For those involved with college football, National Signing Day (NSD) is one of the most anticipated days of the offseason.
For fans, it’s a day to get excited about the future of a program. For coaches, it’s the fruit of over two years of recruiting efforts. And for players, it’s the day that their hard work pays off and their dream of playing college football comes to fruition.
For Boston College football, this year’s NSD turns the page on one of the worst seasons in program history.
As expected, BC’s 2–10 record had some negative effects on the signing class—five players have decommitted from BC in the last month, including the former highest-rated commit—but head coach Bill O’Brien and staff still signed a solid group of prospects.
Twenty-three players put pen to paper on Wednesday—with one remaining committed but not planning to sign this period—and are officially part of BC’s 2026 signing class, which currently ranks 48th in the country and 13th in the ACC.
These rankings are both improvements from last year, demonstrating that O’Brien has recruiting chops even though the on-the-field product this season left fans wanting more.
The Big Fish
These five recruits are some of the highest-rated commits and were subjects of BC’s biggest recruiting battles:
Four-star Marek Jin is the No. 3 interior offensive lineman in the nation according to ESPN, and the consensus No. 1 prospect out of New Hampshire. He is also the highest-rated offensive line recruit BC has gotten since 2021. Jin should see some early action next year for an Eagles team that ranked bottom 15 in the country in sacks allowed, giving up nearly three per game.
Defensive end Mason Leak is the other 4-star of this year’s class and the Eagles’ highest-rated commit. He might not see much playing time immediately due to the youth BC currently has in their front seven, but that could always change with injuries.
Donovan Ezeiruaku played in just 10 games off the bench his freshman year, then became one of the best defensive players in BC history, so a slow start for Leak will be nothing to worry about.
Sedric Addison, out of Peachtree, Ga., is perhaps the best skill position player BC signed on offense. BC got in early on the running back’s commitment, being the first power conference school to extend an offer. It was able to hold off pressure from a host of schools, including Georgia Tech. Addison’s electric speed could be useful in designed sets next year, but with Turbo Richard set to return, Addison will likely start the season on the bench.
Safety Jordan Rodriguez’s recruitment by BC was very similar to Addison’s—BC gave him an offer early on, and he was eventually able to earn his commitment despite the best efforts of other high-level schools. With every current safety able to return to the Eagles, he will have to fight for playing time, but it would not be surprising to see him win some of those battles as a top-70 player nationally at his position.
Quarterback Femi Babalola was O’Brien’s biggest win on the recruiting trail over the summer as the commitment that BC faced the most competition for. A top-50 QB in the country, Babalola was heavily sought after by Colorado. With BC’s quarterback room as shaky as ever—especially with Dylan Lonergan entering the transfer portal—Babalola could be the QB of the future.
Hometown Heroes
For the second straight year, O’Brien signed five players from the state of Massachusetts. For BC, signing these players means more than just getting players in, as most of these players will likely be depth pieces for at least one season—it also helps to build pipelines with high school programs and coaches around the state.
BC faced the most competition for Dominic Funke, an edge from Needham, who was the only Massachusetts player to receive a Power Four offer from any school but Syracuse or BC. Funke will be joining his brother Jack on the team, bringing versatility and high-level production to the Eagles’ defensive front.
Mac Fitzgerald and 4-star Marcelino Antunes Jr. have been teammates the past few seasons at Catholic Memorial High School in West Roxbury, and will continue to play on opposite sides of the line of scrimmage as Eagles.
Fitzgerald, the son of BC’s director of football performance Craig Fitzgerald, is the highest-rated of BC’s three defensive line commits and has been committed to BC for over 18 months. Antunes is the best of three offensive tackle pledges for BC and has been committed since March 2024.
The final two in-state signees for the Eagles are Dean Ruksnaitis, an interior offensive lineman from Easthampton, and Mekhi Volcy, a linebacker from Bedford. Neither player has received an offer from a high-major program other than BC.
Late-Cycle Commits
College football recruiting is known to be fluid. Many players flip their commitments or remain undiscovered until the few weeks leading up to signing day. While BC has suffered from its share of decommits, it has also managed to secure some prospects during the latter part of the season.
Demeterius Thompson, one of those late commits, might be a diamond in the rough for the Eagles.
Thompson, an edge from Brentwood, Mo., was unrated when he flipped to BC from Southeast Missouri State in early November. In his initial ranking, which happens when a prospect is either discovered or commits to a Power Four school, Thompson was immediately given high 4-star status and is currently the third-best prospect in BC’s class. From early glances, Thompson looks to be the type of high-potential raw athlete that O’Brien has loved to develop into a consistent contributor.
The second commit BC flipped in the last few weeks is Anthony Coellner, a quarterback from Carmel, Ind. O’Brien extended an offer to Coellner, who was previously committed to Troy, right after quarterback DJ Bordeaux decommitted from BC.
Coellner is a mobile QB who rewrote his high school’s record books and is yet another skilled addition to BC’s quarterback room.
Just two days before signing day, BC landed the pledge of Cameron McGee, a defensive lineman from Grayson, Ga., which has one of the top high school football programs in the country.
McGee, who decommitted from Arkansas after it fired head coach Sam Pittman, had offers from over 25 FBS programs, including powerhouse schools such as Alabama, Georgia, and Michigan. Based solely on the schools that were interested in him, there should be a lot of optimism about the abilities McGee could bring to the Heights.
Tackle Gavin Neil is another commit whose final days of recruitment are worth discussing.
Neil has been committed to BC since June, but it was rumored that he would flip to Iowa in the waning days of the cycle. BC responded, though, and was able to retain Neil.
Fending off a Big 10 program, especially one that finished the season ranked, is not typical for BC. That may provide a preview of the effect Kenyatta Watson, the new general manager, and increased financial commitment can have.
Cobb: Final Thoughts
Especially given how poorly the 2025 season went for BC, this is a solid class of signees for the Eagles.
Of course, it will take more than a good crop of high schoolers to improve the on-field results next season. With the transfer portal officially opening in early January, though, there could be some surprise talents coming to the Heights in the spring as well.
For now, the top priority for O’Brien should be retaining the talent already on the roster—Turbo Richard, Kaelan Chudzinski, Omar Thornton, and others—while attacking the portal to add talent.
It can be a tricky wire to tightrope, but with O’Brien’s proven recruiting acumen and new financial backing from BC, there is no reason that this class of recruits should not be part of a redemption season in 2026.
