Big time football worked out for Trojans’ Boyd

TROY — Travis Boyd was at a Super Bowl party in 2005 when he got a surprise call from Troy head coach Larry Blakeney.

Boyd, who played quarterback for Brewer High School in North Alabama, had interest from smaller schools but didn’t want to go that route.

“I was completely content to go to Auburn and be an engineer,” Boyd said. “I sent a tape here, and I guess somebody liked it.”

Troy coaches liked the 6-foot-4, 192-pound quarterback and offered him a preferred walk-on position. Coaches also wanted another quarterback from MacClenny, Fla., named Bear Woods to come walk on.

“That was just a means to get here, then I’d just find my way to get on the field,” Boyd said.

Woods became an all-conference linebacker. Boyd moved to tight end and became a three-year starter. He caught two passes for 21 yards in a 42-33 win at FIU last week. Troy (4-2, 3-0 Sun Belt) hosts North Texas (1-5, 0-3) Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

“I think I stayed about two days longer (at quarterback) than Bear at the position,” Boyd said. “He might have been there 15 minutes. He claims he’s got a cannon, but I’m not sure that’s the case.”

Boyd earned a scholarship after two years and leads a tight end trio of him, junior Donnie Crosby and sophomore Matt Stidham. Last year, Stidham caught more passes (two to one) than Boyd, though Boyd played a lot more.

“That was a running joke,” Boyd said. “I just like to see one of us catch the ball, whether it’s Donnie, me or Stidham.  When we have balls thrown our way, we appreciate it, but at the same time, we know what we’re in there to do.”

The two catches Saturday were Boyd’s first two of the season. He did catch a touchdown pass his sophomore year at UL-Lafayette. He’s not 192 pounds any more — now he’s 248, but the extra weight has added to his game.

“He ran better in 2007,” offensive coordinator Neal Brown said. “The extra weight has definitely helped him in the run game. He doesn’t get pushed around as much as he used to.”

Boyd gained plenty of weight this summer working as a construction estimator at Williams & Rowe in Jacksonville, Fla.

“I’ve never been to a place to where you get to eat at Longhorn’s for lunch every day,” Boyd said. “I was eating good, and I was enjoying it.”

He weighed in at Woods’ family’s house in nearby MacClenny and hit 260, Woods said, but “then he took his shoes off.”

“They kept telling me I’m going to (offensive) tackle,” Boyd said. “That has been the joke around here. I know at one point I got to 258. They said if you see 260, you’re going to tackle.”

There were no intentions for Boyd to move to tackle — supposedly.

“It was a joke. I assure you,” he said. “If you see me pass block, it’s not a strong point by any means. I would hope it was a joke.”

Boyd will graduate in December with a degree in mathematics and look for a real-world job after realizing his dream of playing Division I-A football.

“I really wanted a chance to go play Division I and if I didn’t get that chance, I was OK with it,” Boyd said. “But I got the chance, and it’s really worked out great.”