Report: Dylan Lonergan Named Boston College Football Starting Quarterback Over Grayson James

Originally posted on Boston College Eagles on SI
By Graham Dietz | Last updated Aug 12, 2025 9:03 AM ET

Boston College football fans woke up to some eventful news Tuesday morning which most have been waiting to hear for some time.

According to ESPN’s college football senior writer, Pete Thamel, Bill O’Brien named redshirt sophomore Dylan Lonergan the starting quarterback over senior Grayson James.

“Sources: Boston College is naming redshirt sophomore Dylan Lonergan as the starting quarterback, and he'll debut for BC as the starter in the opener against Fordham,” Thamel said. “Lonergan is an Alabama transfer who came to BC this winter. He was ESPN's No. 36 overall recruit in the Class of 2023.”

Sources: Boston College is naming redshirt sophomore Dylan Lonergan as the starting quarterback, and he'll debut for BC as the starter in the opener against Fordham. Lonergan is an Alabama transfer who came to BC this winter. He was ESPN's No. 36 overall recruit in the Class of… pic.twitter.com/aMcyJ2QyZv
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 12, 2025

The decision comes just eight practices through fall training camp, but with only 18 days until BC opens its 2025 season at home against Fordham.

Lonergan, who transferred from Alabama in the winter, was a four-star recruit coming out of Brookwood High School (Snellville, Ga.), where he took the program to a regional final in 2021 as a junior. Lonergan completed over 63 percent of his passes for 3,392 yards with 32 touchdowns to go against just three interceptions, including 645 rushing yards and seven scores on the ground.

BC head coach Bill O’Brien recruited Lonergan to Tuscaloosa, Ala., when he was the offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide, and after a run at the program which didn’t give Lonergan an opportunity to start, he followed the coach who wanted him in the first place to Chestnut Hill, Mass.

The 6-foot-2, 211-pound right-handed signal caller completed 5-of-6 passes for 23 yards against Mercer College, which is the only time he saw the field at Alabama as a redshirt freshman apart from a second-half rushing attempt against Western Kentucky in which he picked up a gain of 16 yards.

Lonergan has shown promise in fall camp so far, even against the veteran option, James, who started six games for the Eagles in 2023 after former BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos left the program mid-season.

The time came for O’Brien to cement the decision, and Lonergan has the ability to start a new chapter in the BC football history books under O’Brien in year two.