AP Photo/Vasha Hunt

Connections matter in football when it comes to both players and coaches. Boston College is taking advantage of Bill O’Brien’s connections at Alabama in the transfer portal. O’Brien coached under Nick Saban at Alabama from 2021 to 2022. 

In the past month, O’Brien has used his Alabama connections to land redshirt freshmen quarterback Dylan Lonergan and redshirt freshmen tight end Ty Lockwood in the transfer portal. Both are three star portal recruits and both fortify positions of need on the Boston College roster.

Lonergan, a Snellville, Georgia native out of Brookwood High School stands at 6-1 200 pounds and shows good touch and anticipation on his throws. He moves well in and out of the pocket and locates open receivers consistently when on the move. Grayson James is the presumptive starter but Lonergan can push for the starting job and provide quality depth as a back up.

Lockwood only caught one pass for five yards last season but he has good size at 6-5 225. He profiles more as a U or second tight end but he has the frame and the ball skills to develop into a potential Y or number one tight end. 

The O’Brien, Nick Saban connection from O’Brien’s time at Alabama seems to be paying off. O’Brien reputation as an offensive coach and his ability to develop also helps the Boston College program in the transfer portal. 

The Eagles are far from done in the portal. They will add more talent throughout the off-season and they could potentially bring in more former Alabama players in the portal. Sophomore wide receiver Jaren Hamilton is a name to watch. He is a four star portal recruit and someone to keep an eye on potential. He entered the portal last week. 

Boston College will truly reap the benefits of O’Brien’s presence this off-season. Especially now that the staff has a full off-season to recruit.