Boykin Showed Patience To Flourish

Senior wide receiver Miles Boykin waited his turn and has flourished in his expanded role as Notre Dame’s number one option in the passing game.

“It speaks to all of the work that we go through,” Boykin spoke this week about earning his play time. “You see a lot of kids who don’t play right away transfer, and that was never my mindset.

“My mindset is that I am not going to leave this program or team; I am going to do whatever it takes to get on the field. It took some time, but I was able to progress every single year and got better.”

The 6-foot-4, 228-pounder caught 12 passes for 253 yards and a couple scores in seven games as a junior and as a senior he has already caught 28 passes for 428 yards to go along with three scores.

But just being a part of something special in South Bend is all he cares about.

“It was never really a thought,” Boykin stated about his increase in stats. 

“Against Stanford, my high school coach was there and was like, ‘I don’t think you caught this many passes in high school in a game.’

“It is not about the stats. My dream is about playing on a big stage here. My dream was to play against Stanford, Virginia Tech so to even be in those moments and being leaned on has nothing to do with the stats. It’s just being a part of this.”

Over the last couple of weeks, Boykin has shown a real connection with his former second-team quarterback Ian Book. Against Stanford and Virginia Tech the two connected 19 times, but whether it is Book or Brandon Wimbush under center, Boykin knows his job doesn’t change despite his spike in numbers.

“My game hasn’t changed as a receiver,” he explained. “We have to go out and do our job regardless who is at quarterback. I have to run the right routes, make Ian look perfect and I have to be in the right place at the right time.”

Hosting Pittsburgh undefeated before a bye week, Notre Dame knows it is essential to prepare just like every other week.

“At Notre Dame, it doesn’t matter what week, what team we are always going to get everybody’s best and that is what we expect every time we step onto the field. I don’t think it is a trap game because of our mentality and who we are. We understand that every game we are going to play is going to be tough.”