Team effort and outlook for Western Kentucky

Head coach Bill O'Brien held his weekly press conference on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming game against him Western Kentuckyas well as some other important points when it comes to that Boston College Eagles. He touched on several points including his view of the WKU team, how he thinks the players played for the Eagles and how he thinks NIL has impacted college football. Here are some of the most notable key points discussed and quotes from the interview:

O'Brien's viewpoint on Western Kentucky

Coach O'Brien had high praise for the Western Kentucky team and their performance so far this season, starting by talking about WKU bouncing back after a loss Alabamaand said: “Yes, this is a really good team. You're exactly right. Alabama beats a lot of teams. Alabama is an outstanding football team. I think for us they won three in a row. That’s who they are.” A very well-coached team. They have a very difficult game. I think we've had two good days of training tomorrow one. They are a very, very good football team and it will be a very difficult game for us.

He then continued to discuss the possibility of disappointment, or if the Eagles didn't play well because of a big game against them Michigan StateHe said: “Yes, if there is disappointment then we are ashamed. Absolute shame on us if there is disappointment, absolute shame on Boston College football. We have to show up and be ready to play, kick-off at lunchtime, put the tape on.” . Western Kentucky is a heck of a football team. They have won three straight and defeated Middle Tennesseehit Eastern KentuckyThey beat Toledo brilliantly. Three times in a row, a really hot phase. We better be ready to go. We feel ashamed when there is disappointment.”

His opinion of WKU is clearly high and he won't allow this to become a trap game based on his quotes from this press conference. This is important as a loss for the Eagles would be difficult to swallow and winning must be the priority in this game no matter who their opponent is.

Player performance and execution

Bill O'Brien was asked about several position groups/players and how he thinks they have performed so far, including Thomas Castellanos, Cam Horsleyand the offensive line, here’s what he said about Castellanos: “He’s a hard worker. He is a very competitive guy who cares about the team. He really puts a lot of effort into preparing. He feels bad when he doesn't play well or he makes a mistake. He tries not to make the same mistake twice.

Regarding Cam Horsley, he said: “Yeah, he's just been a great player for us in the first four games here. I mean, he got a game ball for Michigan State. He was a dominant player up front and performed well.” I think his rush to the passer has become more difficult from there, often it's just different attacking him from the edge. Just different. I think he will be a really good player if he trains every day. It's very, very difficult to play this position every day.

Finally, he discussed what he has seen from the offensive line so far: “Look, I think our offensive line is really good. I think there are always areas to improve. I think their pass defense has been very, very good for most of it. “I think they need to play with a better pad level in the run game. We hold them to a high standard. You have to play at this level in every single game. And they really do. They have great leadership up there Drew Kendall, Ozzy Trapilo, Jack ConleyLogan Taylor, Jew Bowry. These are great guys, very tough, very athletic, really the BC offensive line, the former BC offensive lineman, in my opinion, should be very proud of that offensive line. They carry on the tradition very well. They always have to do something to improve and we are working hard to improve, but I think overall they played well.”

Overall, it's clear that he feels the players he's been asked about are all extremely talented and are working as hard as possible so match days can begin. It was nice to hear Horsley get the game ball for Michigan State as he has been outstanding all season so far and was very deserving of a small mid-season award.

NO impact on college football

Finally, O'Brien was asked about the current status of NIL Matthew Sluka situation regarding this and how Boston College has its system in place to deal with this type of impact, to which he responded, “I think it's really important that you explain to your team and their families how you're going to proceed in due course.” I think everyone here at Boston College has a pretty good idea of ​​how we set it up. There are many legal battles that still need to be fought We have an “early it” philosophy at Boston College. Are you a good teammate? or even do it alone? And if you check all of those boxes and a few more boxes and then do that over a long period of time, then you deserve to promise it to a man, and that's me in Boston College, had nothing to do, I know nothing about it UNLV, Holy Cross. No idea about that stuff. But nothing is promised to anyone here. They have to come in here and make money, and some people might listen to this and say, “Well, Coach, how are you going to survive?” We're going to survive. We will survive. Boston College is a very special place. In addition to NIL, we have a lot to offer at Boston College. If you come to BC and get a BC degree, NIL will seem like peanuts ten years later. Peanuts. So NIL is part of what we do, but at the same time we have a very, very resilient football team that understands the earn-it philosophy.”

This was one of the interesting points I heard Coach O'Brien discuss, as he has experience at both the college and NFL levels when it comes to athletes and meeting their needs. What's even more interesting is that he spent time at Alabama, which has players with very high NIL ratings, so it was fascinating to hear his opinion, which generally differs from that of many other teams. Knowing that the main goal is to help the community and develop players even as students is undoubtedly positive, and the ability to build through culture is definitely the way to go.