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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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Box Score | Recap

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Box Score | Highlights

Blacksburg, VA — The 15th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies (5-2, 8-3) forced four turnovers to win their third straight game following a decisive 38-10 victory over N.C. State (1-6, 4-7). On senior day in Blacksburg, Va., the Hokies got career performances from senior linebacker Cody Grimm, redshirt freshman running back Ryan Williams and sophomore wide receiver Jarrett Boykin.

Grimm tied an NCAA record with three forced fumbles in his first four defensive plays while Williams scored a career-high four touchdowns and broke Tech’s and the ACC’s freshman single-season rushing record with 1,355 yards.

Williams still has one more regular season game and presumably a bowl game to add to his totals. The Virginia Tech single-season rushing record (1,647 by Kevin Jones in 2003) is still within reach for Williams.

Boykin also had a career game with six receptions for 164 yards and a touchdown catch. He becomes the first Tech wide receiver to have three games with more than 100 yards receiving in a season since Andre Davis did it in 2001.

The Hokies got off to an encouraging start before the opening kickoff. For the first time all season, Tech won a coin toss and it paid off. On the Wolfpack’s first play of the game, Grimm got to N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson from the backside and stripped the ball out of his hands. Grimm recovered the loose ball and the Hokies settled for a field goal to take the early lead, 3-0.

Grimm went right back to work on the second play of State’s next possession. Wilson completed a pass to Darrell Davis along the sideline, but Grimm was there to strip the ball loose again. Tech senior cornerback Stephan Virgil recovered the fumble and returned it three yards to State’s 25.

“We work on it [forcing fumbles] in practice,” Grimm said. “If you’re the second person there, try to rip the ball out, but if you’re the first, then concentrate on getting him down.”

Grimm leads the nation in forced fumbles with seven.

Williams capped a six-play, 25-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown to give the Hokies a 10-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

After two fumbles in their first three offensive plays, it would make sense that N.C. State would have gone out of its way to protect the ball on their third series. However, Grimm forced another fumble on the Pack’s fourth offensive play. This time, however, State was able to recover it, and then marched 81 yards to score its first points of the game on a Wilson pass to Owen Spencer, cutting Tech’s lead to 10-7.

But the night belonged to the Hokies. On the ensuing kickoff, freshman running back and return manDavid Wilson ran the kick back 40 yards, giving Tech’s offense a short field at the State 49. Tech eventually scored on another short TD run by Williams, pushing the Hokies’ lead to 17-7.

State added a field goal in the second quarter, but the Hokies answered with a 74-yard drive capped by another Williams TD run, his third of the game, and the Hokies took 24-10 lead into the half.

Williams scored his fourth and final TD on the Hokies’ opening possession of the second half. The freshman, who has been named the ACC Rookie of the Week six times this season, literally dragged an N.C. State defender — clinging to Williams’ jersey — 10 yards into the end zone.

Williams, who had 120 yards in the game, now has eight 100-yard games this season, one shy of Kevin Jones’ record of nine, set in 2003.

Williams tied Tech’s freshman record for touchdowns scored in a game (4). “Touchdown” Tommy Edwards scored four against Pittsburgh in 1993. Williams also tied the ACC’s record for touchdowns in a season by a freshman with 16.

“He is strong, quick and powerful,” Tech head coach Frank Beamer said of Williams. “I think he’s a complete back.”

Boykin, who had racked up impressive receiving yards finally got in the end zone in the third quarter, scoring Tech’s final TD of the game and securing a 38-10 win for the Hokies.

While Taylor, Williams and Boykin stole the show on offense, Bud Foster’s defense deserves a great deal of credit for shutting down the ACC’s second best offense. The Hokies held the Pack to just 14 rushing yards and 259 total yards of offense.

The defense set the tone early thanks to Grimm’s incredible performance.

“That was big,” Beamer said. “You need to get up on those guys [N.C. State] because they can score in a hurry.”

N.C. State came into the game averaging 32.6 points per game, second in the ACC.

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Game Recap | Box Score

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College Park, MD — Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw for a career-high three touchdowns while running back Ryan Williams broke Tech’s freshman touchdown record as the Hokies cruised to an easy 36-9 win over Maryland.

Tech scored touchdowns on four of its first five possessions and its defense held Maryland’s offense to 236 yards and a field goal. The Terps sole touchdown came on a Tyrod Taylor fumble in his own end zone that was recovered by Maryland’s Jared Harrell.

Taylor completed 13 of 23 pass attempts for 268 yards – an average of more than 20 yards per reception. Taylor, who had two touchdown passes in all of 2008, has 12 so far this season.

