Tajh Boyd Tosses Five Touchdowns, Clemson Rolls Again
Nov 23, 2013; Clemson, SC, USA; Clemson Tigers quarterback Tajh Boyd (10) looks to pass during the second quarter against the Citadel Bulldogs at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
Remember last week I was telling you that Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd was gaining more and more steam as an NFL prospect? Well, he once again helped himself on Saturday afternoon with a five touchdown performance against The Citadel before being pulled after 28 pass attempts.
Boyd connected on 21 of those 28 passes, hitting five touchdowns and also rushing for 20 yards. The five touchdowns against The Citadel gave Boyd 12 in his last three games, all games in which Clemson has scored more than 50 points.
Obviously this wasn’t Clemson’s toughest competition, but it was a style win and for the third straight game, Boyd completed 75 percent of his passes or better. Including rushing touchdowns, Boyd has 14 total over the last three games and has only turned the ball over twice. He has had only 18 incomplete passes over that timeframe, which is something NFL scouts wanted to see from the senior.
Accuracy hasn’t been an issue for Boyd, per se, but he’s definitely taken a leap forward in terms of decision making and not taking too many sacks.
It helps that Boyd has gotten banner years out of a couple of receivers while he’s been at Clemson. Three years ago, it was true freshman Sammy Watkins, who had a breakout performance and proved to the country that he was one of the nation’s best playmakers at his position.
Last year, Watkins took a step back and it was DeAndre Hopkins, a player who went on to be a first round pick, that stole the spotlight.
This year, it’s back to Watkins, who leads the team with 71 catches for 1,086 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging over 15 yards per reception.
It’s been a great second half of the season for Boyd, who will have his biggest test in a while taking on South Carolina in the Clemson regular season finale next Saturday.