2025 Boston College Spring Football Central
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Much of the talk following Boston College spring football practice over the past two weeks has centered around veteran leadership.
Whether it’s head coach Bill O’Brien and his staff, or team leaders on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, the importance of having a veteran presence has been made loud and clear.
Senior tight end Jeremiah Franklin – who caught 27 passed for 311 yards and three touchdowns a season ago – sees his role as a veteran leader from two different perspectives.
“I can really count on those guys. Most people see freshmen and they kind of shoo them to the side. But our tight end room, just like last year, we’re all super close,” Franklin said following Saturday’s practice. “We always go out to dinner, we are always checking up on each other and just hanging out with each other – it just connects us on and off the field.”
But more than just serving as a mentor to his younger teammates, Franklin sees it as a true set of checks and balances.
“The freshmen make sure I’m on top of it, especially with all the questions that they ask. It helps me stay on top of the play book as much as I help them with their play book. It brings me back,” he explained. “Everybody always talks about how much time flies and it really feels like yesterday that I was coming in for the first time. I’m just thinking about how much the tight end room has changed. People come and go and it brings me back to when I was just like them. But we all have the same job, whether you’re a freshman or a senior, we all have to get better at football.”
Defensive end Ty Clemons shares a similar view and value for the Eagle newcomers.
“I’m getting older – I graduate in May – but everybody has to step up, whether you’re a senior or a freshman, we’ve all got to be better,” said the senior from Decatur, Ala. “It’s spring football, you have kids coming straight from high school. Of course they can’t come into a Power 4 program and just know how everything is supposed to be. You have to help them along the way.”
Clemons added, “I appreciate them. It takes all of us to be better. We know where we are trying to get to and it takes everybody. It can’t just be seniors or juniors. We need the young guys and everyone stepping up to the plate.”
