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in Recruiting By Mike Roach
When Malik Jefferson and Deandre McNeal committed to the Longhorns a wave of momentum began building with the state’s top recruits. The momentum carried over when Texas received a commitment from Gilmer (TX) defensive back Kris Boyd on Friday. The Buckeye star pledged to the Longhorns two week after taking his official visit to UT.
Boyd's high school team, the Gilmer Buckeyes, completed a thrilling comeback win in the Texas State Championship Game. Boyd is a cousin of former Longhorn defensive back Curtis Brown.
Kris has been a hot prospect on the recruiting radar since sometime last year and has been all over the map on what schools he preferred. The Army All American chose Texas over offers from Florida State, Texas A&M, Oregon, Alabama, Oklahoma, and LSU. While Texas has been up and down in Boyd’s rankings they really became a serious contender when they were the first school to offer his younger brother, Demarco. The desperately needed recruiting momentum seems to be just starting, but this is a huge pickup at a need position for the 2015 class.
Film Analysis:
Boyd is a big corner at 6’ 180 lbs. He plays the game very physically preferring to jam receivers at the line with his quick hands and physical strength. Kris has good straight line speed that he shows up when he plays running back at Gilmer. Boyd is a very fluid athlete with quick change of direction skills and smooth hips.
Against the run Boyd is able to fight through blockers and stop plays on the boundaries. He plays disciplined, with outside leverage on run plays that don’t wash him inside to allow big gains. Kris plays with a ton of confidence on the field and it shows on film. At times he can be a little too wide in his base when playing man coverage which causes him to get beat, but that is a technique issue that can be coached.
Boyd is a good tackler who plays with good leverage and technique but will sometimes try to body players to bring them down. He plays with good eye discipline in the secondary and sticks to his assignments instead of freelancing to make more plays. His full set of skills allow him to play any position in the secondary, but he appears to be the type of big physical corner that Charlie Strong covets.
Final Verdict:
This fills a huge recruiting need – Texas was looking to acquire more corners with the departures of their two starting seniors. Boyd is one of the top ten players in the state and his combination of physical play, size, and speed reveal a ceiling of a multiple year starter and early draft pick. This win is almost as big as that of Malik Jefferson.
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