Boston College wide receiver Ryan O’Keefe had a short hospital stay for what at first appeared to be a long-term injury.
BC coach Jeff Hafley delivered the good news about O’Keefe during his weekly press briefing on Monday morning at the Yawkey Center. O’Keefe suffered an immobilizing neck injury at 14:07 of the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 27-24 victory over Virginia at Alumni Stadium.
O’Keefe was awaiting a wide receiver screen pass on the BC 33 when he was violently set upon by Cavaliers’ cornerback Malcolm Greene. Both players required medical attention, but O’Keefe was taken from the field on a stretcher and transported to Mass. General Hospital.
“Ryan is doing well and he is on the road to recovery,” said Hafley. “It was really good to see him Sunday, it was good to have him around his teammates and he came to practice but obviously didn’t practice.
“The guys were really excited to see him and I was excited to see him. I thought our doctors and our trainers deserve a lot of credit for doing everything on the field and that was a scarry moment. But he is doing really good right now and on the road to recovery and that is the best news we could ever have.”
Hafley had no timetable on when the 5-10, 174-pound, graduate transfer from Central Florida can resume practice, but he’s been ruled out for Saturday’s clash with Army at West Point. BC enters the bye week after the Army game and resumes ACC play at Georgia Tech on Oct. 21. In his five starts, O’Keefe has 23 receptions for 235 yards and a touchdown.
“We have to clear some things but I know he wants to get back out there,” said Hafley. “His safety and his health are obviously our No. 1 concern. I would be hopeful to get him back but not at the expense of him being injured.”
O’Keefe is classified on the depth chart as the F-receiver which is actually the slot and the job comes with blocking responsibilities. Hafley said all the BC split ends are interchangeable, but Hafley expects redshirt senior Dino Tomlin will be in the slot against the Black Knights of the Hudson.
“Dino can backup all positions and the F for us is the slot,” said Hafley. “Dino can definitely slip into Ryan’s spot and we can move Lewis (Bond) around and there some other young guys who might get a chance.”
The Odd Couple
In most instances on a college football team, guys that play the same positions tend to room and hang out together off the field. Those kinds of groupings come naturally but that isn’t the case with O’Keefe, who is the roommate of Eagles left guard Kyle Hergel.
O’Keefe is a downfield burner from Austin, Texas, while Hergel moves mountains in the trenches and is a Maple Leafs fan from Toronto. They do have a Lone Star connection. Hergel transferred to BC from North Texas State.
“I was pretty worried out there too and that’s my guy,” said Hergel. “I came in with him and we were like the original two transfers and we live together and we went through the whole process together.
“I got to go to the hospital and see him quick. They let me in and I wasn’t going to let him sit there alone. I made sure I was there to see my guy.”
Goodbye Virginia
The BC defense gave a clinical lesson on how to close out game against the Cavaliers late in the fourth quarter. Down 21-7 at the half, BC rallied to take its only lead on a 42-yard field goal by Liam Connor that made it 27-24 with 2:11 remaining.
The Cavaliers got the ball on the 28 yard line with 2:05 minutes remaining but managed only seven yards before turning the ball over on downs.
“The mindset for a defense is every play we’ve got to stop them and get a three and out, especially when it’s two minutes to go in the fourth quarter,” said redshirt sophomore defensive tackle George Rooks, who finished with five tackles and 1.5 of BC’s six sacks.
“That is premium time. We have to stop them and get them off the field and I think all of us as a defense answered that.”
