Summer scouting notes: O'Brien leads BC, Memphis is for real in 2024

In our second edition of the Osceola's summer scouting reports, we take a look at Florida State's second and third opponents in 2024, Boston College and Memphis, both of whom the Seminoles will host at home.

Boston College - Monday, Sept. 2 at Florida State (7:30 p.m.)

Head Coach: Bill O'Brien

Head Coach Record at BC: First Season

Head Coach Record in College Football: 15-9 (two seasons at Penn State)

Boston College 2023 Season Record: 7-6

Over/Under for 2024 per Vegas Insider: 4.5 wins

Preseason Prediction/Rankings: Athlon's-ACC 12th/Nationally 57th, Lindy's-ACC 13th, Nationally 63rd

ESPN BET preseason odds for FSU vs. Boston College: Florida State (-22), Over/Under 51

Bill O'Brien makes his return to college football as BC's head coach after replacing Jeff Hafley, who left this offseason to become the defensive coordinator for the NFL's Green Bay Packers. This is O'Brien's second stint as a head coach. He replaced Penn State's Joe Paterno, leading the Nittany Lions to a 15-9 record over two seasons (2012-13). O'Brien spent last season as the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. He was the offensive coordinator at Alabama for two seasons (2021-22), so he does have some experience in college football during the NIL/Portal era.

The Eagles return their two biggest threats from a season ago in quarterback Thomas Castellanos and running back Kye Robichaux. Castellanos was one of the best playmakers in the ACC last season and had his breakout game in a close loss to FSU last year. He will be the second legitimate dual-threat QB the Seminoles will have faced to open the 2024 season. Last year Castellanos ran for 1,289 yards on 215 carries. He also threw for 2,248 yards, 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while completing 57 percent of his passes.

One of the biggest questions entering the season is just how O'Brien will use Castellanos in his offense, which has generally been directed by a true drop back prospect. Last season BC finished the year ranked 68th in total offense despite the emergence of Castellanos and college football's 13th-best rushing attack.

Robichaux led BC with 791 yards on 163 carries. He will be backed up and split time with former FSU and Kansas State running back Treshaun Ward. The Eagles also return three starting offensive linemen from a year ago and three of their top six pass catchers from a year ago, including leading receiver Lewis Bond (52 catches, 646 yards, & TDs).

The BC defense will be based out of 4-3 front this season under new coordinator Tim Lewis, who prefers an attacking style of defense. Last year's squad ranked 70th in the nation in total defense but they do return seven starters. Among them are LB Kam Arnold, who was third on the team in tackles in 2023, and DE Donovan Ezeiruaku, who was fourth on the team in tackles and led the team in sacks and TFLs.

Turner was ranked as the 183rd-best prospect in the portal this off-season and is expected to battle for a starting job at cornerback. Turner combined to make just three tackles over his first two seasons with the Buckeyes. He played just 27 snaps last season.

Ward will provide a change of pace from Robichaux in the BC backfield after stints at FSU and Kansas State. He was ranked as the 311th-best player available in the portal this off-season. Ward has run for over 500 yards in each of the last three seasons, two at FSU and one at Kansas State. Last season he ran for a career-high 643 yards on 124 carries, scoring 5 TDs for the Wildcats.

Bradley was brought in to help BC finds some success in the deep passing game. He caught 87 passes for 1,175 yards and 10 TDs over the last two seasons at Texas Tech.

Tallahassee (Fla.) Lincoln product Kamari Morales will finish his college career at BC after transferring from North Carolina. Morales' best season with the Tar Heels came two years ago, when he caught 29 passes for 358 yards with four touchdowns.

Memphis - Saturday, Sept. 14 at Florida State

Coach: Ryan Silverfield

Record at Memphis: 31-19 (Four-plus seasons)

Memphis 2023 Season Record: 10-3

Over/Under for 2024 per Vegas Insider: 9.5 wins

Preseason Prediction/Rankings: Athlon's-AAC 1st/Nationally 37th, Lindy's-AAC 1st, Nationally 36th

ESPN BET preseason odds for FSU: No Line

Silverfield took over for Mike Norvell as Memphis' head coach when Norvell took the head job at Florida State. The former offensive line coach entered last season with some pressure on him after going a combined 13-12 over the course of the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He responded with a 10-3 record and a fourth-place finish in the AAC in 2023. Heading into 2024, Silverfield may put his best team on the field in his fifth season at Memphis, with multiple media outlets picking the Tigers as the preseason favorite to win the AAC this year.

The Tigers return seven starters from last year's offense that ranked 6th in the country in scoring and 14th in total offense. Senior quarterback Seth Henigan is back and coming off a 2023 season where he threw for 3,380 yards, 32 touchdowns and 9 interceptions while completing 67 percent of his passes. He also ran for 274 yards on 94 rushes last year.

With all three starting wide receivers (Roc Taylor, Koby Drake and Demeer Blankumsee) and starting tight end Anthony Landphere back this season, the Memphis passing attack is expected to pick right back up where it left off last season. Those four players combined to haul in 184 passes last season for 2,596 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. Taylor and Blankumsee hauled in over 50 receptions apiece, and each had over 900 yards receiving.

They do have to replace three of their starting offensive linemen for last year's squad. The team's second leading rusher from last season is back in the form of Sutton Smith, who ran for 305 yards on 63 carries.

Silverfield brought in nine offensive players via the transfer portal. That includes running back Mario Henderson (South Carolina) and offensive lineman Trent Holler (Marshall), who both rank inside the top 500 transfers this offseason by Rivals.

Defensively, the Tigers return just four starters from last season from a defense that was porous at best. Memphis ranked 111th in total defense in 2023 and 121st in pass defense. The good news for Memphis is last year's leading tackler, outside linebacker Chandler Martin, is back and so is the team's fifth leading tackler, safety Greg Rubin.

To try to improve their defense moving into this season, Silverfield and the Tigers were very active in the transfer portal and brought in 16 players on the defensive side of the ball, including linebacker Elijah Herring from Tennessee, linebacker Javante Mackey from Arkansas State and defensive lineman Reggie Grimes from Oklahoma, all of whom rank among the top 500 players to enter the portal this past offseason.

Anderson ran for 707 yards on three touchdowns on 143 carries in his only season at South Carolina after transferring from nearby Newberry College, where he ran for 3,301 over four seasons. He was a first-team FCS All-American in 2022 and a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy (the FCS version of the Heisman Trophy).

Holler is expected to start at one of the guard spots for Memphis this season. He played in 29 games over three seasons for Marshall where he made five starts.

Nichols is expected to be one of the Tigers' starting offensive tackles. He played in 27 games for South Carolina dating to the 2019 season, including 18 starts. Nichols missed last season due to injury.

Herring should be a Day 1 starter for the Tigers after starting 11 ballgames for the Volunteers last season. He led Tennessee with 76 tackles last year.

Mackey is expected to provide instant help on the second level of the Memphis defense after finishing second on the team at Arkansas State, where he recorded 84 tackles in 2023.

Grimes was a starter at Oklahoma in 2022 but played in just four games last season for the Sooners due to injury. He tied for the team lead in sacks in 2022. Grimes played in 37 games for Oklahoma dating to the 2020 season.

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