BC to face No. 25 Clemson
Boston College safety Jaiden Lars-Woodbey and Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei were a passing combination at St. John Bosco High School, a national powerhouse in Bellflower, Calif. Lars-Woodbey enjoyed some national exposure at SJB when Uiagalelei was featured on Netflix QB1 Beyond the Light.
Saturday, the former teammates square off in South Carolina when No. 25 Clemson (2-2) hosts BC (4-0).
“It is just crazy to think that we are going to be playing against each other,” said Lars-Woodbey.
“But that will be pretty exciting having a little Bosco reunion.”
Lars-Woodbey is a redshirt junior transfer from Florida State, but he faced Trevor Lawrence when the Seminoles played the Tigers.
Uiagalelei made his first collegiate start against Boston College on Oct. 31 last year in place of Lawrence, who missed two games in the COVID-19 protocol. Uiagalelei completed 30-of41 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns in the Tigers’ 34-28 win.
“We just have to be ready because he is a great quarterback,” said Lars-Woodbey. “We’ve faced great quarterbacks before and I feel like we have great quarterbacks at our practices that give us great looks.
“They are doing a great job helping us get ready to face a great quarterback like D.J.”
BC is playing at Clemson for the third straight year and in the previous two, the Tigers were ranked No. 1.
St. John Bosco (5-0) is currently ranked No. 3 in the country by MaXpreps.
Sebastian’s larceny
Safety Brandon Sebastian has a proclivity for clutch and spectacular turnovers.
Sebastian had a spectacular turnover against Clemson last season during a grueling goal line stand. On third and goal from the two, All-ACC back Travis Etienne fumbled the handoff in traffic. Sebastian picked up the ball and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown to give BC a 21-7 lead.
Last week on Missouri’s first overtime snap, Sebastian intercepted Tigers’ quarterback Connor Bazelak to end the game. That play combined with a team-high seven tackles earned Sebastian ACC defensive back of the week honors.
“I think this one was more clutch with more athletic ability,” said coach Jeff Hafley. “The Clemson one he kind of picked it up off the ground and scored. But this one he went up and physically took it away from a
wideout at the end of the game with a spectacular catch.”
Sebastian can’t decide which big play he likes best.
“A walk off interception is definitely up there with the Clemson run,” said Sebastian. “It is definitely hard to pick, it’s close. That’s a tough one.”
Connor gets kicks
Kicker Connor Lytton began training camp back as the third option for the most important job on special teams.
The 6-foot, 200-pound, freshman from Christiansburg, Va., has through fate and circumstance been elevated to the top of the depth chart since the Temple game. Incumbent Aaron Boumerhi suffered a seasonending hip injury in camp and was replaced by Danny Longman, who started against Colgate and UMass.
Lytton had four PAT kicks against Temple and solidified his claim on the top spot with field goals of 49 and 31 yards against Missouri. He was also 5-for-5 in PATs. Long-snapper Gunner Daniel is a key addition for special teams coach Matt Thurin.
“His first one was a 49yard field goal, the first one he ever kicked in a (college) game in a big situation and a pretty cool environment,” said Hafley.