Miles Boykin: “My confidence has been elevated"
Miles Boykin recorded three catches for 102 yards and one touchdown in the Citrus Bowl against LSU in January. Boykin made a one-handed grab and took it 55 yards for the go-ahead score.
The play showed Boykin and his teammates he was a playmaker and it served as a building block for the senior receiver this spring.
“My confidence has been elevated,” said Boykin. “When you’re confident doing anything, it elevates your game, and that’s what I’ve done this spring.”
Boykin’s catch was a huge moment for him, but it started in the weight room. The confidence gained in the weight room has allowed Boykin to believe he is going to make plays as he also has realized he needs to start making plays.
“It helps, but just seeing I am getting stronger has helped me a lot,” explained Boykin. “Just my conditioning and strength. I don’t have much time left. I have two years max. I’m a senior now. There’s no telling what could happen. My football career could be coming to an end at any day now.
“I’m getting older, so all that hits you at once. It brings out something different in you.”
The work in the weight room has been significant for Boykin to gain this much confidence. A year ago, Boykin was squatting under 400 pounds, and he has left those numbers in the dust.
“My biggest numbers came in broad jump being able to jump almost 11 feet,” stated Boykin. “My vertical is 40-inches and I'm able to squat over 450 now. Those are the numbers I’m proudest of and having leg strength.”
Head coach Brian Kelly also highlighted maybe Boykin’s most impressive number earlier this spring. Notre Dame had one player run 1.5 second split in the first 10 yards of the 40-yard dash.
Boykin is now one of eight players running under 1.5, which is incredible considering he’s 6-foot-4, 225 pounds.
“I didn’t even know until I ran it,” Boykin said. “With (Matt) Balis’ training, it’s delayed gratification. You don’t see everything right away. We had some time off and did some testing. I realized I had gotten a lot stronger.
“That’s the best thing about Balis’ program. If you do everything right, you’re going to see the results.”
With the added confidence, Boykin is now stepping into a leadership role the Irish receiver corps has missed for the last few years.
“I consider myself the leader of this core with (Chris) Finke,” stated Boykin. “We’ve been here since day one and came in together. We’re going to leave together too. It’s not something I can do by myself. We’re leaning on each other, and I think we can lead us to do great things.”
Boykin has also been developing a rapport with quarterback Brandon Wimbush. It’s been very clear through six practices that Wimbush is looking for Boykin, and it’s paying off.
“He knows where to place the ball,” said Boykin. “We work on it every single day. We throw routes on the weekends and weekdays when we have extra time. It’s something we have put a lot of work into. I don’t think a lot of receivers and quarterbacks have chemistry, so I don’t take it for granted.”