Boston College’s linebacker room looks nothing like the one that got battered by injuries in 2025.
That was the offseason mission for the Eagles’ recruiting staff, and the answer came through the transfer portal. BC went out and added bodies, experience, and, just as importantly, energy to a group that needed a reset. Last season, Owen McGowan was the only Boston College linebacker with more than 16 tackles, a number that says plenty about how thin the room had become.
Dan O’Brien is still coaching the position, and the expectation around the program is that this group should take a major step forward.
At the center of it all is Washington State transfer Anthony Palano, who fits the middle linebacker role in every sense. He was one of BC’s representatives at the 2026 ACC Kickoff with safety KP Price and quarterback Mason McKenzie, and he has a strong case to wear a captain’s patch this fall.
Palano, a redshirt sophomore from Arlington Heights, Ill., played in 12 games with seven starts for the Cougars last season and finished with 65 tackles, four quarterback hurries, and two pass breakups. He began his college career at South Dakota State after a decorated high school run at Buffalo Grove High School, where he earned First-Team All-State and Offensive MVP honors as a senior. That year, he posted 65 tackles and more than 1,000 all-purpose yards with 17 touchdowns.
Defensive coordinator Ted Roof made it clear what Palano brings to the table.
“He brings a guy that [has] a lot of passion, a lot of energy, a lot of pride,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said of Palano. “He’s very prideful in knowing what to do and executing, trying to be physical with it.
And he’s a guy that his energy rubs off on other people on our defense. That’s what you want of a guy that’s in the middle of that, to provide that.
Of the good teams that I’ve been around, that’s happened. It’s a necessary piece, and he’s done a good job with it.”
BC also added Bodie Kahoun, a redshirt sophomore transfer from Notre Dame who has drawn plenty of praise from the staff. He was considered the most athletic linebacker in the Fighting Irish’s 2025 room because of his lacrosse background, and while his stat line there was modest - two tackles in 12 appearances - his energy and motor have stood out. Kahoun came to South Bend as a four-star recruit and brings a jolt to the defense.
The third transfer addition is SMU’s Justin Medlock, a redshirt senior with ACC experience already on his résumé. Last season for the Mustangs, he played in eight games and recorded 25 tackles, one sack, and a 96-yard pick six.
The returners are a different story, but there are still names to work with. Sophomore Zacari Thomas and redshirt sophomore Kemori Dixon have both carved out bigger roles this offseason and are expected to see steady snaps.
Dixon appeared in seven games with three starts last year and posted four tackles and a sack. Thomas played in nine games as a reserve linebacker and special teams contributor, finishing with six tackles and a forced fumble.
Griffin Collins is the top returning linebacker statistically after producing 15 tackles, including one for loss, and a quarterback hit as a true freshman. Redshirt junior Palaie Faoa also has some game experience, having made three tackles in 2025, all of them coming against Syracuse in the season finale.
Boston College may also have a freshman ready to force his way into the mix right away. Steve Klein out of Westwood, N.J., has made a strong impression in fall camp and appears likely to be on the team plane for BC’s opener at Cincinnati.
The rest of the linebacker depth chart includes several players who have already shown flashes or bring notable high school résumés. One transfer who had a big season in 2025 was Medlock, while Kahoun arrived after a two-sport background that made him stand out at Notre Dame. Another player in the room, Thomas, logged six tackles and a forced fumble last season.
Among the other names in the mix, BC has a redshirt sophomore from Mexico City who was an IMG Academy team captain all four years and a National Honors Society member. The group also includes a player from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, who was originally at Bishop Gorman in Nevada and won Class 5A Desert League Defensive Player of the Year honors as a senior; he made his first career tackles last year against Syracuse after seeing special teams work in 2024.
There is also a linebacker who spent time at both Washington State and South Dakota State before arriving in Chestnut Hill this winter. He played in 18 career games before transferring and put up 65 tackles, four quarterback hurries, and two pass breakups in 2025 for the Cougars.
Another former Notre Dame defender, a four-star football and lacrosse recruit from Patrick Henry High School, brings a long list of high school production, including a school-record 203 career tackles and more than 125 goals with over 50 assists in lacrosse. A redshirt sophomore from Danville, Va., also enters the room after starting three games and appearing in seven last season, when he finished with four tackles and a sack against Georgia Tech.
Boston College’s linebacker group also includes a native of McLean, Va., who did not play in games last season after redshirting in 2024 and was a two-time conference champion at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C. Another reserve linebacker recorded six tackles and a forced fumble in 2025 after piling up more than 80 tackles over his final two high school seasons at Jones County High School in Macon, Ga.
The Eagles also have a Longmeadow, Mass., native and Worcester Academy product who posted 16 total tackles, one for loss, and a quarterback hit as a true freshman. And one of the newest additions, a top-15 prospect from New Jersey, arrived in June after a high school career that included five interceptions, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and First-Team All-State honors, along with 30 offensive touchdowns.
Rounding out the group is a Concord, Mass., native from The Governor’s Academy, where he played linebacker and tight end and finished his senior year as a captain with more than 60 tackles, 15 for loss, and an interception.
This is the eighth installment in Boston College Eagles On SI’s summer position preview series, with the rest of the position groups set to be covered through August.
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