Boston College's Jeff Hafley expects 'great atmosphere' hosting Clemson

Hafley and the Eagles host Clemson Saturday night at 7:30.

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Thu Oct 06 07:00:05 GMT-04:00 2022

Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley is in his third season but will host Clemson for the first time since he's been with the Eagles.

Due to Covid, Boston College traveled to Clemson in back-to-back seasons, so with the Tigers making their first trip to The Heights since 2018, Hafley hopes students and fans put on a show for the primetime (7:30 pm) crowd on ABC.

"We've played them away both years I've been here," Hafley said during his weekly press conference. "You get the No. 5 team in the country coming in on the Red Bandana game in a nationally televised game on ABC, so I expect it to be a great atmosphere and a great night. Hopefully, it's a little chilly, and it feels like a nice fall football game. The fans were great last week. The students were great last week. I'm expecting it to be bigger this week. I'm hopeful they'll get in early. They can start tailgating earlier because it's a night game, so they can spend most of the day doing that. Get in early. Be loud. Make it hard for them. I think it's a chance for our students to show on national TV what I've been saying all along. Who's better than them right now? They're awesome, and I appreciate it. Now, we get to go show on national TV how good they are, too. I think that would be very helpful."

Hafley said there's clearly more energy and excitement around the football facilities this week with the No. 5 team coming to town and the Red Bandana Game honoring 9/11 hero Welles Crowther on the docket.

"I think I'd be lying to you if I said no. As a coach, you'd like for your guys to come in each day and be the same, but it's not true," Hafley said. "They've got good confidence right now. They're having more fun. They're a little bit energized, and it was much-needed for them. So, yes, there's an uptick for sure."

Hafley said Clemson's offense has good players at every position, but running back Will Shipley is the centerpiece.

"The offense, the quarterback, is playing at a high level.," he said of DJ Uiagalelei. "He's been extremely efficient throwing the ball. They're running him more, which he did against us last year. He ran the ball a lot against us last year. The running back did not play against us last year. Shipley, I think he's a really, really good player. He runs really hard and plays the game hard, probably as well as anyone that I've seen this year on tape. Their offensive line now has experience from last year. The tight end is athletic. Their wide receivers are big. If you remember from last year, they're big and long. They make contested catches. Look, it's a good football team. They're a top-five team, and they have really good players. Obviously, Dabo has done a really good job there, and they have a really good staff. I don't think anyone can say anything different if you watch them play."

Hafley said Shipley has a chance to be a good pro running back when his time at Clemson is done.

"Definitely because he can catch the ball, too," he said of Shipley. "He's really good out of the backfield. He's strong, and he's got good balance. Just watch how hard he plays. It's kind of like last week, where you better not leave him one-on-one. You better get a lot of people around him fast because he's a really good player. He can catch it, and he can run it. He's a talented guy. He'll be a really good NFL back."

Defensively, Hafley said Clemson is still one of the best units in the country even without Brent Venables at the helm.

"They're huge and long. Their front seven is very impressive," he said. "Their tackles are huge. Their defensive ends have very good length. Their linebackers - I know (James) Skalski isn't there anymore - but their linebackers are really good players. They're fast. They're really a good defense overall. They're well-coached. A new coordinator, obviously, but he's done a really good job. They haven't really missed a beat, and they're still one of the best defenses in the country with some of the best players in the country. So, we'll have our work cut out for us."

One Boston writer noted that Clemson was last in the ACC in pass defense. Hafley was quick to point out how many players Clemson has played in the secondary and that many of the yards came in a double-overtime shootout against Wake Forest.

"There were some deep balls in the Wake game. It was a high-scoring game and a shootout that was going back and forth," he said. "They've rotated a bunch of guys at corner, so they've played a bunch of corners. I think their secondary is really talented. I think their defense, in general, is really talented."