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Boston College Football 2014: Nick Lifka, DL

By Joe Micik

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Junior defensive lineman Nick Lifka is a position-switcher who could find himself in a big spot in 2014 for the Boston College Eagles.

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Lifka’s journey to the school he calls home today began prior to 2011, when he was a standout linebacker at Naperville North High School. As both a junior and senior, Nick Lifka was an all-state player, and

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named him the Illinois Defensive Player of the Year for his senior season in 2010. 168 tackles will typically help contribute to that.

Being one of the best players on your team usually also helps a player get noticed by Division I programs, and this former three-star recruit picked up offers from Duke, Indiana, Iowa State, LSU, and Mississippi State, amongst others. Yet, it was the one from Boston College that was taken.

2011 saw Lifka redshirting, with him getting his first college football on-field action in 2012. He made his way into four games at linebacker under Frank Spaziani, but when Steve Addazio came to town, Lifka’s role on the team changed. In 2013, Lifka was converted to a defensive lineman, making his way into games as the left defensive end.

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Last season, Boston College records Lifka as having appeared in eight games last year, having the contest of his career to date at New Mexico State on November 9, posting four tackles.

The numbers for Lifka have not been flashy, yet, but that could change in 2014. Will it?

Nick Lifka #48: Fast Facts

  • Position: Defensive end (former linebacker)
  • Hometown: Naperville, Illinois
  • High School: Naperville North High School
  • Measurements: 6-foot-2, 272 pounds
  • Class year at 2014 opener: Redshirt junior
  • BC games played: 12

Nick Lifka #48: 2013 Season

  • Backup left defensive end behind Kaleb Ramsey
  • Games played: 8
  • Cumulative statistics: 6 tackles, 0.5 TFL
  • Appeared on Spring 2014 roster

Everyone and their cousin, assuming said cousin knows something about Boston College football, knows that the defensive line is shaping up to be an all-hands-on-deck sort of thing in 2014. With the loss of all four starters heading into this season, that does tend to happen.

While this may not be good fortune for the Eagles as a whole in the short term, this could prove to be good fortune for Nick Lifka. The chances of him getting increased playing time instantly jump. There will probably be a position battle here, and if nothing else, Lifka will get his shot. What he does with it is up to him.

Expect to see at least a modest uptick in the number of snaps he plays in 2014.

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