When it comes to football recruiting, Boston College fans don't have the highest expectations, and understandingly so.
Part of it is history. Some of it is expectations. There's also the changing landscape of the sport. It's even difficult to gauge what may be a good recruiting class, or just how important signing day is any more during the transfer-portal era.
First off, it needs to be noted that Boston College isn't exactly your average school anyway. The private school located six miles west of the heart of the city is primarily known for its academics, research, and, well, unforgettable collegiate gothic architecture. The Jesuit, Catholic university was founded in 1863.
Athletically, Boston College competes in the Athletic Coast Conference, and competes in 31 varsity sports. It's won multiple national titles in men's ice hockey and women's lacrosse. However, the only national championship the school claims in football is 1940 (the Eagles were No. 5 in the final Associated Press poll, which had Minnesota No.1) , and the lone conference title was in the Big East (2004).
Despite a couple of recent coaching changes, the program has remained especially consistent with six or seven wins every season minus one since 2016. That's the good news. The other way to look at it is that the Eagles are almost always among the bubble teams for bowl consideration. It's played in five over that same time period, yet none on New Year's Day. One has to go back to the 1985 Cotton Bowl for its last major bowl appearance, and that was back when the Eagles were independent.
Consequently, not too many 5-star prospects have had the Eagles on their short list of prospective schools. Only twice over the past decade has Boston College finished in the top 50 in the final team recruiting rankings per the 247composite (No. 37 in 2021, and No. 40 the subsequent class). Meanwhile, there have been just three first-round selections in the NFL Draft since linebacker Luke Kuechly in 2012.
There's also not much of a relatable recruiting history for O'Brien as a head coach after spending most of the past 20 years in the National Football League. During his brief time as the head coach at Penn State (2012-13), the program was in the process of being hammered by the NCAA for the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Minus that and his two years under Nick Saban at Alabama (2021-22), and one has to go all the back to Duke in 2006 for his last collegiate job, and like with the Crimson Tide he was the offensive coordinator.
Note: O'Brien's job misfortune wasn't limited to the Nittany Lions. After working his way up to be the offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech he was hired by Notre Dame only to have new head coach George O'Leary dismissed for lying on his resume.
For the Class of 2025, what Bill O'Brien’s first recruiting group at Boston College may have lacked in star power he hopes was made up for in numbers by landing 27 prospects, many from throughout the region. “We’re not going to be swapping 30 guys out and bringing 30 guys in,” O’Brien said during his signing day press conference. “That’s not who we are. We’re going to develop the guys we have in our program, build a culture with those guys.”
"That’s what recruiting is all about, being honest and upfront about what we are at BC.”Bill OBrien
O'Brien's follow-up classed will go a long way to helping determining what kind of program he might build.
This listing will be regularly updated as necessary.
Hard Commits (9)
247Sports: No. 16
On3: No. 33
Rivals: No. 21
Position: Cornerback
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 170 lbs.
Consensus: 3-Star prospect
247Sports: No. 979 nationally, No. 79 position, No. 4 state
On3: not rated
Rivals: not rated
Position: Cornerback
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 175 lbs.
Consensus: 3-Star prospect
247Sports: No. 979 nationally, No. 93 position, No. 2 state
On3: not rated
Rivals: not rated
Position: Defensive Line
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 250 lbs.
Consensus: 3-Star prospect
247Sports: No. 871 nationally, No. 85 position, No. 8 state
On3: No. 784 nationally, No. 72 position, No. 7 state
Rivals: not rated
Position: Edge rusher
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 220 lbs.
Consensus: 4-Star prospect
247Sports: No. 405 nationally, No. 38 position, No. 2 state
On3: No. 388 nationally, No. 43 position, No. 2 state
Rivals: not rated nationally, No. 3 state
Position: Edge rusher
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 230 lbs.
Consensus: 3-Star prospect
247Sports: No. 780 nationally, No. 69 position, No. 6 state
On3: No. 672 nationally, No. 67 position, No. 5 state
Rivals: not ranked nationally, No. 44 position, No. 2 state
Position: Offensive line
Height: 6-foot-7
Weight: 285 lbs.
Consensus: 3-Star prospect
247Sports: No. 493 nationally, No. 40 position, No. 3 state
On3: No. 516 nationally, No. 41 position, No. 3 state
Rivals: not ranked nationally, No. 5 state
Position: Offensive line
Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 295 lbs.
Consensus: 3-Star prospect
247Sports: No. 700 nationally, No. 57 position, No. 4 state
On3: No. 619 nationally, No. 55 position, No. 4 state
Rivals: not rated
Position: Offensive line
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 270 lbs.
Consensus: 3-Star prospect
247Sports: No. 1046 nationally, No. 83 position, No. 10 state
On3: No. 1089 nationally, No. 89 position, No. 8 state
Rivals: not rated
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 185 lbs.
Consensus: 3-Star prospect
247Sports: No. 550 nationally, No. 31 position, No. 51 state
On3: No. 489 nationally, No. 29 position, No. 48 state
Rivals: not rated nationally, No. 29 position, No. 47 state
Hard Commitments (3)
247Sports: No. 4
On3: Not ranked
Rivals: No. 6
Position: Athlete
Height: 5-foot-9
Weight: 155 lbs.
Consensus: N/A
247Sports: not ranked
On3: not ranked
Rivals: not rated nationally, No. 41 state
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 190 lbs.
Consensus: N/A
247Sports: not rated
On3: not rated nationally, No. 39 position, No. 58 state
Rivals: not rated
Position: Safety
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 180 lbs.
Consensus: N/A
247Sports: not rated
On3: not rated
Rivals: not rated
247Sports: No. 68
On3: No. 57
Rivals: No. 55
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