Jeff Halfley has spent time on the staff with Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano both in the college ranks and the NFL. It gives the Boston College head coach a unique perspective on his opponent and their rebuilding project ahead of his team hosting Rutgers this Saturday in the season opener for both teams.
For Hafley, now in his third season at Boston College, there is the belief that a 6-6 record a season ago will be a building block for the program as a whole. In the return of Schiano, also in his third year back with Rutgers, there is a similar hope to build on a Gator Bowl appearance a year ago.
Rutgers, in terms of rebuilding projects, was in a much deeper hole than Boston College was three years ago. The Scarlet Knights, simply put, had some of the worst talent of any Power Five program.
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For Hafley, who spent time on staff at Rutgers under Schiano and then followed him to the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it is clear that Rutgers is building and will be improved from their 5-8 record a season ago.
“You know, I think I’ll see an improved team,” Hafley said on BC Sports Today.
“They brought in a lot of transfers, just about the whole offensive line. I think they brought in several wide receivers, so they bolstered up their offensive firepower.
“Not really sure who’s gonna play quarterback. It’s kind of been a three-headed monster looks like in their camp. I think we have a pretty good feel of maybe one or two who we think it will be, but we’ll have to be prepared for that. And then defensively, (the same thing), they have a lot of new players.”
Hafley’s understanding of Schiano (and vice-versa) certainly adds another level of intrigue to this match-up. For one season, in 2011, Hafley was the defensive backs coach at Rutgers and he helped develop players such as Duron Harmon and Logan Ryan.
Also making this an interesting game is the fact that this is a bit of a rivalry dating back to the old Big East days. Not a heated rivalry mind you (and one that is certainly lopsided in the direction of Boston College, but there is some history between the two programs).
It is also a game that has big implications for both schools when it comes to recruiting. Boston College and Rutgers overlap a lot when it comes to geographical recruiting, in particular at the parochials in north Jersey.
Boston College has a solid 2023 recruiting class, ranked No. 43 in the nation by 247Sports.
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As for the actual game planning involved, Hafley understands the DNA of what this Schiano-coached team and rebuild will look like. He sees the program trending in the right direction.
“You know, I know coach Schiano was a defensive guy, a special teams guy. They’re going to play hard,” Hafley said.
“They’re going to be aggressive. They’ll be fundamentally sound they’ll attack the football, they’ll be great special teams. He’s got it (to) where it’s going to climb.”
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