other things that factor in there too like there were some guys in Spring practice that you know were injured or or maybe vice versa some guys that that were healthy in Spring practice but have been injured so injuries take place right so you have to factor that in but you know at the end of the day we've got a we had 20 practices plus all the spring practices to figure out who we are and I think early on you know I think we have a good grasp of who we are and what we want to be and who who the guys are that we need to lean on and and put in position to make plays um and I I I believe we have an idea of who that is and you know obviously we have a returning quarterback that's a very Dynamic player and Tommy castalanos everybody knows that but we have other guys right other side of the ball we have a returning defensive end that's a very disruptive player and Donovan as a rocku but but there's other guys that have shown up and and uh you know have helped us to figure out how what we can do and how we can be and um and and you know so I think you're right about that we we we we feel like we have a good grasp on on what that is and again we have to figure that out see if that's right going into the game shifting gears uh just a just a just a bit for me too is is from the pro game to the college game one is and this is one of those things that I that I I love to pick pick coaches brains on when they've been at every level is how much of the game like just seeing the game differently for you like you've you've you've been at the college level you coached even you know college back with with George oy in the 90s and and had been at Maryland and Duke how much has the college game just evolved and and as a coach made you evolve as well to to identify that college kids sometimes do things a little bit differently and you can do some different things with them yeah it's definitely evolved a lot I mean you know like offensively especially it's much more of um you know the quarterback in college football is kind of like a point guard right he distributes the ball in a lot of different ways whereas when Scott played it was a little bit different right it was you know a little bit of ground and pound play action try to throw the ball down the field quick game things like that now it's a it's different right you've got these guys you know that are like I said they're more like the guy had at Alabama Bryce young he was a point guard same thing for Tommy like you know anything from you know throwing bubbles to empty to whatever it might be and then you know once in a being able to take your shots at the end of the day though you still have to be able to run the football and you still have to be able to stop the run especially in this game coming up because both both teams are going to try to establish a line of scrimmage like I said and so those types of things haven't changed they just changed how they how we do them you know when I was at Georgia Tech we ran a wishbone we we ran a Veer option with the quarterback under Center well now the wishbone now is the you know kind of the Zone read the quarterback run game it's a different it's the same you know concept but it's run from the shotgun so that's just one example of a thousand examples of how the game is changed and it's pretty cool I really realized that when I went to Alabama I had been at the Texans for seven seasons and then I went to Alabama and I was like whoa this game has changed from when I was at Penn State so um learned a lot of Alabama and you know hopefully uh we do a good job of putting our guys in position coach you obviously didn't watch me running when we played Georgia Tech because I still had wheels back in those days it's now I don't but back in the day I didn't [Laughter] say I didn't say anything about your your wheels or lack thereof I just was trying to make the point like having been around you a few times now you you are a a big guy and you know like I'm sure you did have wheels but you're a big physical guy so I'm sure you were a dropback guy and tried to sling it very very different type of big guy than I am we'll put it that way there's two types of big um coach you talked a little bit about this earlier uh the leadership aspect obviously it's nice having a returning quarterback but when you're coming in um into a to a new program it's I would think part of the coach's job is to find who your who your guys are who are the guys that control the room and who are the guys that are going to be there and help your message get delivered and understand what we're trying to get done and what would you say are your or who would you say are your biggest leaders that you've seen so far yeah well we um we elected captains the other day so I'm not sure when this podcast comes out but it'll be announced here shortly so there there were clearly six guys on this team that the that the uh the team voted for was you know not even close right so it was Drew Kendall Tommy castalanos and ozie trapillo on offense Donovan Asar Raku and cam Arnold on defense and Joe marinero as a special teams captain so six guys that you know it was just clear like everybody voted for these guys and uh you know I think those those were the guys if you if you had to sit me down before that vote I would have I would have said those six guys too because you could just tell as training camp was going that those were the leaders there are other leaders you know there's guys like um you know on defense obviously bam Crouch KP price Owen mcgaan you know cam horley you know is a really good leader like there's other guys with great leadership qualities there's on offense um Logan Taylor Kai roasa uh dino Tomlin Lewis Bond I mean there's other guys on the team that lead too it was just that these guys got the most votes but you know I think we do have a really good team of really good guys that care about BC and care about winning and playing good football so I think that's uh that was pretty obvious in training camp and then to to go to the other aspect of it