Tajh Khiry Boyd (born September 25, 1990) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

who currently is an offensive assistant at Clemson. He was drafted by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

in the sixth round of the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Clemson, where he was the starting quarterback from 2011 to 2013.

Early years

Boyd attended

Phoebus High School Phoebus High School is a public high school in Hampton, Virginia. Named after the neighborhood and former town of Phoebus, Virginia, Phoebus, it is the newest of the four high schools in Hampton City Schools. It is considered unique for the IDEA ...

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

. As a starter on the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team, he was 43–2 winning two state championships in that tenure. He was awarded the

Pete Dawkins Trophy The All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is played between all-star teams representing the eastern and western United S ...

for being the co-MVP of the 2009

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is played between all-star teams representing the eastern and western United S ...

after completing 7-of-9 passes for 179 yards and three

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

College career

After being

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

for the 2009 season, Boyd spent the 2010 season as the backup quarterback to

Kyle Parker Kyle James Parker (born September 30, 1989) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. Parker was highly regarded during his prep career as both a baseball and football player and chose to attend Clemson University to play both ...

. He finished the season completing 33-of-63 passes for 329 yards with four

and three

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

. Boyd took over as the starter in the 2011 season. Boyd led the Tigers to a 10–4 record, winning the ACC Championship and setting up a game against

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

in the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

. Although the Tigers lost the Orange Bowl in record fashion, 70–33, Boyd had a highly successful year. He finished the year completing 298-of-499 passes for 3,828 yards and 33 passing touchdowns. He also ran for 218 yards and five touchdowns. He was also mentioned as a possible 2012 Heisman Trophy candidate. During his second year as a starter in the 2012 season, Boyd helped lead the Tigers to an 11–2 record, completing 287-of-427 passes for 3,896 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. On November 17, 2012 in a game against

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

, he broke the ACC record for most touchdowns in a game. Boyd threw five touchdown passes and ran for three more, collecting eight total touchdowns and racking up 529 all-purpose yards. After the season, he was named the ACC Player of the Year and AFCA 1st team All-American. In the

2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl The 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl was a college football bowl game held on December 31, 2012, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. With sponsorship from Chick-fil-A, it was the 45th edition of the game known throughout most of its history as the Peach ...

game against the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a ...

, Boyd completed 36 of 50 pass attempts for 346 yards and two passing touchdowns as well as a rushing touchdown and was named the game's MVP. As a senior in 2013, the Tigers went 11–2, with Boyd completing 283-of-413 passes for 3,851 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. On November 14, 2013 Boyd set the ACC career passing touchdowns record. In his final collegiate game against the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

in the 2014 Orange Bowl, Boyd helped lead the Tigers to a 40–35 victory, completing 31-of-40 passes for 378 yards and five passing touchdowns. He also had 127 rushing yards and a touchdown. His performance set an Orange Bowl record for total yards in a game. Boyd finished his career with school records for passing yards with 11,904 and passing touchdowns with 107. He is currently the all-time leader in both of those categories.

Professional career

New York Jets

Boyd was selected in the sixth round with the 213th overall pick of the

by the

. Boyd was released by the team on August 30, 2014. Boyd played in the

Fall Experimental Football League The Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) was a professional football minor league that played two seasons in 2014 and 2015. This league's stated goal was to become a professional feeder-system for the National Football League (NFL). The lea ...

with the

Boston Brawlers The Boston Brawlers were a professional American football team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The team was based at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, Massachusetts as the Boston Brawlers, and were a charter member of the Fall Experimental Football L ...

Pittsburgh Steelers

Boyd signed a one-year deal with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

on March 6, 2015, and was released by the team on August 18, 2015.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Boyd signed a contract on September 12, 2015 to join the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

of the CFL. He was released by the team on October 16, 2015.

Montreal Alouettes

Boyd signed a contract on November 7, 2015 with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

of the CFL. He was released by the team on June 19, 2016.

Coaching career

Clemson

On July 19, 2021, Boyd announced in an interview that he would return to Clemson as an assistant coach working with the offense.

Personal life

Boyd is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. His cousin, Darrell Roseman, was an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

. On May 2, 2016, Boyd took a coaching position in the 100yds Football Academy. Located in Greenville,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, the academy was part of 22 ft, a basketball academy that opened in 2013. Boyd, and former Clemson Tiger running back Greg Hood, worked as a mentor and instructor in the football program. Both programs were later closed by 2018 after founder Michael Frawson pleaded guilty to fraud. On the evening of July 14, 2016, Boyd allegedly shoved a doorman at a bar in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...

due to being told that the bar was at full capacity. On September 6, 2016, Boyd was charged with

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

and

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

, and turned himself in to Greenville police. On September 21, 2016, Boyd appeared in court and the judge agreed to a resolution where Boyd would pay $5,000 restitution to the doorman and complete 40 hours of community service. Subsequently, the charges were dropped. Boyd worked in real estate before starting his coaching career.

References

External links

Clemson Tigers bioNew York Jets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Tajh 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Hampton, Virginia African-American players of American football Players of American football from Virginia American football quarterbacks Clemson Tigers football players New York Jets players Blacktips (FXFL) players Boston Brawlers players American players of Canadian football Canadian football quarterbacks Pittsburgh Steelers players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Montreal Alouettes players 21st-century African-American sportspeople