BY AARON BRENNER | abrenner@postandcourier.com
@Aaron_Brenner
CLEMSON — Tajh Boyd is a humble dude. (I’ve never met him. But I’ve been told this countless times by people who have, and on the limited occasions I’ve heard him speak, I believe those people.)
Tajh Boyd is not necessarily a politically correct dude. And that’s just fine.
Tajh Boyd won’t walk up to you and say, “Hi, I’m the best quarterback in college football. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” But if you ask Tajh Boyd if he thinks he’s the best quarterback in college football – which Ryan Russillo did Tuesday on ESPN Radio – Boyd’s not shy to agree.
So that’s cool and all. Boyd’s got limitless potential this fall, and so does his team.
Clemson AD Dan Radakovich joins NCAA advisory council
If you just can’t get enough Tajh during the dead days of June when college football is as quiet as it ever gets … here are four more snippets Boyd shared yesterday on the radio.
On what advice he’d give Heisman winner Johnny Manziel about living his life in the limelight:
“For me, it’s all about staying humble and continuing to work. I know a lot of guys are the social type. I just try to be a good example for those guys. It’s never to a point where I allow myself to send an emotional tweet or be an emotional media type. He’s just got to kind ignore some of the stuff he’s getting from people.”
On how he handles a social media presence maturely and responsibly:
“It’s extremely difficult sometimes. Today, this is an opinionated country. You want to be able to speak yours as well. But when you’re in a position that you’re in, it comes with some things, and you can’t forget it. You’re almost an exception, being an athlete. You’ve got to hold yourself to that. As much as you want to say that you’re no different as anybody else, at the end of the day, you really are. And you’re given a platform, so any platform, you’ve got to take advantage of it, and use it as positive reinforcement. That’s how you’ve got to look at it.”
On the outlook for Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins, looking to bounce back from a sophomore slump:
“Honestly, this has been the best summer I’ve seen him have so far. He’s been working as tirelessly as I’ve ever seen him work. And he knows how important he is to this program. Of course, there are going to be guys that have to step up for the team as well. But he’s handling himself like a veteran. He’s handled the controversy as well. He’s a crucial part to what we want to do and where we want to go. It’s going to take everybody to reach the goals we want to reach.”
On his thoughts about the Howard’s Rock vandalism:
“The thing that shocked me is we found out a few days ago, and it happened earlier in the month. I feel like maybe there should have been a little more attention to it. But it’s an unfortunate situation. We don’t really know who did it, so we can’t accuse anybody of it. Honestly, I think it’s one of the best traditions in college football. So it’s unfortunate that it happened, but we’ve got to control what we can and take it from there.”