what about some of the new the newcom or younger players that you maybe didn't know about but have come into the system that have really impressed you throughout Camp yeah there's been some new guys that have been really good on offense uh the running back turbo Richard he's been really good um you know tough fast good hands out of the back field good Vision good cutting ability this guy's goingon to be a really good player uh uh John monu on on offense another guy that came here as a quarterback we're playing him at quarterback and at wide receiver he's been very very impressive uh defensively I would say uh couple guys Omar Thornton has had a really good camp uh safety DB you know plays different spots over on defense um you know Charlie camela has has had a good camp you know he's he's a very athletic guy um you know good good young player that that we think can be good Jason Flint you know I don't know how much he'll play this year because we're pretty you know loaded there at defensive end but he you can tell he's got a good a good future so there are guys um that are newcomers I would also mention like cam Martinez who wasn't here in the spring who transferred from Ohio State you know I feel like he's going to really help us too so yeah there's there's there's some newcomers that are I think have really good Futures coach based off of you mentioned Ohio State and and I think about the timeline that you before you came to BC was I think it was about 34 days where you had been hired by Ohio State the Boston College job open you you get hired by Boston College uh it it's been about what now seven six seven months uh that that you I don't even know we we'll call it returned home from from two weeks away uh just have you been able to catch your breath and and kind of sit back and and look a little bit at this at at this particular program and and just kind of collect what brought you here in in the you know the the funny thing of life that that led to you getting to BC yeah no definitely I mean dur in July took some time off and spent a lot of time with my family um I mean this is an incredible place I mean you guys know that I mean I I I say this all the time like we we we're in we we're a fantastic Academic School we're got a beautiful campus got a great student body we're 15 minutes from downtown Boston you know we can be good in football we we and and I think like you know we've had several guest speakers at our training camp so we've had father Jack father Tony we had shaa Cooper Whitehead we had Dr Carl Bell yesterday speak to our team and and all of them talk about Boston College in a in a very unique way but but the theme is Boston College is a place where it's going to get the most out of you individually right it's going to be a place where you're you're you're you're going to you know have a great academic experience you're going to give back to the community and whatever your extracurricular activity is football for us you're going to be good in football like you can do it all you don't you don't have to just be a football player you don't don't have to just be a student I think that's one of the clear messages and that's what I love about BC and uh you know look we like you said we haven't even been here a year you know we got a long way to go but I think these guys have bought into to that you know hey look you can balance different things and we can help you balance these things but we're gonna we're going to really strive to be good in everything and uh I believe you can do that here and and we're trying to get that done every single day this is this is really the last one for me before I turn make Scott shake his head at me at this because we do talk a lot about like pregame food pregame eats on this podcast like that is what we that is that is what I do we forgot to tell you that one previous we have the spring one on you we yeah we have the spring one on you I mean this is we are we are a food pot we are a food I mean you don't you don't get to look like me without knowing your way around a platter every now better than food I love food what's on the uh what's on the the the O'Brien we're going to go I mean I know it's I know the game's on Monday I know it's on the road but what is on the pregame O'Brien family platter if we're if we're looking at a home you get that last meal before you come home I guess this be next week before Duane what's like the pre the pre-night uh meal that before you're before you're heading into game week are you talking about like like the pregame meal or are you talking about like me going out to dinner with my wife or something like that you know you know what we're gonna give you both of them we're gonna ask for both of them we got to know both now so the pregame meal is definitely chicken parm I want if it's a you know obviously a night game like it will be I want chicken parm I want a baked potato uh I'll have a little bit of salad but the salad's got to be like a caesar salad something with some good dressing on it and then bread I love bread it's got to be good bread uh but like relative to going out to to dinner like during the week maybe the maybe not the Duane week because that's a short week but maybe like the Missouri week if go out to dinner with my wife you know we we've got to go to either you know a seafood place an Italian place or maybe a place like in U Newton Center uh like barmore where they have good bar food you know good pub food you know so that'll be like the the with away from the team meal if that makes sense that's think well that's like you're you're speaking you're speaking Ruben when you start talking chicken par the GU he's a salivating right now he's probably gonna go get that chicken sandwich listen I I had a cookout for my wife's birthday before the weekend and the salad was there it was their specifically just to have it just so we could say we had it but nobody touched it and there was no shot I was taking it I mean that's just typical typical Reuben on on on top of that um I just have two more