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Boston College Eagles: Top 5 tight ends in school history

By Jason Haskins

31 Dec 1995: Tight end Mark Chmura of the Green Bay Packes celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers won the game 37-20. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr /Allsport
31 Dec 1995: Tight end Mark Chmura of the Green Bay Packes celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers won the game 37-20. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr /Allsport /
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Boston College Eagles
Boston College Eagles  (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

The Boston College Eagles have had some great ones at the tight end position wear the maroon and gold. Who are the top 5?

The tight end position has been an integral part of the Boston College Eagles offense throughout school history, notably in the last 15 years or so.

Players like Ryan Purvis, Jake Burt, and Tommy Sweeney have helped cement a legacy laid by Pete Mitchell and Mark Chmura in the late 1980s and early ’90s.

Hunter Long can now be added to that list all-time great tight ends for the Boston College Eagles.

Long recently finished up a junior season in which he was one of the best — if not the best — tight ends in the nation. And on December 17, Long announced he’d be foregoing his senior season to enter the 2021 NFL draft.

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Which begs the question: Where does Long land in the top five all-time Boston College greats at the tight end position?

First, we take a look at three players who just missed the cut. There’s Jim O’Shea from the 1969-70 Boston College Eagles and who is no relation to the fictional O’Shea brothers from the movie Little Giants. This O’Shea played receiver in ’69 before moving over to tight end in ’70, where he had 33 receptions and 356 yards and was later drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 10th-round of the 1971 NFL draft.

A few years prior to O’Shea there was Jim Whalen. Whalen played from 1962-64 and had 73 receptions for 1230 yards and 11 touchdowns. Considering these numbers were in a non pass-happy era, it was nearly enough to include him on this list.

The same could be said for Sean Ryan, who played 2000-03. Ryan finished his career with 75 catches for 950 yards and 12 touchdowns, including a senior season in which he hauled in six scores. Ryan was drafted in the fifth-round of the draft by the Dallas Cowboys.

Whalen and Ryan both could easily be 5b and 5c in this list, which begins with this player from a special Boston College squad.

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