Boston College Looks to Build Off Last Season

© Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston College Eagles spoke with the media on Day 3 of the Atlantic Coast Conference Kickoff. With coach Bill O'Brien taking over, he will look to build off last season's 7-6 record. Fans know O'Brien's name from his time in the NFL as well as with Alabama.

Eagles quarterback Thomas Castellanos returns to lead the team's offense. Castellanos threw for more than 2,000 yards and ran for more than 1,000 yards. The pieces are in place for Boston College to build off of last season.

Boston College Faces Adjustments

Bill O'Brien returns to the college football sidelines. He was asked about making big adjustments in his coaching. "When you talk about the landscape of NIL, Transfer Portal, all those things, yeah, those things have changed," he said. "We were able to retain our whole team at spring practice, so we feel really good about that, being able to develop these guys, build the culture that we want to build."

O'Brien praised his Eagles players and their effort to this point. "Look, I think the big thing is it comes down—and you'll see this when these guys come up here (on the podium)—we have great guys that care about Boston College," he said. "They go to class. They practice hard. They lift weights hard. They do things the right way. I think that is something that's never changed relative to the places I've been at."

O'Brien spent time as coach of the Houston Texans and being an assistant with the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick. How will O'Brien put those lessons to use at Boston College?

"What I try to do with these guys here at Boston College, I've already learned a lot from the guys sitting in front of you," he said.

"I try to impart some of my experiences, my wisdom, I've been doing this for 32 years, on these guys. Hopefully, that's a role I can play on this team that can help this team get better every day because I've had a lot of great experiences, I've learned a lot."

O'Brien added, "We're doing it in our way at Boston College, but a lot of that has to do with what we learned over the course of time, my staff and myself. These guys are doing a great job of trying to do what we're asking them to do."

Castellanos is a Solid Quarterback

Castellanos is coming off a trial-by-fire type of season. But he is excited to build off of his success. With a new coach, Castellanos was asked what excites him about O'Brien's offensive plans.

"I think having Coach Bill, I'm not [going to] stop saying this, I think it's the best thing to happen to my career," the Boston College signal-caller said. "He's been around a lot of great quarterbacks. To be coaching me, it's an honor. I'm very thankful. I can't really go into detail about the offense, but it will be amazing. You'll see more explosive plays down the field, me throwing a ball a lot more."

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Castellanos was asked about the importance of having a lot of returning teammates. Did that make his offseason more important? "This year we have a lot of weapons," he said. "We have the returning guys and some guys around me. This year, like I said, will be a lot of explosive plays. We have a lot of great weapons around me. I feel like this year offensively we'll be really good."

Will O'Brien help him cut down on his turnovers? Castellanos sure hopes so. "It will be a lot different," he said. "Like what Bill said, piggyback off what he said. What we've been doing this offseason, it's been really great. It will be great, but you definitely will see a change of protecting the ball, throwing the ball away, sliding, getting out-of-bounds, stuff of that nature."

The Eagles learned some hard lessons last season. Under Castellanos' leadership, this offense will be fun to watch on Saturdays. With their first game in primetime against Florida State, all eyes will be on Boston College.