Here’s how the coronavirus is affecting Boston College football
The news makes life difficult for Jeff Hafley and Co., but the staff is confident the work will get done.
As the brand new Boston College football staff tries to maximize the spring to prepare for the upcoming regular season and beyond, it will now have to do so from home until further notice.
With the Atlantic Coast Conference officially canceling all athletic activities through the end of the 2019-20 academic year, that means BC is done practicing as it normally would for the time being.
The Eagles completed five practices over the past few weeks. They were scheduled to have at least six more, a Spring Game, Pro Day, and other meetings around campus, but now everything is on hiatus until the ACC deems it’s safe to get back to regularly scheduled activities.
First-year head coach Jeff Hafley brought passion to the practices they did have, and it was easy to see right away that the energy was contagious. The Eagles, coming off a 6-7 season, are looking for their first eight-win season since 2009.
https://twitter.com/CoachJeffHafley/status/1231368221002993665
Hafley was candid during a teleconference Wednesday, acknowledging the disappointment of the news while also making it clear the Eagles have to continue to work diligently to improve.
This may be time away from campus, but it’s far from time off.
“Is it going to be harder? Are there going to be some things that don’t work perfectly? There are, but hopefully we’ll get better at it every day,” Hafley said on the teleconference.
Here’s more on how the spread of the coronavirus has affected BC football:
What does this mean logistically for the new coaches and the players?
Hafley and his staff monitored the coronavirus over the course of the past few weeks.
The Eagles returned from Spring Break the Sunday before last and practiced as they normally would last Tuesday and Thursday. They canceled practice this past Saturday, then Hafley said the coaches spoke with the players in small groups Monday morning and sent them home.
“Our players are anxious to get back,” Hafley said. “A lot of them didn’t want to leave. They were upset to leave. I think they were enjoying it. They were enjoying playing football, and they were having fun around our staff.”
https://twitter.com/BCFootball/status/1231736250022989824
Hafley told his players the decision wasn’t just about them. It was about their families, and ensuring everyone around them was safe as well.
Some of the coaches haven’t moved to the Boston area yet. Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr., for instance, is back home with his family in New Jersey. Special teams coordinator Matt Thurin is with his in Ohio. Hafley has moved in, so he’ll be here, and he understands the ACC’s decision.
There are no Eagles who live off-campus, and campus is closed, so essentially everyone is home with their families.
“I told everybody I wanted them to go home,” Hafley said. “I do believe we can accomplish our work from home with peace of mind, knowing our families are doing OK and we’re there with them.”
What will working from home look like?
In many ways, working from home for the Eagles isn’t too different than working from home for other people around the country and world. In some other ways, it’s quite different.
On Wednesday, Hafley’s day consisted of a staff meeting at 8 a.m., a recruiting meeting, speaking with the media, a defensive staff meeting, and another recruiting meeting. Then, he said, he’ll hang out with his family and go to bed.
We have to bust @CoachJeffHafley‘s chops for thinking everyone could hear the coaches but his AirPods were in… 😂 #WeAreBC | #GetIn pic.twitter.com/4zXfmKHhya
— Boston College Football (@BCFootball) March 18, 2020
He plans on ensuring the sense of urgency doesn’t drop off, and that everyone is just as focused and goal-oriented as they otherwise would be. Hafley also plans to discuss life outside of football and check in on his players’ families when they talk online. He speaks with Director of Athletics Martin Jarmond daily to game plan and devise strategies.
“Is it ideal for my first job? No,” Hafley said. “Things were going to come up. It’s easy to coach the great teams during great times. If I can learn the hard way, and do the best I can, hopefully it will help me out in the future.”
Because the Eagles are still building their scheme, Hafley said assistant coaches will meet with players electronically every day to ensure everyone is on the same page.
He acknowledged that players likely won’t be in the same shape whenever they come back to campus. Hafley believes his players will do what’s asked of them during this transitory period, and he expects it to be helpful, but he made it clear it’s not the same as being out there.
“We’ll do the best we can watching the film, and I do believe our kids will study it, but there’s nothing like going out and actually doing it,” Hafley said.
How will this affect recruiting?
The NCAA suspended all on-and-off campus recruiting through April 15, which means the Eagles have to get creative as they try to mold their next wave of talent. Coaches are permitted to call, text, email, direct message, mail and FaceTime with recruits, according to recruiting coordinator Joe Sullivan.
Hafley said he’s going to prepare as though he won’t be on the road at all, noting that the Eagles will have to show recruits what they’re about without actually meeting them initially.
“The hard part for us is that no one’s been around this new staff yet, to see the energy, and have interactions face to face with them,” Hafley said. “It will be hard. We’re going to have to find creative ways, through social media and FaceTime, and stuff on the computer. We’re going to do the best we can.”
He’s made it clear he values building relationships with everyone, and he said the only way to build relationships is through time and experience, whether that’s in recruiting or with the players currently on the roster.
How will it shape the on-field product?
Hafley said the Eagles have put in base concepts on defense, but they had barely gotten to third down and hadn’t started the red zone.
“There’s a lot of things that we’re going to need to ramp up to prepare ourselves, but for the first five, for what we were trying to start, it was a lot of fun coaching these guys,” Hafley said.
Defensive coordinator Tem Lukabu said he and Hafley have always aligned as far as how they see defense and what they want their defense to look like. He said there’s a progression the Eagles have to go through before they get to where they want to be.
Getting those DBs ready to ball out.
🗣 @Aazaar23 Mic’d Up #Getin | #WeAreBC🦅 pic.twitter.com/Q2GcuyZpFj
— Boston College Football (@BCFootball) March 13, 2020
“We’re not going to try to take the easy route,” Lukabu told Boston.com before spring practices were canceled entirely. “It might take a little bit of time to get it the way that we really want it, but at the end, it will be worth it.”
With these changes, it places even more emphasis on maximizing every conversation and every tidbit to expedite the process. If this were Hafley and Co.’s fourth year, he acknowledged, it might be different, but there’s no time to dilly-dally as they prepare for the 2020 season.
Checked out @BCFootball practice this morning. Tons of energy and enthusiasm all around. Here’s Brandon Sebastian breaking up a deep pass intended for Kobay White. pic.twitter.com/u6fmYUqYzJ
— Trevor Hass (@TrevorHass) March 12, 2020
Whether the first date of practice is in June, July or August, they know they have to be prepared. The strength staff is figuring out ways for the Eagles to stay fresh and fit at home, and the goal is to also become as mentally sharp and unified as they can during this time.
“If we don’t take every day and do the best that we can, we’re not going to be ready for the home opener, and we’re not going to use that as an excuse,” Hafley said. “So we’ve got to go.”
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