real and real quick ones um coach now that you're back and it's kind of along lines with what Danny's saying what are U what's been kind of the whether it's the nicest place or biggest surprise of coming back to to the to the area especially BC I mean I know you you were down in Foxboro for a little while but has anything kind of stood out to you about BC in your in your time back man I I don't know where to begin I mean there's so like I when I came to games here in the past like I'm talking about like the mid 80s or you know even the early 90s like I never really saw the campus Scott like I didn't go to you know I didn't go to Middle campus I didn't go to Upper campus so just the campus I mean it it is an incredible campus and uh and the way that it's set up and and uh the you know the million million steps and you know all those different things I mean it's just a beautiful campus and and I love walking around it today we had a meeting uh with Father Ley all staff meeting over in robsham so you got to walk across campus and I think that's a segue into my next thing is the student body you know yesterday spoke to the freshman class uh in the in KY and you know it was just awesome I mean there're those kids are excited about football and you know the student body here is very excited about sports in general football in the fall and uh we we really need them you know big last year I think we averaged between 5,000 6,000 students per game and I think that's great you know the student support is huge so I don't think those are surprises I just never it's just very cool to be a part of that um you know I I I think the other thing is like I really I love the team I love coaching the team these guys have you know they emptied the tank in training camp Scott they really did it was a very physical training camp it was a tough training camp and they they gave us everything they had and I'm proud of those guys for that and now now we transition into the next phase and I think the big thing that we try to talk about is a lot of these guys nowadays young people they're very um results oriented right like they right we gotta win we got to do this I don't know it you and I both know like it's all about the process of what it takes to win right it's it really is you know focusing on your job get the play call you know what is my job on this play call and make sure that I do the best best I can on this play call and then play the next play like don't worry about the scoreboard don't worry about anything other than you know trying to dominate my role in the game and and I think that's what we'll be preaching all week to these guys yeah that's I mean the process stuff is just it sounds so cliche but if if your process isn't good it's just it doesn't matter results will not come um I do have a funny one I you know was I was at campus uh with my son for a visit and uh I walked into baps library for the first time ever um which is embarrassing it's a great place been on campus probably about 35 years and first time I walked into the library my wife was thoroughly impressed so that was great um but lastly just for me um and this one kind of with the pro background you had I always I always find this difficult because you can look at your team and see man we look really good on offense but it could be like we're good on offense because we stink on D or vice versa you know because you don't get to play or have that preseason game when you don't have that preseason game how long well first of all how difficult is that and then how long do you think it takes you to really understand the identity of your team yeah I think that's a great question I mean the preseason games you know they definitely helped in the pros although they were very watered down schematic games you know what I mean like you're seeing cover three cover two cover one on you know you're not seeing all the Exotic things but anyways I do think you have a good point that you you you're able to see like can we run the ball can we stop the run will this receiver be a guy that can help us all those different things I think that's why it's so important in my I have a strong belief about this that you have number one a very a physical Camp so you can see like hey when we go live and we're playing a game and you you get the team ready to even though it's not a game I get it you get the team ready to scrimmage like this is a move the ball period or this is a scrimmage or you know then if you do that three or four times throughout training camp I do think you can start to understand what your team is and what they can do can they run the ball downhill can they stop the run you know uh will we be able to complete shot passes can we protect can we rush the passer with four or are we going to need a fifth guy in the rush or a simulated rush or can we cover manto man can we tackle you know can we break tackles can we can we move the ball and you know in the open field can we can we make people miss so I think that's why it's so important like if you you didn't have a physical training camp you really wouldn't know any of that until you got to the first game and that that could be a shock to the system so I think that's why we try to do it that way that's great you know I really appreciate it and uh look forward to seeing you on the plane in a couple days yes sir um and then at halftime and I promise I'm I'm pretty gentle at halftime if if I bother you you can just subtly just jab me underneath there I haven't had any issues yet adio got close a couple times but you know we can we can go out a little bit if you want like if I ask a dumb question just give me the you know St uh shut your mouth look I was going to use a bad word but I'm not going to do that D won't cut that out and then I'll get yelled at so do not worry one bit about me at halftime I've done a lot of halftime interviews okay look forward to seeing you on the team plane okay guys thanks Co yeah appreciate it thank you guys thanks Bill thank you hey you football fans SeatGeek makes it easy