Boston College Eagles: 3 proven defensive players ready to soar

Pressure up front for Boston College Eagles

On the defensive line, the talent is present to wreak havoc on teams in 2022. Keeping that unit together and focused will lead to hopefully a breakthrough season for multiple players. Leading that list is Shitta Sillah.

SIllah has shown flashes of brilliance, bursting out of the gates in ’21. He totaled 14 tackles in his first two games, with a sack in the first. But more attention was suddenly focused on Sillah and stat-wise, he didn’t have quite the impact.

Sillah didn’t have a sack after that first game, and totaled only 17 more tackles after those first two. Like DeBerry, Sillah was injured and missed the last two games.

Finding consistency is a must for Sillah in 2022. And with multiple other players up front aligned for an outstanding season, Sillah — whether he’s starting or not — should have a huge impact.

One of those players in the spotlight is Marcus Valdez, who is coming off a season where he had 27 tackles, 7 tackles-for-loss, and a team-high five sacks.  Despite missing the season’s first three games, Valdez was an honorable mention All-ACC pick last season and can easily build on that.

The other player in the spotlight is Cam Horsley, who had 38 tackles and 1.5 sacks last season.

Khris Banks and Donovan Ezeirwaku also saw plenty of action in the trenches and will contribute.

Keep an eye on: Chibueze Onwuka, who was poised for a big 2021 before an Achilles injury ended his season last August.

The play of these players will be a huge factor in stopping the run game, as will a couple of experienced players in the linebacker group.