Boston College‘s offensive line, besieged with injuries all year, will be without two more starters at No. 13 Wake Forest on Saturday.
Sources told ESPN that Eagles left guard Finn Dirstine will miss the remainder of the season, as he is expected to have surgery on his injured shoulder in the near future.
Boston College starting center Drew Kendall will be out this week at Wake Forest with a broken wrist, sources said. Kendall broke his left wrist against Clemson on Oct. 8, had surgery on it last week and is likely to return this season, although a timetable remains unknown. The injury is to his non-snapping wrist, which should help his return timeline.
Kendall, a redshirt freshman, had been the only lineman to start every game at the same position for Boston College this year. Only one player projected as a starter heading into the season, left tackle Ozzy Trapilo, will play at his slated position from the preseason on Saturday.
Dirstine would be the third Eagles lineman projected as a starter this summer to undergo season-ending surgery. All-ACC guard Christian Mahogany tore his right ACL during the summer, and right tackle Kevin Cline tore an ACL in September.
A fifth-year senior, Dirstine had started Boston College’s first four games this season before missing the past two with the shoulder injury.
Against Wake Forest on Saturday, Boston College will start two converted defensive linemen on the interior — center Jackson Ness and right guard Dwayne Allick — along with a former preferred walk-on, Nick Thomas, at left guard. It will mark Ness’ first career start at center.
Jack Conley, who started the season at guard, will continue to start at right tackle in place of Cline.
Kendall is the son of former Boston College star and NFL first-round pick Pete Kendall. Drew Kendall, ranked in the ESPN 300 for the class of 2021, was one of the Eagles’ biggest recruits since the arrival of third-year coach Jeff Hafley, as Boston College beat out Stanford, Michigan and Penn State for Kendall.
He had played well this season amid all the offensive line tumult around him, as Boston College wasn’t able to start the same offensive line in consecutive weeks until the Clemson game. That streak has ended.
