Hokies in good hands with Boykin

By Nathan Warters

Published: October 2, 2008

BLACKSBURG — A description of Virginia Tech freshman wide receiver Jarrett Boykin must begin with his hands.

Those long fingers and meaty palms engulf a football like a pillow swallows up a sleepy head.

“It’s just tremendous how big his hands are. I’m like, ‘Boy, what did your momma feed you?,’” said Hokies freshman cornerback Eddie Whitley, who hails from the same hometown, Matthews, N.C., as Boykin. “Those are something that you would see on a 7-footer.”

Boykin was blessed with more than just a good set of mitts, though. He has the size — he’s 6-foot-2 and weighs 205 pounds — strength and athletic ability to go up and make the most difficult of catches.

He has quickly gained the confidence of sophomore quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who hooked up with Boykin twice for big gains in Tech’s 35-30 win at Nebraska Saturday.

Boykin caught passes of 34 yards and 24 yards during the same second-quarter scoring drive.

“He’s made some crazy catches in practice,” Taylor said. “He reminds me of Josh Morgan from last year the way he catches the ball in practice. He was over there on the sideline (Saturday) and he said, ‘Throw it up there and I’ll make the play.’”

Boykin is currently the Hokies’ No. 3 option at wide receiver, behind starters Danny Coale and Dyrell Roberts, but that could change very soon.

He had one catch for three yards in Tech’s first three games. Since then, he’s been Taylor’s second favorite receiver with four catches for 91 yards.

“He gets a little bit better all the time,” Tech coach Frank Beamer said.

Boykin still makes freshman mistakes, though, which is a problem for most of the Hokies’ young receiving corps.

One play after snagging a 24-yard pass to give Tech a first down at the Nebraska 7-yard line Saturday, Boykin lined up off the line of scrimmage and was called for a five-yard illegal formation penalty.

Tech gained two yards on its next three plays and had to settle for a 27-yard Dustin Keys field goal.

“That’s just a freshman making freshman mistakes, and that’s going to happen,” Hokies wide receivers coach Kevin Sherman said.

Boykin has come a long way in a short period of time. He said he is getting better at running routes and reading coverages. And he’s playing faster.

It’s common for young players to over-think in game situations and let their minds slow them down.

Boykin had to get past that stage before he could become a reliable target for the Hokies.

“In practice, I started making some plays that were catching coaches’ eyes with some catches and stuff,” Boykin said. “I just kept working hard and pushing myself, and eventually I came to where I am.”

Now that he is making fewer mental mistakes, he can go out and use his physical attributes — like those big hands — to make plays.

“I’ve never seen somebody’s hands that big,” Tech running back Kenny Lewis said. “Him and (running back) Darren Evans, both of their hands, they bust their gloves from the seams. I don’t know why they do it. They have to go to Lester (Karlin, Tech’s equipment manager) and get new gloves once a week or something like that.”

Boykin said he’s always had larger hands than his peers. He could palm a basketball when he was in middle school.

Handshakes are often followed by astonished looks, he said.

“Feels like I’m holding my dad’s hands,” Lewis said.