to find tickets so you can be a part of all the touchdown celebrations this season whether you're buying or selling football tickets SeatGeek is the place to do it SeatGeek is the official ticket Marketplace of the Boston College Eagles expect the expected seat geek well we're back here on uh committed to BC the official football podcast of uh Boston College Eagles on the podcast for Boston Scott th this year we we mentioned the expanded ACC and just the different ways that college football is changing uh week one right around the corner even week zero it is just going to be very interesting to see how these teams go For Broke when the opportunities present themselves because these leagues are getting bigger the margins for error are getting smaller and while the expanded playoff offers more access there's a lot more teams with access to that so it is uh it's going to be a fun season and this year specifically in the ACC is going to be really intriguing to see what happens uh with a with what is it a 16 17 League I think it's 16 teams yeah and here's the other thing is because of the expanded playoffs it it keeps more people in the game right think about how many times week one or week two people like well done with the national championship start or they have a good team and they lose a tough game here they have an injury and things happen now that you're introducing 12 teams into this it it really is going to keep everyone's interest a lot longer and I think that that's that's helpful I I really do like the expanded format it's going to be interesting to see once you get outside those top 24 teams uh excuse me those top 12 teams uh what what it what it's going to look like kind of in the post season form and and everything that comes with it because I know a lot of people talked in the bowl games about so many people sitting out so many people not playing and the quality of the the bull season wasn't as as high for some people but I think that's exciting I think the ACC with the with the new additions is going to be exciting the fact that DC has played SMU last year through end the year and then they're going to play him again this year is going to be um down in Dallas is going to be is going to be a great new thing um but it's still it's still in the end it's still football right it doesn't matter if who you're playing against you still got to be able to worry about yourself and do and do the best job of your team uh instead of getting caught up in the semantics of oh everything expanded in the end um you got to still play the guy ahead of you and if you can't do that then you're not going to be a successful team and you can find a million excuses as as to why you can't do it but if you're willing to you know to pay the price then you're going to be able to to sit down and not let those um outside influences and negative influences kind of affect the way in which you and get ready to to go out and play you know it's funny this is this is my third head coach that I've covered Boston College with like third that it went not just being a fan in the stands and Bill O'Brien said something to me and you that he said that I had heard from Jeff Halley and Steve adio before him which is hey in basketball you get in college basketball you get 35 odd games in the NBA you get 82 games get an 82 game college hockey season uh 82 game uh pro hockey season 30 game college hockey season I wish we had any2 College hockey games that'd be awesome uh but which college hockey college hockey is something that you and I will talk about at another time we we'll just leave it at we'll just leave it at that right um but we can discuss that at another Point um but you get so finite on football the amount of games you get to play and I think being able to play that what why are you playing it uh Ben GLS who was a receiver for for BC a number of years back said what is your why and he's like I like what is my why for playing football we asked that and because he would do anything on the football field just to get on there and answering the why of of playing together as a team I think was a big part in drawing this BC team back together because they had bought in to the university they bought in to each other and then bought into the sales uh the sell of of whatever head coach Bill O'Brien was was telling them but you're hearing it now among some of the other things why Boston College and you're hearing him talk about different speakers different people who've come to to speak at the at practices in preseason it's extending Beyond football and we're finding out that the investment of of the finite number of games both is I'm going to appreciate this and there is something more than just football yeah so the the tough thing about football is if you're a dweller you dwell on things that sits with you for a while because you got to wait a week to play where if you're playing basketball baseball hockey usually you have a next game you have a next shift you have a next like time on the court so you get to go back out there and exercise the demons quicker football doesn't give you many opportunities if you look at the amount of time that you practice and prepare uh for for real games uh the numbers are are crazy and how um how much the preparation is over um the the results things where where you get to see wins and losses right so you when you play very frequently you have to almost get numb to the to the extent that okay I had one bad game tomorrow I get another chance to go do it in football it's I have one bad game I need to correct it soon otherwise 25% of my season's over after three games right so all of a sudden like things get real you know you're like I I can't afford to ease my way into the season I got to hit the ground running 100 miles an hour because I have so limited amount of opportunities to do that and that urgency is something I think you see it's what I've heard about uh the practices um that there's a lot of urgency as I mentioned before I haven't had a lot of time to go over there so I'm