Tajh Boyd hitting the fast lane

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Feb 11 13:28:17 GMT-04:00 2011

Audio: Tajh Boyd on the off-season (WMA Format)

CLEMSON – Tajh Boyd is living life in the fast lane now, and it’s about to get a lot faster.

Clemson’s quarterback met with the media Friday morning to talk about his off-season and the offense of new offensive coordinator Chad Morris, and Boyd said everything started picking up for him during the second half of the Meineke Car Care Bowl when he replaced starter Kyle Parker.

Now, he is trying to hang on.

“I’m just trying to find time in my schedule for everything,” Boyd said. “Class has been crazy. We start with All In drills on Monday. It’s going to start picking up more and more. Three weeks from today is the first spring practice. I definitely have to get it going, because things are going fast. This whole off-season has gone by fast so far, so I definitely need to get things moving.”

The red-shirt freshman said he has already been working out with his teammates in order to get ready for the start of spring practice.

“I throw pretty much every day, me and a few of the guys,” he said. “We’re starting to get these 7-on-7’s going, just trying to get the offense down a little bit. We’re supposed to throw today at two o’clock. We throw on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So far, it’s been pretty good. Like I said, it’s an adjustment for everybody. But I think it’s something that we can pick up pretty easily.”

Despite his reputation coming into Clemson as a pro-style passer, Boyd said he thinks he will fit into Morris’ “Smash mouth Spread” quite nicely.

“It’s definitely exciting, and he is a real high-energy guy,” he said. “I really think the tempo of this offense is going to get moving really fast. I just can’t wait to get things rolling over here. I feel like I fit pretty well. There are a lot of things that I’ve watched from the Tulsa offense. With his offense, he exploits all the players and they’re abilities. It’ll definitely be one of those types of offenses that playmakers get the ball, and then they get a chance to do something with it.”

Boyd, who said he played last season at 230 pounds, is aiming to play somewhere between 218 and 220 this season in an effort to become more of a running threat.

“I have definitely done a lot of work in the weight room,” he said. “I want to cut down a few pounds and get as mobile as I can for this offense. There is that urgency to get in shape, because Coach Morris has said that the first week [of spring practice] he expects our tongues to be dragging on the ground. I am not looking forward to that. Last year, we worked out Monday thru Thursday, but this year it is Monday thru Friday. I think we will be ready by the time spring practice comes. I’ve got to get these feet rolling.”

Two spread teams, Auburn and Oregon, played for the National Championship this past season, and Boyd said he is excited about the possibilities.

“I think, actually, it could be a perfect fit, just keeping defenses on the edge,” he said. “I’m trying to become the most versatile player that I can, to make the offense explosive. Just having that extra threat would make this offense go. As you can see from all the spread teams, like Oregon and Auburn and Texas, teams like that.”

Boyd said that he and Morris are in the beginning stages of building their relationship, but he likes what he sees.

“I know he’s coached a few guys, like Jevan Sneed and Garrett Gilbert. I got a chance to talk to [Gilbert] on the phone. He said he [Morris] was one of his favorite coaches,” he said. [Morris] and I are building a great relationship already. I’ve got to meet with him later. We got a chance to go out to eat. We really are just trying to make it the best relationship a quarterback and coach can have. Hopefully, he can trust in me and I trust in him.”

Clemson’s offense should get immediate help from some of the players that recently signed with the Tigers, and Boyd said he was watching along with the rest of the Clemson fans.

“Signing day was great. I was sitting at home, and I noticed when Tony Steward was about to commit,” he said. “They showed the high school and all the kids doing the Florida State chant. I had to go to meet up with [the team psychologist], so I had to go. I told my brother to text me, to tell me where he went, and he texted me it was Clemson. So I had a little smile on my face. I was definitely surprised by Stephone Anthony, as well. I knew he had a pretty decent time on his visit, but I didn’t know how much, because I didn’t get a chance to talk to him that much. It’s definitely going to be fun. I talked to Mike Bellamy. Mike called me yesterday. He’s definitely a character. It should be fun working with him.”

He said that having the younger, talented players in the program will make everybody better.

“It’s all about competition. Definitely competition, even with the younger quarterbacks here, the main objective of college is to compete,” he said. “You always want to stay on top of your game. You never want to get complacent. Having those guys coming in just keeps you on top of your game. If anything, it’ll just be great for the team. Some of those guys might be able to make an immediate impact.

“They’re definitely capable. We were over at Coach Swinney’s house when I was hosting the visit for Sammy. Charone [Peake] and them were all there. They were playing basketball. I was like, ‘Charone, let me see something.’ He just stood underneath the hoop, just vertical and dunked it. That’s crazy. I asked Sammy the same thing. He dunked it with two hands. Having those guys won’t be too bad out there.”