Jeff Hafley National Signing Day Press Conference

Big day for Boston’s College, as Jeff Hafley and co. solidified what is currently the #22 ranked recruiting class in the country for the class of ‘22. That’s the rating best in program history (since the ratings got started). Here is what he had to say after most of his class (21 players) signed their national letters of intent.

On the first in-person recruit class and the opportunity to not have to recruit via-zoom:

This is the first time we got to sit down in living rooms. This is the first time we got to know the moms and the dads, or the uncles, and the brothers, or the sisters. And we got to form those relationships -- which I think are so important to us and so important to Boston College because you win with people.

On in-state recruiting:

brought in some people that are going to come and compete, from various different states, from Australia, from Canada. BC is a national brand. I believe that, we believe that. And we feel we can go to California, and we did. We can got to Texas, and we did. And then most importantly, we stayed home . . . Last year we kept the best player in the state [Drew Kendall] home and I believe we did the same thing this year.

On recruiting high school athletes:

Didn’t want to build this thing through the portal. We have 21 commits right now. We’re not done. This class is not done. There’s another signing period, there’s other recruits we’re still on . . . It’s sad. There’s not as many scholarships for high school players. . . . Want to build this thing through recruiting and developing people and players so that it lasts. Hard to built consistently if you’re building through he portal entirely.

On Peter Delaportas, 4-Star QB from NJ:

Really talented, big kid, tall. He’s a wrestler- which is very rare. He’s got a really live body. So he’s N=not gonna be a guy that runs 4.4, but he’s got a live body, he can move, he’s mobile, he’s got a big-time arm. And he’s gonna be a big kid. Really big, really strong, wrestler, competitive, tough. He’s got this quiet toughness about him. He’s got a great presence about him. I think he has a chance to be a really great football player. We had targeted him early on and it was a fight. And we went out and we got it done.

On the defensive lineman in the class:

Think it’s been an emphasis for the last two years. Think we’ve brought in 12 or 11 d-linemen the last two classes. I’m a defensive guy, and think it starts up front. You can never have enough defensive lineman. Clive Wilson at DE, 6-5, 245 is probably going to be 265 before he even gets in here. Super athlete. We saw him in a camp. This guy can rush, he can bend, he can jump . . . We got guys that can really really rush the quarterback . . . I think every class we have, we’re going to see a lot of d-linemen.

On Joe Griffin 4-Star WR from Massachusetts:

That was a real challenge to. I know Notre Dame came in real hard multiple times. I think Joe’s the best athlete in the state. He might be the best football player in Massachusetts right now. He’s big, he is long, he is athletic, he can jump, he’s got incredible hands, he’s so competitive. Big tall guy, who can go.

On other MA athletes that aren’t only lineman:

You can get both. We got [Ismael Zamor] from Everett. Matt Ragan, Jack Funke. Mixture of big guys and athletes. Ish is gonna be a WR for us: big, strong, twitched up. Again another local guy. Matt Ragan — long. Wait until you see this guy. He’s got a chance to be a great tight end. Funke — one of the recruits thought he was a parent. He looks like he’s been picking up cars working out. He’s enormous. His neck is about as big as my shoulder width.

On Sione Hala, S/LB from St John’s Bosco (CA):

He’s already 210 pounds. Like [Jaiden] Woodbey, he plays with an edge. He plays with violence and he is nasty, and he is already big and can run. And off the field he is a phenomenal human being. Smart kid from one of the best football programs in the entire country.

On the two international signings:

He [Sam Candotti]’s got the accent. Excited to see how he kicks. Wish we got to go Australia. [It’s] all tape based, we never got out there to evaluate him. Edwin [Kolenge] is here [from Canada, but HS in CT], so he’s close by.

On recruiting rankings:

I don’t look at the stars until afterwards. When I watch the tape I don’t want to know who’s recruiting the kid, I don't want to know who’s offered the kid, and I don’t want to know what the stars are. Because despite what every coach is going to tell you, as soon as you tell me, it’s going to influence me somehow.

On Amari Jackson, CB from GA:

That wasn’t an easy one. We were fighting off a few teams really late. One wanted him to official visit this past weekend. An SEC team that I respect, and Coach Aazaar did a phenomenal job. I went out two weeks ago and saw him and his family. Coach Aazaar went out there again this weekend. I think he’s gonna be a star. He is a twitched up, good-sized kid, who can run, can cover, got ball skills, is tough, can catch the ball, can probably play offense or defense. Eventually he might play both down the road. That's how talented he is. When he called me today and he had signed. I’m a DB guy, so that’s probably the loudest I’ve screamed in a long time.

Here is the full press conference. You can listen more with Jeff Hafley and the entire staff on a Special Signing Day show at 7 pm on ACC Network Extra.