“He didn’t have any mental errors except for the one in the end zone,” Ryan Williams said. “He ran the ball well and threw the ball well. He made very good reads. He played a heckuva game. He’s had some good games, but this was one of his best.”

Williams rushed for 126 yards on 23 carries and scored the games first touchdown in the first quarter. The freshman phenom, who was named a Doak Walker Award semifinalist earlier in the week, broke Virginia Tech’s freshman record for touchdowns in a season with 12 (11 rushing, 1 receiving). He is still tied with teammate Darren Evans, who is out this season with a torn ACL, for rushing touchdowns in a season by a freshman with 11.

The game marked the seventh time this season that Williams has rushed for more than 100 yards in a game – also a school record.

For the second time this season, a Virginia Tech wide receiver went over the century mark. Jarrett Boykin had three catches for 118 yards including a 64-yard touchdown catch that put the Hokies up 27-3 in the second quarter. Boykin is the only Tech wide receiver to have more than 100 yards receiving in a game this season. He had 144 yards in a 34-26 win over Duke.

Virginia Tech’s tight ends also stepped up and apparently love playing against Maryland. Andre Smith’s 3-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter marked the first receiving touchdown by a Tech tight end since Greg Boone caught one against Maryland last season – a 14-game drought.

The Hokies came out and played one of the best halves of football as they’ve had all season. Their first three drives were sustained, methodical, time-killing drives.

1st scoring drive: 10 plays, 71 yards, 4:07, Ryan Williams 1-yard TD run | 7-0 VT

2nd scoring drive: 8 plays, 72 yards, 2:37, Andre Smith 3-yard TD catch | 14-0 VT

3rd scoring drive: 8 plays, 64 yards, 3:11, Dyrell Robers 11-yard TD catch | 20-0 VT (missed PAT)

4th scoring drive: 1 play, 64 yards, :11, Jarrett Boykin 64-yard TD catch | 27-0 VT

Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer appeared to take the foot off the gas in the second half as the Hokies appeared less aggressive and scored only three Matt Waldron field goals.

The No. 21 Hokies improved to 4-2 in the ACC and 7-3 overall while Maryland fell to 1-5 in the ACC and 2-7 overall.

Tech has two regular season games remaining beginning with a final home game next Saturday against N.C. State (1-5, 4-6) before wrapping up the 2009 campaign on the road against in-state rival, the Virginia Cavaliers (2-4, 3-7).

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Virginia Tech wide receiver Jarrett Boykin scores a touchdown against the Miami Hurricanes. (Photo by Gary Cope)

Blacksburg, VA — The Boston College Eagles are on a roll. They’re 4-1 and coming off back-to-back home wins over Wake Forest and Florida State. They have a 25-year-old rookie quarterback who is getting better each week. The have beaten Virginia Tech the last three times the two teams have met in the regular season, although the Hokies have won two straight ACC championship games at the Eagles’ expense.

Tomorrow at noon, the Eagles will try to make it four straight regular season wins when they travel to Blacksburg to take on the 5th ranked Hokies. Tech is suddenly back in the national champtionship hunt after reeling off four straight wins including a dominating 31-7 win over then-No. 9 Miami on national TV and a dramatic 16-15 win over Nebraska.

Frank Beamer’s team is a heavy favorite to win on Saturday, but Hokie fans aren’t so sure. They remember the heartbreaking loss at home two years ago that dashed their hopes at a national championship. Sure, the ACC titles help make up for it, but the Hokies have lost eight ACC games in five seasons since joining the conferece; three of those losses are courtesy of the Eagles.

While the Eagles have played beyond expectations, they are still a very vulnerable team. Their four wins have come against Northeastern (54-0), Kent State (34-7), Wake Forest (27-24, OT) and Florida State (28-21). Northeastern and Kent State aren’t necessarily top level competition, though the Eagles did what they should have done – blow them out. BC’s one loss was on the road against Clemson in which the offense managed a total of 54 yards in a 26-7 defeat.

BC then blew fourth quarter leads against Wake and FSU, but pulled out wins in both games. Wake Forest is 3-2, but their wins are less than impressive: Stanford, Elon and N.C. State. Florida State is off to its worst start (2-3) since Bobby Bowden’s first year on the job. The Noles have lost to Miami, Wake and most recently, a terrible home loss to South Florida, who had a freshman quarterback.

While the first-year head coach Frank Spaziani has the Eagles are playing better than expected, they haven’t proven they can keep up with better competition. Clemson manhandled them on offense and BC’s defense broke down in horrific fashion against the Decons and the Noles. However, if they can pull it together on Saturday and shock the Hokies, the Eagles will certainly jump up in the polls and deservedly so.