doing my best but I'm listening to a lot of the other podcasts that are updating me uh on the the progress so far but that you know that opportunity is so small all that you don't have the luxury to just you know take your time and get into and get into things you got to come out ready to go and start performing and make changes and make adjustments and to to refine your process so that you're getting the most out of it turning the corner to Florida State this week uh Florida State lost to Georgia Tech last week we mentioned that but it was kind of the way the game went for Florida State that turned into such a a shocker I guess uh and and it started with with quarterback DJ Lea gele who who people conceivably remember from his debut during the covid year in 2020 when he when he played for Clemson never quite developed into the next one for for Clemson he he did have 2500 yards 22 touchdowns seven interceptions and 2022 but never really made the the jump which I still find it funny by the way the 2500 yards passing is not like what people are expecting because you go back to the 90s you Pro for 2500 yards you were a you were an All-American yeah you're pretty high up there I'm pretty sure I'm pretty sure 3,000 yards was unattainable in 1995 right except for like Tim Couch and Drew Brees but yeah pretty much you didn't see many many guys that were slinging it that much back then but DJ transferred to Oregon State last year uh threw for 2600 yards similar numbers to what happened to Clemson last week threw for 193 yards uh did not have a touchdown but also didn't throw a pick but I not quite sure at this point what people are expecting out of him because if I if I look at the numbers and I look at the performances I saw a quarterback last week who was doing exactly what I guess I would have expected out of like I would have expected him to do he was high percentage check Downs two three yards didn't throw a lot like doesn't throw the ball particularly deep but that kind of what he was for the last couple of years he's a good quarterback and is good at what he does and he's playing on a team that maybe needed to add one or two different facets against Georgia Tech that weren't there in Scot when they come to play against FL against uh Boston College rather they will have those other aspects in play they are not going to be a team that only runs for 98 yards they are going to try to run the football very well against you yeah and that's um you know Florida State you want to talk about the whole team's different Florida State's completely different it's a different team they got a lot of transfers that came in you lose a guy like Travis who is very Dynamic Romeo Travis who's very Dynamic with his feat um had a tremendous amount of leadership he had been at Florida State for a while right let's not forget that um so there's still it's going to take them time to kind of figure out their identity but there's a lot of talent there so when that when that Talent figures it out you don't want to be the other side of it um so it's it's almost better to get Florida State earlier in the year than it is later once they figure it out um but Florida State seemed you know and I watched the entire game they didn't really want seemed comfortable letting DJ throw the ball down the field now maybe that was because Georgia Tech was playing a lot of man and a lot of guys weren't getting open uh that could have been a fact uh could it have been that maybe the conditions were were Factor because it was wet and it was raining there um and it seemed like they were just there were moments that Florida state had opportunities to take advantage and seize control of that game and they missed him they missed their windows and then Georgia Tech to their credit especially Haynes King played an outstanding game um he was outstanding running the football really put that Florida State Defense in a bind with his legs um and something about Georgia Tech and Ireland maybe they're an Irish School deep down because they BBC when we were out there a couple years ago in the last you know the last minute drive they did the same to Florida State but um you know credit to them for for how well they played I I I don't want to say they surprised Florida State but they're a dynamic offensive team you saw that last year uh you know BC was was able to to win a couple possessions there get a turnover there that really seized control of the game but that was a shootout um their offense is is problematic and theyve made some you know some changes defensively with their coordinator but they did give Florida State some fits now that being said can you count on that same thing next week at home in a big night game I doubt it and if you're naive or stupid to think that this Florida State team is not learning from that lesson um so BC's got to come out and see what Georgia Tech did that made them effective but don't go away from what BC is because too many times teams will see what was successful in beating a quote unquote more physically Talent team and they try to change who they are to to to fit that and you really can't do that because if you don't really work with the identity of your team you can't just change that week to week to all of a sudden try to be something you're not so BC has to incorporate some of what Georgia Tech did but also maintain their identity of what they're trying to do um so that's going to be the challenge but the one thing that you I feel very confident about and it will be more apparent as the year goes on is the guy on the sideline will be in complete control of whatever happens now bill is you know coach O'Brien is an emotional guy right he's he's intense but he's been there man he's done that he's not gonna blink like coach O'Brien is not going to Blink I mean they may get beat but it's not going to be because they weren't prepared it's not going to be because they weren't disciplined it's not going to be um because they didn't you know want to compete um the I think that's something you cannot underestimate