Although BC Football has been disappointing for the past decade, one area in which it has succeeded is consistently producing great NFL talent. With two weeks gone by in the season, a few alumni are off to hot starts.
Zay Flowers, the most recent Eagle drafted into the NFL, has already lived up to the hype. When the Baltimore Ravens drafted him 22nd overall this past April, they were hoping to have finally landed a star wideout to pair with 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson. So far, their hopes have been fulfilled. Flowers has 13 catches for 140 yards, which rank 10th and 20th in the league, respectively. Last Sunday, Flowers made this incredible 52 yard catch, showcasing the deep threat ability that helped him become the BC career leader in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, Matt Milano has continued right where he left off from his 2022 campaign in which he was named to the All-Pro First Team. The Buffalo Bills linebacker so far has 12 tackles, 2 interceptions, 2 passes defended, as well as 1 tackle for loss. As evidenced by these numbers, his effectiveness in both the pass and run defense is why many consider him to be among the NFL’s best off-ball linebackers.
One of the best defenders to come out of BC in the past few years has been Harold Landry III. After his 12 sack 2021 season, it looked like he was well on his way to becoming one of the best pass rushers in football. Unfortunately, Landry tore his ACL in training camp last season and did not play a snap. However, Landry is back on the field this season and has already come up huge for the Tennessee Titans. In addition to 2 QB hits and 1 tackle for loss, he had this crucial stop against the Chargers last Sunday. With LA looking to win the game late, Landry sacked Justin Herbert on 3rd down, forcing LA to settle for a game-tying field goal. The Titans went on to win the game in overtime due in no small part to Landry’s late-game heroics.
Another notable performance from the first two weeks came from defensive end Zach Allen of the Denver Broncos. After signing him to a 45 million dollar contract this offseason, the Broncos are expecting big things from Allen. Two weeks in, he has delivered. In their opener against the Raiders, Allen recorded 5 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, proving to be a force up front. The 2019 3rd round pick has really broken out in the last few seasons, recording 9.5 sacks from 2021-22.
While we all hope that BC Football is able to turn it around after their 1-3 start to the season, we can at least feel some school pride in our NFL stars, if nothing else.
