The new regime at BC has completely changed the way the program looks at recruiting.
From top to bottom, with an NFL structure now in place, Boston College – and more importantly the people above the staff – have shown a renewed commitment to recruiting, particularly locally.
On Wednesday, I had the chance to speak with new Director of Player Personnel Ryan Roberts and asked him what the pitch is from the staff nowadays when it comes to Boston College.
“It’s hard for me to look at Boston College and not see what you can sell,” he said. “You can obviously bring up maybe a tough year last year, but to be fair, looking at the school for what it offers, it’s an incredible package. Being right outside of Boston, four miles outside the city. The academic piece, the education here. Playing in the ACC. Those three points bring a good base and then you break it down to how much the football in the building matters and the coaches. I can speak individually for every one of our coaches and just what I’ve gotten to know from them and the men they are, just Coach O’Brien for example…his resumê speaks for itself. I think that’s a great selling point for a lot of guys because a majority of the recruits we talk to want to make it to the NFL.
“Being able to get them in here to an NFL system that’s NFL-built, a weight room that’s NFL-built, an entire organization with ties back to the NFL is a really neat selling point. I’m not saying you don’t have that a lot of other places. Being with Coach Belichick was I think a great opportunity for me to see how that was run. So, it’s a full circle moment too being here with Coach O’Brien to see a lot of similarities in some ways, but also a lot of differences with the NFL structure and how things are ran.
“I think for Boston College, you can talk about the on-field, the in-the-building product, but it offers a unique perspective outside the building with Boston, the academic piece and the things you can do. It’s also about understanding the kid. What are they about? Do they have the right stuff? Because some guys also get the chance to play a little earlier. Depending where they’re from, they get the chance to come in…if we have an older room, if we have a senior-heavy room and next year we need some younger guys to come in, they have a chance to play a little earlier, it’s all need-based too.
“The recruiting sell is a really easy one here. I think there’s so much, when you get a kid up here and they see the campus and you take them out on their official visit to see Boston, I’ve heard nothing but great things about how their eyes are wide open. I’m excited to be a part of that in June and see that all. In the sort term, from the time I’ve been here, it’s a really easy place to sell.”
If Roberts, new GM Kenyatta Watson and assistant GM Julian Rowe-Cohen can convince even a quarter or a third of the major recruits they’re pursuing that BC is indeed the right place for them, the talent coming through Chestnut Hill is about to be as good as its ever been.