College Football: Pitt’s Tyler Boyd to continue succcess in ACC

The Pittsburgh Panthers have become a college football recruiting hotbed for the talent inside of the state of Pennsylvania. Joining the blue and gold colors of the Panthers football team is as an honor for those who are fortunate enough to join the Pitt football program.

Some of the notable names from Pennsylvania that stayed at home to play for Pitt include Dan Marino, Mike Ditka, Curtis Martin and Tony Dorsett.

These are some of the athletes that put Pitt football on the map.

One notable player that grew up outside of Pennsylvania and inspired many children everywhere is All-Pro wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. While spending his time playing for the Pitt football program, Fitzgerald dominated and even left as an All American wide receiver, a Heisman Trophy runner up and a Biletnikoff Award winner.

One of the children that grew up watching Fitzgerald and idolized his talent is current Pitt football star, Tyler Boyd.

To most of the sports world, the 6-foot-2, 190 pound receiver Boyd was relatively unknown.

He will not be next year.

Last season as a freshman, Boyd was one of the gems on the Panthers offense. He set the tone of the offense early as he scored five touchdowns in his first three games (4 receiving, 1 rushing). The Pitt football program realized they had a star on their hands, and Boyd did not disappoint as he ravaged the Pitt record books.

Because of his outstanding freshman season, Boyd now owns the record for most receptions by a freshman in the Pitt football program with 85. Larry Fitzgerald was the previous record owner with 69 catches.

In addition, Boyd also owns the receiving yards record for a freshman with 1,174 — breaking Fitzgerald record of 1,005 in a season.

Boyd finished third in the ACC in receptions and receiving yards during his freshman year. In receiving yards he was behind Sammy Watkins (1,464) and Jamison Crowder (1,360). In receptions, Watkins had 101 and Crowder caught 108.

The most compelling part of those last stats that I find mind blowing is that Watkins and Crowder were upperclassmen and Boyd was not far behind each of them in stats.

One of the reasons why his stats were so close to theirs is because of the aggressive nature of his game. Boyd is able to use his body well and fights for the football when it is in the air. In addition, because of his excellent hand-eye coordination, he can haul in catches really well.

His acceleration is another part of his game that is really strong. Boyd’s acceleration is elite, and he’s also tremendous at changing directions because of his quickness.

Boyd would have a lot more notoriety if he played on a team that had more wins. The Panthers are a young team in the ACC and are still getting better. Last year, they shocked the NCAA when they upset Notre Dame and the ACC Coastal Champion Duke.

In the last game of the year when the Pitt Panthers went to the Little Ceasear’s Bowl against Bowling Green, Boyd once again showed out.

He tallied his fifth 100 yard receiving game and once again broke another Fitzgerald freshman record for most 100 yard receiving games as a freshman (Fitz had four 100 yard receiving games). What was more impressive was that Boyd broke a 36-year-old school record held by Gordon Jones when he amassed 173 yards receiving (Jones was had 163).

But that’s not all folks. During the bowl game, Boyd also added in a 54 yard punt return for a touchdown and registered 242 all-purpose yards and a victory against Bowling Green.

Boyd finished his freshman year by being named an All-ACC selection, as well as receiving All American selections.

As mentioned earlier, the attention for the wide receiver Boyd will start to grow larger as he starts to become the face of the Pitt football program. Entering next season Boyd is only one of five sophomores in the NCAA named to the 2015 Biletnikoff Award watch list.

With a new quarterback in place, Boyd could be even more productive. He could be used as a security blanket, and consequently will get more targets.

In order for their star players to get some well deserved notoriety, Pitt needs to get some wins. Tyler Boyd deserves it, as a player that is currently changing the landscape of the Pitt football program.