BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -Boston College defenders will arrive at Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium on Saturday as aware of Tyrod Taylor’s running ability as anything he can do throwing the ball.
That could be good news for sophomore Jarrett Boykin, whose massive hands and play-making ability have made him one of Taylor’s favorite targets for the fifth-ranked Hokies.
Boykin showed why on a play against the Duke Blue Devils. He went up for a jump ball in the end zone with a smaller cornerback defending him, got his hands on the ball at about the same time and ripped it away for his second touchdown of the season.
The catch was one of six in the game for 144 yards for Boykin, helping Taylor throw for a career-best 327 yards.
“If you’ve seen Jarrett’s hands, then you wouldn’t be worried,” Taylor said.
ave given Boykins’ hands some of the most nicknames on the team. Meat Hands. Meat Hooks. Boat Oars.
They are also why he goes through pairs of 3x-sized receivers gloves at a great rate, needing a new pair each time he pulls them on and his girthy fingers shred the seams.
More than his hands, though, 6-foot-2 Boykin wants to be noticed for his play. He patterns his game after that of NFL standout Terrell Owens, and delights in using his size to great advantage.
“I like jump ball situations,” he said. “When I go up and get it, everything in the air, I try to make the catch and make it mine. Those situations are what I love best because it can show the leaping ability and strength to take the ball away from the (defensive back).”
So far, he leads the Hokies (4-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) with 16 catches for 286 yards, numbers he’s hoping to boost significantly against the upstart Eagles (4-1, 2-1).
Taylor and the Hokies may well need some of Boykin’s physicality against B.C., which seems primed to keep Taylor from tucking the ball and running when they play on Saturday.
“He wants to beat you with his feet and we can’t let that happen,” Eagles defensive end Jim Ramella said. “… That’s when he makes the huge plays that he makes.”
he has in his receivers.
“He trusts us. We trust him,” Boykin said. “He can make great passes and we put it on ourselves that wherever he puts it up, we go up and make a play and catch the ball.”
That didn’t show up much in the Hokies first three games, at least not until a great pump fake by Taylor freed Danny Coale for an 81-yard catch and run against Nebraska in the closing minutes with Tech trailing. That led to Taylor’s 9-second scramble and 11-yard game-winning touchdown pass to a sliding Dyrell Roberts three plays later in the Hokies’ 16-15 victory.
Against Miami, Taylor ran enough to keep the secondary honest, then found Boykin with a step in one-on-one coverage for a 48-yard scoring play down the middle of the field.
Taylor didn’t run against Duke, and didn’t need to with receivers like Boykin and Coale making big plays. Coale caught Taylor’s first touchdown pass in the game, a 36-yarder.
Connections like that have taken the heat off an offense that was being derided earlier in the season for being unimaginative. They also are making it more difficult for teams to forget about the passing threat and key on stopping the running game the Hokies relish.
It is just what the team envisioned during summer workouts, tailback Josh Oglesby said.
“It feels really good just knowing that what we worked for all summer is starting to pay off and everyone’s just clicking,” he said, “all the way from us to the coaches.”
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