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Boyd plans to 'establish something' in final season with Hogs

Rakeem Boyd was Arkansas' only player on the coaches' preseason All-SEC teams.
Rakeem Boyd was Arkansas' only player on the coaches' preseason All-SEC teams. (Arkansas Athletics)

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FAYETTEVILLE — During the most unusual offseason in the history of the sport, a new trend emerged in college football.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, star players across the country decided to opt out of the modified 2020 season and shift their focus to the 2021 NFL Draft.

Having returned to Arkansas for his senior year, running back Rakeem Boyd could have joined the likes of Georgia quarterback Jamie Newman, LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Oregon left tackle Penei Sewell and countless others in skipping the season, but that thought never crossed his mind.

“I couldn’t do that to my team,” Boyd said. “I owe so much to my team. I feel like this is my team. I came back to establish something, so opting out wasn’t even in the talks.”

It makes sense Boyd wants to play this season considering a major reason he decided to play his senior year was to improve his NFL Draft stock.

According to head coach Sam Pittman, scouts provided feedback to the star running back that included improving his pass blocking - which Boyd said is his top personal goal this year - and as a pass catcher out of the backfield.

The latter part of that assessment confused Boyd, who’s caught 42 passes for 325 yards and dropped only four passes, per Pro Football Focus, over the last two seasons.

“I mean, I thought I always caught the ball well,” Boyd said. “I don’t know where that came from… I’ve just got to keep going. All that other stuff, I let it come in one ear and out the other. I just try to be the best I can be for my team.”

Arkansas fans would probably like to see Boyd on the field more, too. Injuries limited him to only 123 carries in 2018 and, despite staying healthy, he took just 184 handoffs last season.

That was an average of 15.3 carries per game and Boyd has had 20 or more carries just three times in 24 career games. His focus is not getting the ball more, though. Instead, he’d like to win more games after going 4-20 overall and winless in the SEC during his first two years.

“My expectation this year is really to do whatever I’ve got to do so we can win ball games,” Boyd said. “If that takes 20 (carries), it takes 20 and I can handle that. If it’s 15 again, it’s 15, but let’s put a ‘dub’ at the end of it.”

Boyd has taken it upon himself to be more of a leader this offseason and it resulted in his teammates voting him as a team captain last week.

It’s evident that they, as linebacker and fellow captain Grant Morgan said, can sense a different fire with Boyd going into this season.

“The kid is very good and he's going to (be) even better this year,” Morgan said. “I can't wait to watch and go on the sidelines and sit and watch him run the ball. I'll just tell you that. He's going to be really good.”

Somewhat of a quiet guy by nature, Boyd is not a big social media user. He also doesn’t get carried away with all the preseason honors he’s racked up.

In addition to being a preseason second-team All-SEC selection by the coaches, the Houston product has landed on the watch lists for the Doak Walker, Maxwell and Earl Campbell Awards.

“I see it and I take that to the field,” Boyd said. “All the accolades and the awards and all that, to be honest, I have no idea about. I’m up here playing ball. I’m trying to be the best teammate I can be for one of my teammates, somebody up front.”

Coming into the season needing to duplicate his 1,133-yard output in 2019 to join the 3,000-yard club and with the third-best career yards-per-carry average in UA history, Boyd can’t wait to hit the field Saturday against No. 4 Georgia.

“Man, I'm going to be honest: I can't sleep,” Boyd said. “I love ball so much I can't even sleep right now and it's a blessing that we're just getting through all of this and get to showcase what the Razorbacks are really about.

“I’m ready for y'all to see what we have in the tank. … It's been tough, but it's good to see SEC football back this weekend. It should put a lot of smiles back on people’s faces.”

Kickoff against the Bulldogs is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.

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