The No. 4 jersey at Boston College carries real weight, and Javarius Green knows exactly what he’s stepping into.
For years, that number belonged to Zay Flowers, the standard-bearer for BC wideouts and, by every meaningful measure, the best receiver the program has ever had. From 2019-22, Flowers piled up records that still define the position room: 12 receiving touchdowns in a season, 78 catches in a year, 1,077 receiving yards in a season, 29 career touchdown grabs and 3,056 career receiving yards. He was a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award in his senior year and earned All-ACC First-Team honors twice, with an All-ACC Third-Team selection as a junior.
After Flowers left for the NFL - where the Baltimore Ravens took him 23rd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft and then made him the fourth-highest paid wide receiver in NFL history this summer - the number didn’t stay idle for long. Reed Harris wore it when he arrived at the Heights in 2023, but after redshirting as a freshman and then putting together two strong seasons as BC’s top deep threat, he transferred to ASU in the offseason.
That opened the door for Green, a North Carolina transfer, to take over No. 4 this fall. After Saturday’s fall-camp scrimmage, Green explained why he wanted it.
“Originally I was number nine at North Carolina,” said Green. “My original number [in high school] was six, and then I came here.
You know, Zay Flowers, the four was open, so I thought it was a great chance, a great number to wear. Somebody that means a lot to this school and did a lot of things, and doing big things [in the NFL].
So it’s kind of an honor just to be able to wear it.”
Green said a conversation with Lewis Bond helped shape his decision to come to Boston College in the first place. Bond owns the school record for single-season receptions with 88 and career receptions with 213, and Green said that exchange gave him a better feel for what BC is about.
“I got to talk to Lewis Bond a little bit before [transferring], you know, just to be able to see kind of the roots of this place,” Green said. “It’s a great school, it’s a great, prestigious school academically, [and] it’s a great school football-wise. So kind of just being able to come here, be able to connect with the guys, and get to talk to [Bill O’Brien], that was kind of the biggest thing.”
There’s also a stylistic fit here. Like Flowers, Green is 5 feet 10 inches tall, though he carries about 30 pounds more than the version of Flowers who starred in maroon and gold. The production at North Carolina was modest - 14 catches for 162 yards in 16 career games - but Green is hoping Flowers and Bond can serve as the blueprint for what comes next.
And the standard isn’t just about big numbers. Green said the lesson from players like Flowers and Bond is about buying into the group and doing the work no matter how many targets come your way.
“You got to do your part,” Green said. “People are counting on you to catch passes.
But at the end of the day, you got to be a great teammate, whether you get the ball or not. You got to go do the job.”
In Other News...
Boston College Women Just Passed An Early Pressure Test
Boston Colleges womens soccer team had to work for it at Berman Field, but the Eagles kept their early-season roll going with a 3-1 comeback win over Cornell. Nicolette Kiorpes did the heavy lifting offensively, Amalia Dray added a penalty kick goal, and Faith Fenwick made four saves to help Boston College move to 3-0-0.
The result had the feel of a useful September checkpoint for a team trying to establish itself before league play tightens. Cornell gave Boston College enough resistance to make the response matter, and the Eagles answered with the kind of composure coaches like to see, turning a tricky road test into another mark in the win column. [Read more 🡒]