Lewis Bond putting together breakout season

Lewis Bond is having a breakout year with Boston College, as the third-year Eagle (sophomore) this season is already well past his stat totals from the past two seasons combined through just five games.

Bond has 23 catches for 350 yards and six touchdowns already, compared to the past two seasons combined of just 57 yards on six receptions (just one catch in 2021). A 72.8 PFF grade thus far is the 12th-best receiver grade in the ACC (of those snap-eligible).

"We see it every week," Jeff Hafley said of Bond. "I think he's one of the best players on our team ... We trust him, he's hard to tackle, he's really strong after the catch, and he catches everything. He's a guy you can count on and trust, and I mean, I love that kid. He does everything you ask him to do."

Bond caught a screen pass from Thomas Castellanos late in the third quarter, which he broke free for a 33-yard touchdown score that gave BC their first lead of the game at 24-21.

"Oh, I knew it was a touchdown (when he caught it)," Castellanos said with a smirk on his face.

When asked about it though, Bond praised the blocking on the screen from Joe Griffin Jr., who blocked two UVA defenders which gave Bond plenty of space to run free for 33 yards to score.

"All credit to Joe -- he took two people out on that play. Joe is somebody that is extremely talented. I gotta get on him every day about staying up on himself, and that what he can do can really help the team. So, I really credit that play to Joe a lot more than me."

Bond caught seven passes for 104 yards Saturday in the win. Both of his past two games have included 70+ yards, and he hasn't had a game with under four connections this season -- while Saturday was his first game above 100 yards. The wideout takes pride in having the strength to breach through tackles and break free for big gains at just a 5-foot-11, 190-pound frame.

"Like I said in my last media (session)," Bond said, "I don't think anybody in college football could tackle me 1-on-1. So, when I get the ball, I take a great sense of pride in having the opportunity to get the ball ... I feel like I have to break those tackles in order to stay on the field."

Bond was asked about the slow start from BC, where they went down 21-7 at halftime but stormed back for the win. That's after going down 28-0 last week early against Louisville.

"I feel like we could be such a great offense, but we just shoot ourselves in the foot too much," he said. "It's something we gotta keep working through because as you see, when we're on, we're on -- it's just we can't take that long to get on ... We gotta work on getting hot as soon as (the game starts), on our first drive ... We're a good offense and we're a good team."

Quinn Riley, Head of Content to Eagles Daily. He may be reached at eaglesdailybc@gmail.com & @QuinnRileyBB