Boston College’s sixth fall camp practice brought a different feel to Chestnut Hill: the players were in full pads for the first time in August on the main fields outside Fish Field House, and the sunnier, less humid weather seemed to give the session a little extra juice.
The day also opened with a jarring scene. Early in practice, wide receiver Jaedn Skeete and defensive back Max Tucker went up for a jump ball in the corner of the end zone. Skeete came down with the catch, but Tucker landed awkwardly and had to be treated by trainers before an ambulance arrived and took him away.
Afterward, head coach Bill O’Brien said the ambulance was used as a “precautionary measure” and that Tucker likely suffered a concussion and nothing more.
“We really believe that he's gonna be okay,” O’Brien said. “We'll update that later on.
Probably more like a concussion, which, obviously, is serious, but I really don't think it's anything more than that. But again, we'll update that when we get confirmation on what that is.”
O’Brien also checked on Tucker’s close friends Carter Davis and KP Price, asking whether they wanted to keep practicing. They did, after the team prayed together on the field, and then moved inside Fish Field House to finish.
Even with the scare hanging over the morning, the practice eventually settled in. Defensive back Syair Torrence said the group leaned on one another through it.
“I mean, we just play for each other,” defensive back Syair Torrence said. “Like every time we step on the field, we all play for each other. No matter who's down, who's up, we just always go and play for each other with a brother next to us.”
From there, the biggest football takeaway was the continued rise of Mason McKenzie. He looked more comfortable running O’Brien’s offense and showed it with throws all over the field, along with some timely running.
His sharpest moment came in the final 20-minute team period, when he dropped a 45-yard strike to Reed Swanson along the sideline with Torrence in coverage. McKenzie fit the ball perfectly into Swanson’s hands, leaving Torrence with no chance to get a hand on it.
McKenzie also found Javarius Green for a short touchdown throw into double coverage, scored on a touchdown run, uncorked a deep ball to VJ Wilkins that went off the receiver’s hands on what would have been a gain of 20-plus yards, and connected multiple times with tight end Zeke Moore after working through his reads and taking the check-down.
"He's a great kid,” Crounse said of McKenzie. “Like I said earlier, a great leader.
We're on the same page, so it's going well. Trying to get in the right direction for sure. ...
His running ability is huge. He can make you right sometimes if for some reason you don't have good protection."
Center Michael Crounse also had plenty to say about the new look on defense under first-year coordinator Ted Roof. He didn’t get into the scheme, but he made clear the tone.
“I’m not going to talk too much schematically, but they’re a really aggressive group,” Crounse said. “Really tough, physical, downhill. That’s a really good group on defense, the linebackers and D-line, and then obviously the defensive backfield.”
The front seven and linebacker room have a lot of new pieces, and Crounse named several who have already stood out in camp: Chris Marable Jr., KJ Sampson, Micah Amedee, Kris Jones, Anthony Palano, and Bodie Kahoun.
Palano delivered one of the day’s biggest defensive plays, forcing a fumble from running back Evan Dickens. Price helped by getting in on the stop and slowing Dickens down before Palano punched the ball loose. Dickens was then told to run a lap.
There were more splash plays behind that. Israel Oladipupo and Chuck Nnaeto teamed up when Oladipupo batted a pass up at the line and Nnaeto came away with the interception on the ground. Grayson Wilson was the quarterback on that play.
Onye Nwosisi stopped multiple runs at the line, Makai Byerson sacked freshman quarterback Femi Babalola, Kahoun helped limit Nolan Ray to only a yard or so on a collision near the line, and transfer defensive tackle Christian Hudson stopped Ray at the goal line.
Torrence said the defense feels different from a year ago.
“It’s definitely new, different than we had last year,” Torrence said. “Definitely just more versatile, just doing a lot of stuff, showing a lot of stuff, not just standing in one package.”
He added that the mix of transfers and returners has blended together better than he expected.
Behind McKenzie, the quarterback reps appear to be split between Wilson and Babalola for now. Babalola’s improvement over the last week has been obvious, and his teammates are gravitating toward him in a way that stands out for a first-year player.
At running back, Ray has handled the most goal-line work and looks to be the heavy-package option.
Special teams coordinator Matt Thurin also spoke after practice and described that unit as tight-knit. When asked about kicker Luca Lombardo, a 2025 Lou Groza Award semifinalist who made 16-of-17 field goals and all 35 extra-point attempts as a redshirt junior last year, Thurin said "every year is a new year, so we have to go out and prove it."
In Other News...
Boston College Secondary Faces New Concern After Veteran DB Injury
Boston Colleges secondary had an unsettling pause in practice when veteran defensive back Max Tucker went down and had to be taken away by ambulance as a precautionary measure. The incident came during a drill, briefly halting the workout before the Eagles regrouped and got back to work, a reminder of how quickly practice can shift from routine to concern.
Head coach Bill OBrien said the injury is believed to be a concussion and that Tucker is expected to be okay, which offered some relief after the scare. Teammates made it clear they were rallying around him, and the team consulted with its senior players before resuming practice, underscoring both Tuckers importance and the steadiness Boston College needed in the moment. [Read more 🡒]
Chris Marable Jr. Could Be A Huge Piece Of BC's Defense
Chris Marable Jr. is starting to look like one of the more important returning pieces on Boston Colleges defense as the Eagles turn the page toward the 2026 season under Bill OBrien. The defensive tackle transferred in from Wake Forest, then showed up in every game last year and made his presence felt with 22 tackles, a steady sign that he can handle a regular role in the middle of the line.
For a BC defense trying to establish more reliability up front, Marable offers the kind of continuity that matters. He is part of a top-20 countdown of the Eagles best players for the upcoming season, and his value goes beyond the numbers, since his week-to-week availability and interior work already made him a meaningful contributor. The bigger question is how much more he can become with another year in the system. [Read more 🡒]