In Chestnut Hill, a Week One flight to Cincinnati still sits on the horizon for a Boston College team finally starting its transition towards the regular season, but any primary conversation surrounding the excitement of a debut had to remain on hold when the Eagles entered their final week of preseason training. One month and two scrimmages had passed for head coach Bill O’Brien, but a well-described quest for improvements remained at the forefront of the final practices and training sessions ahead of next week’s game against the Bearcats.
“We’re incorporating some Cincinnati looks this week,” said O’Brien about preparing for the first game of the season, “but it’s not full throttle until next week. We’ll start having a couple of periods for Cincinnati every day, at least one period, whether it’s a first or second down period or a third down period, but we’re not quite ready to go with a full-time scout team yet because we want to still give guys opportunities to make the bus and be on the plane to Cincinnati.”
Determining scout teams is a nominal step towards the transition between the preseason and the start of a standard regular season week. They only emerge once the coaching staff sets a depth chart for an upcoming week’s game and don’t necessarily change unless injuries and roster shuffles force their adjustments during the regular season. Coming out of Saturday’s scrimmage, O’Brien left open the possibility of players making the proverbial cut line for the team’s overall dress list, which in turn resulted in position battles lingering towards the last days of preseason training.
None of this, it should note, diminished the importance of the upcoming days and the full-fledged transition to game mode. Scout teams, for what it’s worth, are no less important than the second team or third team because their study and understanding of a separate team’s scheme helps starters rehearse formations and techniques for a Saturday game plan.
“You have to have a good staff that understands the process,” said O’Brien after last week’s scrimmage. “They’re the ones who communicate with the players. You show performances on film, and you make examples on the field of what you’re looking for and what you’re not looking for. Players have to buy into their role, and if the players really buy into it, you can get really good work.”
Readying for the first week therefore required the Eagles to continue their internal improvements before the attention could entirely approach Cincinnati, a team that lost its quarterback, one of its top running backs and its top returning wide receiver to the transfer portal. In addition, co-defensive coordinator Tyson Veidt left for Penn State and offensive coordinator Brad Glenn departed at the end of the season. Even with returning head coach – and former Louisville head coach – Scott Satterfield at the top of the program, that type of change makes it impossible to fully comprehend or prepare for a team without any real time film.
“Their defensive coordinator is coming from Army, where he spent the previous six years,” explained O’Brien, “so there’s no Cincinnati film on his scheme. Even when you look at Coach Satterfield and that offense, you don’t really know what you’re going to get, and that’s why you have to have your rules in place.”
Owing to that reason, BC continued its work this week by internally focusing on its own individual schemes, and Tuesday produced steady work when Max Tucker and Carter Davis each grabbed an interception. Backup quarterback Grayson Wilson later responded with a touchdown pass to VJ Wilkins, and starting quarterback Mason McKenzie connected with Reed Swanson and Jackson Wade for two of his own scores.
“You have to be fundamentally sound in every phase of the game,” explained O’Brien. “You can’t come into that game and think that you’re going to do all of these exotic things because you really don’t know what to expect. So you keep preaching fundamentals, and you really lean on what you believe in, what you absolutely believe in offense, defense and special teams. Those are the things that the players will believe.”
BC opens its 2026 regular season on Saturday, September 5, against Cincinnati, from Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and can be seen on national television via Fox. For tickets to BC athletics, visit www.bceagles.com or call 617-552-GoBC.
