Aaron Boyd is Here to Stay

by:Nick Roush09/09/12

@RoushKSR

[caption id="attachment_117878" align="alignnone" width="448"] (h/t UK Athletics)[/caption] Entering his Senior season of football at Kentucky, the Henry Clay alum had never hit his stride at UK. The little brother of former QB Shane Boyd, Aaron a top 40 WR in high school that came to UK with high expectations. In Boyd's first 3 seasons, Aaron had 6 catches for 51 yards and ZERO Touchdowns, proving his naysayers right when they said he was too slow to play in the SEC. Boyd never seemed to have his head on straight, until now. After catching 3 passes against Louisville, Boyd earned his 1st career start at WR since his Freshman season. Boyd made the most of it by turning it into his coming out party, grabbing 11 balls for 100 yards and a Touchdown; that's 2 more catches and 13 more yards than he had IN HIS ENTIRE CAREER. He is the first WR to catch more than 10 passes since Roark pulled off the feat in the blackout game against Mississippi State last year. Even a crazier stat? Oh Boyd! was trending on twitter. That's about as insane as Jorts becoming an NBA player. His family was in attendance, with Big Brother Shane flying in to watch his brother get the start. "He's always been a big inspiration to me, he's my big brother. I talk to him before every game and after every practice. He tells me to keep focused and what I have to do to be ready." Boyd has matured and become a more physical receiver. Standing at 6'4, and not gifted with the speed of guys like Demarco Robinson, Boyd had to learn how to use his bigger body. You can credit some of that to new WR Coach Pat Washington, with the rest happening on the practice field where Aaron decided to step up and strap it on.
Coach Phillips, "The thing that a big guy that doesn't run as well as the other guys, you have to be a physical guy.  I'm talking about you have to be physical when someone comes up in your face to try to press you, and I think Aaron has bought into that."
Not only did he use his bigger body to make catches, but he also blocked well. A good blocking receiver can easily be under-appreciated, until they make a block that sets up a big play. After UK safetied Kent State, the Cats had some momentum with the ball close to midfield. Jonathan George took a handoff to the short side of the field, bounced outside to find a defender that had a split second to react until Boyd gave him a licking. 38 yards later George was in the end zone. "I did whatever I could to play the best for my family, my team, and the fans."     And we love you too Aaron, we just hope you don't get in trouble for breaking Joker's new twitter rule.

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