Boston College coach Bill O’Brien hopes Alabama transfer Dylan Lonergan will end QB shuffle

By Canadian Press on August 21, 2025.

BOSTON (AP) — Boston College has a new quarterback, and coach Bill O’Brien hopes this one can last for a while.

O’Brien has tabbed Dylan Lonergan as his starter, picking the Alabama transfer over incumbent Grayson James. Lonergan, who has three years of eligibility left, will be the Eagles’ fifth starting quarterback in the last four seasons.

“This is not a guy that’s played a ton of college football,” O’Brien said after naming Lonergan the starter in the middle of August. “He’s had an interesting journey. He was a highly recruited guy. He went to Alabama; it’s hard to play at Alabama.”

In his second year at BC, O’Brien is a former Houston Texans and Penn State head coach who was the Crimson Tide offensive coordinator who recruited Lonergan.

Lonergan, whose father was a member of Penn State’s 1982 national championship team, said the familiarity helped him choose BC.

“I just knew it was a good opportunity here to come in and compete,” said Lonergan, who completed 7 of 8 passes for 35 yards in three appearances off the bench in Alabama blowouts. “This team’s going to be on a real upward trend.”

The Eagles have had trouble finding a quarterback as they trudged to six- or seven-win seasons in 10 of the last 12 years. Pittsburgh high school phenom and Notre Dame transfer Phil Jurkovec wasn’t the answer, nor was Emmett Morehead; Thomas Castellanos was more of a threat with his legs than his arm, and he left the team after O’Brien benched him last November.

James, a transfer from Florida International, started the last four games of the 2024 season and threw for 984 yards, four touchdowns and one interception while leading the Eagles to a 2-2 record.

But Lonergan won the quarterback competition in camp.

“Grayson’s a great dude, we’ve gotten along since I got here. We’ve pushed each other a ton on and off the field, and it’s been really good getting to know him,” Lonergan said. “He told me he’s going to be there for me, and I’d be the same for him.”

‘Holy War,’ renewed

Notre Dame will visit Chestnut Hill on Nov. 1, the Fighting Irish’s first trip to BC since 2020. This season marks the 50th anniversary of the first game in the “Holy War,” which matches the only two Catholic schools in FBS.

“To me, BC-Notre Dame should be played every year,” O’Brien said.

The schools, which first met in 1975 in Foxboro Stadium and also played in the 1983 Liberty Bowl, did meet every year from 1992-2004.

BC lost the first four matchups before traveling to South Bend in 1993 to face the top-ranked Irish. Notre Dame came back from a 38-17 deficit to take the lead before David Gordon’s 41-yard field goal as time expired spoiled their undefeated season and potential national championship.

BC won six in a row from 2001-08, but the Eagles haven’t beaten the Irish since then — an eight-game losing streak that leaves Notre Dame with an overall 17-9 edge.

The schedule

The Eagles open on Aug. 30 against Fordham. They will play three 2024 playoff teams: Clemson (Oct. 11), Notre Dame (Nov. 1) and SMU (Oct. 8). BC opens ACC play with its first visit to new ACC member Stanford on Sept. 13, with California visiting Chestnut Hill on Sept. 27. It all wraps up against Syracuse on Nov. 29.

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Jimmy Golen, The Associated Press