There is no doubt about it, as Bill O’Brien would say. Losing running back Evan Dickens to a season-ending knee injury is undeniably a huge blow for the Boston College football team’s offense, and it will be a difficult hurdle to overcome.
Will it give some young players opportunities to grow with increased playing time? Sure.
But Dickens was the clear, No. 1 option in the backfield by a wide margin, and the Eagles could not afford to lose that. Afterall, they are still missing their best tight end, Kaelan Chudzinski, and now their spearhead of the backfield, too.
Dickens didn’t necessarily slice apart opposing defenses like he did last year at Liberty, where he totaled 1,339 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns, which both ranked inside the top five in FBS.
But when chances came his way, he made the most out of them — both in the rushing and passing arena.
BC’s offensive line has not been the most impressive unit when it comes to run blocking, but Dickens still managed to churn out a respectable 4.5 yards per carry with four scores on the ground, in addition to reeling in 12 catches for 114 yards and a touchdown, which he scored in the Eagles’ road loss to SMU.
Playing the running back position with a mobile quarterback such as BC’s Mason McKenzie is often not the most glamorous job, as your carries get taken away and the offense depends on your blocking abilities, both in pass protection and open-field situations.
But Dickens embraced that role with honor, which shows the type of player he is.
“I’ve learned a lot [from him],” sophomore running back Bo MacCormack III said. “He’s a really good player. Being able to see him run the ball and [in] pass protection. We watch film together and stuff like that, too. Just kind of asking him what he sees and kind of what he’s looking for. I think I’ve learned a ton from him, with his experience and just him being a really good player.”
Now, the Eagles must turn to MacCormack, redshirt junior Nolan Ray, and sophomore Mekhi Dodd to pick up their efforts in place of the fallen Dickens.
While MacCormack has seen his fair share of opportunities this season — in four games played, he’s tallied 89 yards and a score on 29 attempts — Ray has been out most of the year with turf toe and an ankle injury, and Dodd has been limited to just five carries on the season, which means Saturday’s road matchup against Duke will be somewhat of a trial run for the new-look backfield.
To BC’s good fortune, the Yellow Jackets happen to give up 179.0 rushing yards per game, which ranks third-to-last in the ACC and 109th in the country, so that should be a good first matchup to see which of the three ball carriers stands out in a Dickens-less game.
Yet losing an explosive playmaker like Dickens gives opposing defenses one less top threat to worry about leading up to game days, which puts more pressure on other areas of BC’s offense, especially McKenzie.
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