Boston College Eagles: Underclassmen carving out roles in 2022
Boston College Eagles on the back end
Upperclassmen Vinny DePalma and Kam Arnold are the top two tacklers for Boston College, combining for 107. The future is bright at this position, with two up-and-comers already beginning to make an impact for the Eagles.
The recent string of duos at linebacker, with DePalma and Arnold following Isaiah McDuffie and Max Richardson, will hopefully continue beyond 2022 with Bryce Steele and Jaylen Blackwell.
Steele, a sophomore, has 34 tackles and one sack so far this season. His best game came in the most recent one, a 13-3 loss to Connecticut, in which Steele had seven tackles. Three other times in 2022 Steele has collected six tackles in a game.
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Getting valuable playing time for Steele has been a concerted effort since arriving on campus, even as the two starters remain healthy. Steele played in 11 of 12 games as a freshman, making 27 tackles. Seeing him constantly in the mix has been a plus for this Boston College team.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Jaylen Blackwell hasn’t found the stat column as much in recent games. Blackwell has appeared in all eight games and has 18 tackles on the season.
However, 11 of those tackles came in the first two games, where he also collected two sacks.
Another freshman, defensive back Amari Jackson, has seen his playing time increase the last three games due to injuries in the secondary. Jackson has had a few issues, notably against pass happy Wake Forest, but has settled in to make big plays.
Jackson has seven tackles in the loss to Wake Forest and has totaled 13 for Boston College in six games. He also has three pass break-ups.