Trevone Boykin’s smooth off-season has him poised, set for TCU
For months, Trevone Boykin lay low.
He didn’t talk to a reporter during or after spring practice. He stayed close to home. He let his left wrist recover from surgery.
It was just about the ideal off-season for the star quarterback, at least from TCU coach Gary Patterson’s point of view, and Boykin topped it last Monday with a smooth 90 minutes in front of cameras and reporters at his table at Big 12 Media Days.
“I thought he was great the way he handled all of it,” Patterson said during his rounds at ESPN on Wednesday. “He took a selfie with the media. I wanted to stop what I was doing and listen to him.”
The quiet off-season was not by accident. Except for throwing out the first pitch at a Rangers game and a visit to the Manning Passing Academy, Boykin made it a point to keep his head down and prepare quietly for the most important year of his life. No extra hurdles for him.
“The click of a camera phone can end a lot of stuff,” he said. “You read all the stories, and you see things. You just have to be careful and keep your circle as small as possible and know who to trust and who not to trust. If new people come into your life, you have to know if they’re really there for you or not. It’s a challenge, but it’s something I deal with every day.”
Boykin’s sense of place is another sign of his growing maturity in a media environment where drama can easily find a 21-year-old college athlete. Boykin knows he has to navigate it.
“I’m young, I like to go out and have fun with my teammates, just like any other normal college kid,” he said. “It just so happens I play quarterback for a great university like TCU.”
Which brings a new set of responsibilities.
“You’re not just representing TCU, but your family’s name,” he said. “It’s a sign of respect. I don’t want to embarrass myself or the school or my family by going off and doing something stupid. That’s the name that you’re going to have, that’s going to be affiliated with you the rest of your life.”
Boykin said his mother, grandmother and uncle keep him accountable.
“We don’t even talk football most of the time,” he said. “Most of the time it’s just about life and things I’m doing outside of football. When you have people like that that you can talk to and it’s not all about sports, it’s cool. They keep me level-headed and humble.”
These days, Boykin is glad a talk is all it takes.
“I’m too old for those whoopins,” he said and smiled. “I’m one of those guys you just have to sit down and talk to now.”
Patterson can appreciate that. A world of expectations is about to be placed on his quarterback’s shoulders. Boykin is the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy and holds the reins for a national championship contender.
“The best player coming back in the country at that spot,” West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said.
Patterson was watching from the start, but it was clear early in the off-season that Boykin was taking that responsibility seriously.
“Probably the best example of that, he had a couple of the NFL guys, quarterbacks, the gurus that wanted him to come work out with them this summer, and he told them all no,” Patterson said. “I think his biggest thing was staying with the offensive group this summer, making sure they were doing seven-on-seven, winning ball games. He knows all that.”
Boykin allowed himself a magazine shoot.
“It comes with the territory,” he said. “You try to stay as humble as possible. There’s no way I could complain about it. A lot of people don’t get this opportunity.”
But in a week and a half, the off-season is over. The structure of the practices and season will give Boykin a chance to live up to expectations. When camp starts Aug. 5, he can go in with no baggage, no distractions.
“I’ve been working extremely hard for us,” he said. “Breaking down film and studying opponents and working on my game — small things, like throwing the ball over the middle, mechanics, things that you work on every day to improve your game and make yourself better. That’s what separates you from everybody else in the country.”
Patterson noticed. Long before last Monday.
“Whether he believes it or doesn’t believe it, at least he’s doing the right things,” Patterson said. “Sometimes you can get lulled into everything, especially if you went from where we were to where he is now. But from everything I’ve seen up to this point, he’s handled it very well.”
That was the plan.
Carlos Mendez, 817-390-7760
This story was originally published July 26, 2015 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Trevone Boykin’s smooth off-season has him poised, set for TCU."