Boston College freshman QB Emmett Morehead to face Virginia Tech

Boston College freshman quarterback Emmett Morehead is a football novice compared to his counterparts in the ACC.

Morehead made his FBS debut on Saturday when he replaced Dennis Grosel on Boston College’s third possession of a 21-6 loss at Syracuse. Morehead is expected to make his first collegiate start when BC takes on ACC crossover rival Virginia Tech on Friday night (7:30) at Alumni Stadium

With Phil Jurkovec out of the season with a hand injury and Grosel’s inconsistency in ACC play, BC coach Jeff Hafley and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti elected to give Morehead a shared control of the Eagles’ offense.

That was an incredible vote of confidence for a young quarterback who hadn’t snapped a competitive down since 2019, his junior year at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va. Episcopal canceled its season in 2020 due to the pandemic, so Morehead’s football portfolio consists of less than two scholastic seasons.

“Those were the first live bullets he’s had and he didn’t have a senior year and hasn’t played a lot of football in his whole life,” said Hafley. “He’s not one of those guys that has been playing since second grade, so for him to go in with limited practice reps and play the way he did and he’ll get better.”

Morehead is a 6-foot-5, 229-pound, pocket passer who can see over the line and deliver an accurate ball. He completed 6-of-15 against the Orange that included a 44-yard strike to split end Zay Flowers on his second throw.

“We changed our game plan to try and slow it down for us,” said Morehead. “We got rid of the wrist band and went to a more spread offense so it was a little easier to process and helped me move quicker.”

The Bionic Man

Defensive end Marcus Valdez has the word “disrupter” ironed into his job description.

The 6-foot, 260-pound, graduate from Port Amboy, N.J., wears a cast on his left hand along with fortified arm and knee braces. Despite the extra layers of protection, Valdez made the kind of disruptive play against Syracuse that’s been his forte.

With the ball on the BC 3-yardline in the first quarter, Valdez strip sacked Garrett Schrader for minus 14-yards. Linebacker Vinny DePalma picked up the fumble and added 21 more. BC finished with three sacks for minus 40 yards.

“He got a pretty sack that we have been in need of,” said Hafley. “Marcus has been banged up and he’s been playing with a lot of pain. That guy has so much gear on his body, but he is one of the toughest kids on the team.”

The Man of Steele

Freshman linebacker Bryce Steele made good use of his increased workload against the Orange. With middle linebacker Isaiah “IGM” Graham-Mobley, the team’s leading tackler, out with an upper body injury, defensive coordinator Tem Lukabu shifted DePalma to the middle and put Steele outside opposite Kam Arnold. Steele had a season high seven tackles while the linebacker trio combined 23 stops and two TFL’s.

“I was really proud of him, he played hard and he played violent and he played the most snaps he’s played all year,” said Hafley. “When he tackles, he kind of engulfs people because he has really long arms.”

Red Zone Blues

The Eagles red zone offense has been spotty since the start of ACC play, but it bordered on insignificance against the Orange. BC got inside the Cuse’ 20 on four occasions and netted six points on two Connor Lytton field goals.

BC turned the ball over on downs at the Syracuse 1-yardline late in the fourth and did a red zone reverse on the other occasion. With the ball on the Cuse’ 18, center Alec Lindstrom’s shotgun snap sailed over Morehead’s reach for a 22-yard loss. BC took another sack on the possession and ended up punting.

“It hasn’t been good enough and we seemed like we had great field position and the special teams did a nice job,” said Hafley. “It’s got to get better, we have to execute at a higher level and coach it better.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3jWC9Rt