CLEMSON — Thanks to a dazzling performance on the ground and in the air against No.5 Georgia, Clemson Tigers QB Tajh Boyd vaulted himself into the conversation of Heisman Trophy candidates.
While some point to his 346-yard, two touchdown performance in a 25-24 win over LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on New Years Eve as the start of his 2013 Heisman campaign, while impressive, that game merely served as a prelude of what has many NFL scouts drooling over the 6’1 225-pound Hampton, VA native who many are calling the next Russell Wilson.
If prelude is prologue, than Boyd’s five touchdown(three passing, two running) and 270 yard passing performance in a 38-35 upset over No. 5 Georgia was a mere proverbial scratching of the surface. At home in front of a fired-up Death Valley crowd, Boyd single-handedly beguiled the fifth-ranked Bulldogs defense with his combination of speed, agility and pin-point clutch ability.
For the game, Boyd completed 18-of-30 passes for 270 yards and ran for another 42 on the ground. In beating Georgia, Boyd became the first non-SEC quarterback to beat two top-ten SEC teams back-to-back in recent memory, which is something that Heisman voters will strongly consider if they hope to invite him up to New York City.
Every Heisman candidate has his “moment” in which he is instantly vaulted into the national spotlight and conversation about their worthiness are and why they should be considered for college football’s most prestigious award. If Boyd’s virtuoso performance at home against a vaunted Georgia team many consider a legitimate BCS title contender for. If beating the likes of quarterback Aaron Murray and fellow Heisman hopeful in Bulldogs running back Todd Gurley doesn’t garner any consideration, then this writer doesn’t know what else will.
Let’s just call it what it is, his official coming out party announcing to the heavily stacked field of candidates such as Braxton Miller, Marcus Mariota, Johnny Manziel, Jadaveon Clowney, A.J. McCarron and T.J. Yeldon that he has officially arrived.
If fans weren’t hip to Boyd and the thought of the Clemson Tigers playing in Pasadena before tonight’s upset over Georgia, they surely are now.
#UGAvsCLEM #Tigers #Dawgs #UGA #SEC
Robert D. Cobb is the Founder/CEO/Senior Editor-In-Chief Of The Inscriber : Digital Magazine, for questions, comments and concerns email me at robcobb@theinscriber.com follow me on Twitter @RC_TheInscriber and follow The Inscriber : Digital Magazine on Twitter at @TheInscriber