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Blacksburg, VA — Much has been made about the massive mitts of Virginia Tech wide receiver Jarrett Boykin. How big are his hands, you ask?

In a Roanoke Times article by Randy King(Oct. 7, 2009), King wrote that Boykin’s fingers “routinely rip through the seams of his size XXXL receiver’s gloves, the largest size manufactured by Nike.” The same Nike that makes gloves for the NFL, where the real big boys play.

Throw in that he’s 6-2, 215 pounds and it’s no surprise that he’s emerged as quarterbackTyrod Taylor’s favorite favorite target. Boykin is not the fastest receiver on the team, clocking a reported 4.54 in the 40-yard dash, but can out-jump and out-muscle most defensive backs and if Taylor can get the ball anywhere close to Boykin, chances are pretty good that those big hands are going to reel in the catch.

Boykin is quietly having one of the best seasons by a Tech wide receiver in recent memory. He already has 715 yards on only 36 receptions with two games to play. The 715 yards is the most by a Hokie receiver since 2003 when Ernest Wilford set a Tech record for receptions in a season (55) for 886 yards.

The Hokies have been playing football for more than 100 years and not once have they had a receiver rack up more than 1,000 yards in a season. Granted, the forward pass used to be illegal, so that explains the early years. The closest anyone came was Andre Davis in 1999 when he had 962 yards.

Boykin is a long shot to break that record this season. He would need 248 yards in the next two games. It’s not impossible – that’s only 124 yards a game and he can easily get that in two plays..

What’s more intriguing is what Boykin will do next season as a junior and the unquestioned go-to guy from the start of the season. This year, it was a jumble at the wide receiver spot until Boykin broke out in the Duke game with a career-high 144 yards and a touchdown.

Boykin is well on his way to having one of the best careers by a wide receiver at Virginia Tech. He is averaging 19.9 yards per catch this season, which is the highest average by a Hokie in the last 10 years. He has five touchdown catches so far this season, which is tied for the most since Wilford caught seven in 2002.

And then there’s the career list. Wilford owns the career yardage record with 2,052. Boykin is already at 1,156 through not quite two full seasons (he led the team with 441 yards last year, even though the media guide says it was Danny Coale). He only need 897 yards to break Wilford’s career mark.

Assuming Boykin remains healthy and plays the remaining two games this season and all of next season (a minimum of 15 games) and gets his 65 yards per game average, he will break the record. It would stand to reason, though, that Boykin will increase that average and therefor demolish the career receiving record.

And let’s not forget that he’s the first receiver since Davis in 2001 to have three 100-yard games in a season.

Jarrett Boykin, and his massive mitts, are poised for greatness at Virginia Tech … just sit back and watch.

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