Boyd: "I am not afraid of anybody"

Boyd waves to the media Sunday afternoon in Greensboro

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Jul 21 16:22:37 GMT-04:00 2013

GREENSBORO, NC – Tajh Boyd Tajh Boyd
RS Sr. Quarterback
#10 6-1, 225
Hampton, VA
View Full Profile drew the biggest crowd of reporters at the ACC Kickoff in Greensboro Sunday afternoon, and the first question he fielded was about South Carolina defensive end Jadaveon Clowney and Clowney’s comment to the SEC media last week that quarterbacks like Boyd were scared of him.

Boyd was quick to point that there is a lot of smack talk in college football, and that he isn’t afraid of anyone, including Clowney.

“I’m not afraid of anybody. I never have been,” Boyd said to the media. “It’s not in my nature. I’m a competitive guy and I’m going to compete against whoever wants to compete.”

Boyd said he wasn’t surprised that Clowney’s quotes drew as much attention as they did, but that Georgia and not South Carolina is his area of focus.

“Honestly, there is a lot of talk that goes on in college football, on and off the field,” Boyd said. “This is one of the more highly publicized things. That’s not even in my focus or on my radar right now. I think that will take care of itself when we go down there and play in November. Right now, I’m worried about getting ready for this summer and for this upcoming season.”

He was asked if he was surprised at the comments, and he said that while he wasn’t surprised, it wasn’t the type of thing that he would do.

“Surprised? Not necessarily. That’s just the nature of the game,” he said. “It’s not something that I probably would do. It just is what it is and it will work itself out. It will all take care of itself in due time, but right now we have a lot of things that we have to focus on in our program and a lot of things we need to accomplish.”

Boyd did say, however, that Clemson players have taken notice of the comments and will remember them when November rolls around.

“It adds to it. There’s always talking on the field, but this came off the field. It will just be something else when we play those guys,” he said. “He is a really good player. I respect his game and I look forward to playing them down at their place. We haven’t been able to get it done against them, but we have a lot of things to get done before we go down there.”

Boyd said he felt like he needed to take the more “mature” route in the situation.

“It’s just one of those things that just happens. Obviously, I feel like I’m mature in the situation,” he said. “It’s one of those deals that you’re going to have comments and talking on the field, off the field. It’s all about how you respond from it, honestly. Those are things that I’m not really focused on at the moment. We’ll see those guys in November, but in the meantime we’ve got a lot of things that we need to work on and accomplish as a team before we reach that step so for me this season is about going out here and enjoying every moment possible and just trying to embrace the opportunities.”

Boyd said he didn’t want to take anything from Clowney as a player, and hopefully all of the talking would sort itself out in November.

“He’s a really, really good player,” Boyd said of Clowney. “He had an outstanding season and he will have an outstanding season this year. When we meet up, it will go how it goes and it’ll take care of itself. Right now, I’m just trying to get ready for this first game in the season.”