Meanhwile, the Hokies have had an inconsistent-at-best season thus far. The offense struggled against Alabama and Nebraska early in the season, but woke up against Miami and then again against Duke.

Normally, you wouldn’t think putting up big numbers against Duke would be a big deal, but considering the Hokies’ quarterback Tyrod Taylor passed for 327 yards – the most in three seasons – and that a wide receiver, Jarrett Boykin, was the first Tech wide receiver to have more than 100 yards receiving in a game since Eddie Royal in 2007, it was certainly an impressive showing for a passing attack that has been dormant for two seasons.

Should the Hokies continue their offensive output as they have in the last two games, it could be a long day for the Eagles. The big question mark for the Hokies, and it almost sounds sacriligious to say, is their defense. Bud Foster has a young and inexperienced bunch and they have struggled at times this season, especially last week against Duke in which they gave up 26 points.

Rest assured the Hokies will come ready to play. They have lost three straight to the Eagles in the regular season and will not allow Boston College to sneak up on them this season.

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Virginia Tech head football coach Frank Beamer has never been known for having a pass-first offense. You wouldn’t have known that watching the Hokies methodically pick apart Duke’s secondary today, while at the same time watching their running game struggle.

Junior quarterback Tyrod Taylor set a career high for passing yards with 327. It was the first time a Tech QB had passed for more than 300 yards in a game since Sean Glennon threw for 339 in a 38-27 loss to Georgia Tech in 2006.

Taylor wasn’t the only player having a career day. Sophomore wide receiver Jarrett Boykin caught a career-high 144 yards on six catches and a touchdown. It was the first time a Tech wideout had more than 100 yards receiving in a game since Eddie Royal had 147 yards in a 33-21 win over Virginia in 2007.

Why the sudden success in the passing game? Another well-called game by offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring. The word is out about Tech redshirt freshman running back Ryan Williams – he’s the nation’s sixth leading rusher and three-time ACC Rookie of the Week. So, Duke’s game plan was clear – stuff eight and nine men in the box and force the Hokies to beat the Blue Devils through the air.

“They were loading the box, bringing their linebackers up,” said Taylor after the game. “They were rotating the safeties. Coach [Bryan Stinespring] did a good job of stretching the ball [down the field] instead of running the power. That open things up and we were able execute it. This builds confidence for our offense and for the passing game.”

The first two offensive possessions did not amount to much, just 27 yards. Tech tried to establish a running game, but Duke crowded the line of scrimmage and denied any running room for the Hokies.

On Tech’s third possession however, Stinespring decided to take to the air. Duke had just scored a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead, but on the ensuing kickoff, the ball went out of bounds giving the Hokies excellent field position at their own 40.

The first play was a 3-yard run by Taylor. Second down was a 17-yard pass to tight end Andre Smith for a first down inside Duke territory. On first down, the Hokies went back to the run for a 4-yard gain by Williams. Then, on second and 6 from the Duke 36, Taylor found Danny Coale over the middle in the endzone for the equalizer. It was Coale’s first career touchdown. He also had a career-high 94 yards on three receptions.

Taylor threw for two touchdowns against the Blue Devils; the first to Coale and the other a controversial play in the end zone involving Boykin. With Tech leading 10-7 midway through the second quarter, Taylor threw to Boykin in the right side of the end zone where Boykin and a Duke defensive back both went up for the pass. It appeared that Duke had an interception, but Boykin ripped it from his hands on the way down and the official ruled it a Virginia Tech touchdown. After a lengthy review, the play was upheld and the Hokies led 17-10.

“The play they [the coaches] called and the coverage that they [Duke] gave us, I knew it was going to be a jump ball situation,” said Boykin. “As we were coming down, we were both fighting for it, and I guess he gave up on it at the end. I was still fighting for it and I ripped it out. I couldn’t let him take it from me.”

While the Hokies struggled early on the ground, the success of the passing game eventually set up the running game. Williams finished with 83 yards and second stringer Josh Oglesby, a redshirt sophomore, had 59 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Williams picked up the majority of his yards in the fourth quarter as well.

Box Score from Virginia Tech’s 34-26 win over Duke.

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The No. 6 ranked Virginia Tech Hokies got off to a slow start on the road against Duke and struggled to 34-26 win.

The final score is not indicative of how close the game actually was. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Hokies only led 20-16, but Virginia Tech’s depth eventually wore the Blue Devils down on both sides of the ball.

The Hokies scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to take a 34-19 lead, but the Blue Devils used a 14-play, 90-yard drive in the final two minutes to score a late touchdown to pull within a dozen, 34-26. The onside kick failed and the Hokies ran out the clock to secure a tougher-than-expected road win.

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