Grosel next man up for BC
Boston College quarterback Dennis Grosel had opportunities to play elsewhere after the 2020 season.
BC is fortunate he never acted on them.
BC NOTEBOOK
Grosel will make his ninth career start when the Eagles (2-0) play Temple at noon Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Grosel replaces starter Phil Jurkovec, who fractured his right hand in Saturday’s 45-28 victory at UMass. Jurkovec underwent surgery on Monday and is likely lost for the season.
“Dennis could have left last year and started for a lot of teams in college football,” said coach Jeff Hafley after Tuesday’s practice. “He could have started on many different levels but he chose to stay here and doesn’t sulk and he doesn’t complain.
“He’s the back-up and knows his role and he’s ready to play. That’s a message for everybody on the team. When your time comes you better be ready and Dennis is.”
Grosel appeared in three games in 2020 that included a start in the season finale at Virginia, where he completed 32-of-46 passes for 520 yards, equaling the single-game yards record set by Doug Flutie against Penn State in 1982.
That performance alone would have made Grosel a coveted attraction in the NCAA transfer portal.
“After how last year finished and given the situation I was in and the opportunities I had, there was a little bit of question about opportunities elsewhere,” said Grosel. “Coach Hafley and I talked a bunch in the offseason about what that would look like and how that could happen.
“In the back of my mind I think I would regret leaving more than I would have regretted staying. Obviously, the team is great and this place is awesome.”
Grosel performed in this movie before as a redshirt sophomore. Anthony Brown started the first six games of the 2019 season and appeared headed for a successful run. But Brown’s left knee buckled while rushing for a first down at Louisville on Oct. 5. Grosel came on and started the next seven games, winning three.
“It’s the same movie but it’s the third sequel on that thing,” said Grosel. “Being in the system and having the guys in place it feels like the same thing.”
Brown transferred to Oregon and led the Ducks to a 35-28 win at Ohio State last Saturday.
Barry ball
Tight end Trae Barry has emerged as a downfield threat. The 6-foot-6, 224pound, graduate transfer from Jacksonville State led BC in receiving against UMass with five catches for 98 yards that included a 44-yard bomb from Grosel that made it 28-7.
Barry has six catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns while platooning with redshirt junior Joey Luchetti, who Hafley uses on running downs.
“You look at the tight ends two different ways,” said Hafley. “If you look at (UMass), Joey had some big-time blocks in the run game and Trae had those catches with two third-down conversions.
“He is starting to play the game faster and he is starting to understand our offense. He is fun to watch and a hard guy to defend so when it comes to the passing aspect, he is it and Joey is one of our best blockers.”
The ground up
The Eagles ground game looked dominant against the Minutemen. BC rolled up 250 rushing yards on 43 attempts that yielded 24 first downs and three touchdowns.
Redshirt sophomore Pat Garwo had a career day with 160-yards on 15 carries with a long of 42 and a 10.7 average. Alec Sinkfield and Travis Levy combined for 88 yards and both scored. Levy also had a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Garwo was named ACC running back of the week while Levy was specialist of the week.
“We really liked what I saw in practice during the week and we rotate those guys in,” said Hafley. “They are all going to do that and I think they do because they care about each other.”