Bittersweet

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Nov 08 11:34:58 GMT-04:00 2013

CLEMSON – Tajh Boyd Tajh Boyd
RS Sr. Quarterback
#10 6-1, 225
Hampton, VA
View Full Profile sat in the front row of a team meeting at the Westzone recently, and the significance of his surroundings and place in the room gave him pause as he realized that his time at Clemson is almost at an end.

Clemson’s senior signal caller has three regular season games left in his collegiate career – two of which are at home – and a bowl game. Once that is over, he knows what happens next.

"It becomes real life after this," Boyd said earlier this week, then said why the realization is finally beginning to hit home for him.

“When you come in as a freshman, you sit in the back of the team room,” he said. “As you get older, you start to move up. The freshmen are in the back and the seniors are in the front. Again, I think it is symbolic of your journey and your life and how everything goes in life. It’s new to you and you don’t know and you are afraid somewhat. Each year, you start to grow more confident, you start to realize who you are and become your own person. At the end, you know, you are in the front row and it’s the end of the row. And then, the next step we take in life, we are in the back row again. It’s all about the progression and you have to make the most out of it.”

Boyd was a member of Clemson head coach Dabo SwinneyDabo Swinney
Head Coach
View Full Profile ’s first recruiting class – the Dandy Dozen – of which there are only seven members remaining, including Boyd, and he said the rest of this season is all about making memories with those other players.

“Right now, it’s about making memories. Just spending time with these guys is a big thing for me right now. I want to try and make the most out of it, because you never know what happens from here,” he said. “I was working out, thinking The Citadel will be the last home game, and it will probably be a noon game. Me and some of the guys might come back later that evening and sit in the stadium, just reflecting and trying to make the most of it. The next time we will be here for a game, we will be tailgating or whatever occurs.

“It goes by fast. I guess you guys are witnesses to that,” Boyd joked with the media present.

He said that he has shaken off whatever hangover effects he felt after Clemson’s loss to Florida St., and has decided to focus only on the time he has left.

"Some things in that game you wish you could have back but there's no reason to go and think about it because there's nothing you can do about it," he said. "I'm focused on the present, on the moment, just trying to enjoy this time here."

Part of that focus is on the two remaining home games, a time when playing football will still be fun and not just a job.

"It's all bittersweet for me," he said. "Looking forward to the opportunity to play at the next level. Looking forward to seeing what life presents. But at the same time, being here and being a part of something that at the moment is all you know, it's kind one of those deals where it's like, 'What happens from here?' Because you know it becomes a job. You know this is a livelihood and not just something where you're going to school. It's becoming something of a daily regimen.

"You can't take for granted the people that are in your circle. You can't take for granted the people that have been there with you through thick and thin. You've just got to make sure you appreciate those people. You understand how close it is to coming to an end."

Boyd said that he still has one goal he wants to attain – beating arch-rival South Carolina – but also knows he can’t afford to look ahead to that game.

"Obviously the one thing everybody wants to accomplish here that we haven't done is you've got to beat South Carolina," he said. "I think everybody knows that in the back of their minds. But at the same time, it'll get here when it gets here. So we've just got to make the most out of what we can right now."