is having that experience to look at your leader and being like wow he's we're right there and he's gonna help us through that and to have that um ability to rely on your coach that way is something that lets the players play free and that lets them just go do it because when the coaches control then they're like all right I just got to go do what I do I know it's on the road but what's on the uh what's on the mutran platter for pregame what are what are we hoping for dude so I don't even I don't know what the travel schedule is we'll have to hit Brendan after this I'm hoping it's not until you know later on Sunday because we got a late game um it's tough staying Florida state is not the easiest of travel be Bas on kind of where the hotels are and stuff like that so last time we played a night game there we meet her because he's fanatical like got wanted to get to the stadium like at like 11 for a 7:30 game which just doesn't suit me well so I had to go explore and grab some lunch around at some of the local restaurants around there uh but it's a great atmosphere man that's a Florida State's a really it's a really cool campus it's a really really cool environment maybe I'll hit one of the spots uh that I was there last time and then go ahead up to the Press Box for a pregame nap because man it's going to be a late one I mean I I'm just picturing in my head when I'm pulling into my driveway on Tuesday and I'm G I'm guessing a 7 to 8 AM arrival so um I'm gonna be pretty much garbage until Duane I'm guessing that's that's my guess and then hopefully I'll get right back into it and then you know as soon as I get comfortable I'm going to go hit one of the states that I haven't been to Danny by the way um I've got out of the 50 states this is going to be my 42nd when I go to Missouri so uh I'm psych I'm psyched to knock another one off the list um I may have an opportunity to go knock a couple off for various reasons as you mentioned before uh because where my boys are going to be but I'm looking forward to Knocking another state off the list and I don't know much about Missouri but when that comes around we can talk about it I'm gonna get some uh I'll get some Yelp reviews I'll take some online suggestions from people I'm really uh you know really looking forward to that but uh this this Florida State trip is going to be it's going to be good uh because it's a what a great way to start the season but I will say this let's not overreact either way right we love to do it because of like you said the the finite amount of games there's you know there's only like 12 or so not including bowl game but don't judge what happens week one let's see what happens as this team kind of progresses with Coach O'Brien it's easy to jump to conclusions but um you know don't talk too big or be too wise um on on certain things I think you need to uh just just let it come to you and look at the body of work instead of this this small one sample oh I am absolutely gonna overreact that's uh what I do yeah 100% gonna do it uh what was I gonna say and I do too right I no doubt I'll probably be getting into some Twitter spat with somebody just because I can't help my myself and even though you know turning 49 years old this year I I am still a child I believe that at least my wife will say that I will definitely engage in irrational thoughts in some way shape or form well I I have been without a vehicle for over a month because my my car died in the middle of July while I was driving on the highway with two children in the back seat so that was uh that was a rewarding experience so because I've been basically cemented to my house for the last month uh and and can't go anywhere freely because I have to borrow someone's set of wheels for it I am uh wait what happened your car how do you lose a car for two weeks the kind car are you driving so my car died on the high oh it's been gone it's been gone for a full month and a half now um I was I was on the highway driving to the cape and just lost everything engine Dead everything just went which is shocking because it was a Camry with under 100,000 miles so we uh so wait a minute hold on a sec so everything ceased did you have you did you maintenance the car you get oil changes you did yes okay it was contaminated gas was what I was told so you put dies you put diesel in your car no I don't know where it happened but everyone wants to tell me that I did like I put in like Gypsy gas somewhere and it's my own fault and I was do I don't know I I must have gone to like bad gas station or something I I can't I don't know where it was don't know anything but I have been but not having a vehicle for a month I literally only leave my house to go to the supermarket or drop and pick up my children right now with the exception of the couple of games that I was allowed key quote allowed to go to watch some soccer games over in Newton Campus uh so it's been marriage is all about yeah it's been a grind I going to react to this football game okay well don't be such a cheap skate with gas in your car and stop uh getting contaminated gas be better on your way to the cape where was it Milton right after Route 24 literally in the in the second left lane so the I was I Wasing you were on 24 when it went down no I was on 128 well you're lucky because if you're on 24 you probably would have gotten run over because that that highway is literally the closest thing to a Speedway I think Massachusetts has if you're not going 885 in that left lane you're you're getting past yep so if you were down Route three I would have said you should have given me a call I would have been more than happy to help out um because that's the type of guy I am uh but you know that's lesson learned so hopefully you get everything fixed up for Duane I am uh I am hopeful well I junked the car and just decided to buy I was like I realized what this sounds like when I say it I just bought another one um but so the uh but I said next time I am uh I wish I just made a little bit further down Route three Bel my I will give I have to give shout out to my dad my dad left the cape drove to pick me up we sent the car on the tow truck back to back to Metro West and uh and he literally picked me up my wife had the two screaming kids and my dad and I stopped to get lunch on the way down he was like yeah well she doesn't have to know that the that the tow truck was was on the way we we're GNA I'm going to pick you up so my dad picked me up got me lunch where to go Dad yeah uh so like I said September 2nd's going to roll around and I am G to overreact and I am G to smoke meat I am going to go absolutely wild for that game in the Reuben household it is gonna be the smoker is gonna be cranking I would expect nothing but yeah we we got we got ribs that are ready to go we're we got the dry rubs I'm I'm going I'm going we're gonna make some homemade cornbread I'm gonna go nuts wow that's impressive I I could use that I could use that that sounds tasty well the game Monday night September 2nd 7:30 p.m. dop Campbell Stadium Tallahassee Florida the capital city of the Sunshine State up in the Panhandle the Florida state seminal host the Boston College Eagles it is the opening game of the 2024 season the opening game of the Bill O'Brien era the opening game of the ACC schedule and the official start to uh to fall in September so I can't wait can I ask you something though before break off into this what are you most now obviously food so let's exclude that um what are you most excited about see to see from this team this year gets me out of my house on a Saturday simple goals I like it I like it not a child in the Press Box um I love my kids I love my kids dearly but they're three and almost two um so it's a lot no I honestly I'm looking for the next step like I'm excited for the next step I I've I've watched them a couple times and I've seen kind of what they're trying to do in practice and Drilling and how they bring it together and actually asked about that after a after a practice I said okay see them split out and then you come back to seven on seven and then 11 on 11 and kind of just how they drew it all together I I really just want to see it against a real opponent and I am that's kind of what I'm most excited about with this team is we've talked all offseason about The Playmakers we talked about bringing in Bill O'Brien we talked about everything what I'm most excited about is putting pen to paper and getting results and getting something to look at to say this works this doesn't in the early part and then seeing that develop over the course of the season I think last year after they settled on the quarterback situation and and castalanos took it over they were they spent the entire season more or less building the offense around him and and and taking the play set and and getting more and more complex and seeing what he could do and then when they hit their stride they were really good uh after that that that stretch with the path I can't wait to see what happens when you have a full preseason a first game what works what doesn't a second game five days later what works what doesn't put it all together see what happens in the third game at missou what works what doesn't and continue that over the course of the year because I think it's going to look very different than than most things BC's had yeah I think that's you know it's a pretty good summary of that I I think in in simpler terms I'm anxious to see how they handle um the adversity um and what it's going to look like on on that end uh because you got a lot of experience um on this team right you got guys that have played played a good amount of games now and it's it's I don't think they're going to be intimidated by environments or personnel um but you never know until you're put in that situation and I think that that's something that will be a Hallmark of this team is how they how they handle that adversity because if they handle it well it could it could go very well for them if not it could snowball and be pretty bad because you can uh you know have you ever seen the movie The Replacements when uh Jean Hackman's talking to the team and he's he's talking about you know what happened to us out there and he says quicksand quicksand quicksand and say right yeah quicksand uh he's uh he explains what it feels like is that you try harder and you fight harder through it but you just keep fing further and further you know getting deeper and deeper into the sand um so it's going to be interesting to see how they how that they they see that when they get to that adversity part you'd like to think that with the experience they have with the experience on the staff that they'll handle it well but until you're in the until until you're in that moment you just don't know well pain chick stick scars Glory lasts forever yeah it's an honor sharing the field of battle with you guys and just like that we are back to mid-season form who would have doubted well this has been a presentation of committed to BC the official podcast of Boston College football be sure to visit our page on iTunes Spotify or your favorite streaming platforms to rate review And subscribe to up to date with all of our latest content there's a lot of stuff that's going to be coming um on the uh on the Pod Network on the podcast for Boston this year we got students we've got athletes we've got we've got uh gan's doing something I know that he's got some things that are popping up uh I know he did a couple things with the with the football program on there that's on there so check all that out uh and and just see keep we're hammering the content machine at you for tickets to Boston College football visit bceagles.com or call 61 7552 go BC special thank you to guest Bill O'Brien the head coach of the Boston College Eagles Boston College director of Athletics Blake James Boston College sports property general manager Mike win and all those who make these broadcasts possible until next time we will see you on the podcast for Boston enjoy the rest of your week it's football season folks go Eagles