By Will Vandervort
CLEMSON — It was first down-and-10 from around his own 40-yard line when Tajh Boyd came off center and ran a counter play-action to the running back. The play-action froze the safeties and his wide receiver ran a stutter and go.
Boyd just let the ball fly.
“The ball just looked pretty,” he said. “The white stripes were spinning.”
The white stripes and the football sailed right into the arms of Antonio Simmons, who never broke stride for an easy touchdown. Boyd said it was and still is the best pass he had ever thrown.
“I was like, ‘This is a nice deep ball right here,’” the Clemson quarterback said. “It was fun. I just enjoyed the opportunity. I just love football.”
Boyd was just 11 years old at the time when he threw that 40-yard bomb to Simmons, who is now a wide receiver for the Virginia Cavaliers. He did it against the Dale City Cowboys, a rival in his old little league football days.
It was the first time Boyd played on the big stage and he remembers the moment of his best pass very well.
“It was fun,” he said. “Those were good times. I love thinking back to those times.”
These days, Boyd is making more good memories, and he is doing it for ninth-ranked Clemson. With a win Saturday against NC State, the Tigers (9-1, 6-1 ACC) can clinch a share of the ACC’s Atlantic Division title, the program’s third in the last four years.
And though nothing will ever top the pass Boyd threw on that cold night in Virginia 10 years ago, he has thrown several deep balls in the last two years that are just as equal to.
“He is probably the most accurate deep ball passer that I have ever been around and maybe have ever seen,” Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris said. “I feel like he is more accurate at 35 yards than he is at five yards. And it’s true. He has a great feel for it and a great touch.”
Boyd showed that touch in his 28-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins in last week’s win over Maryland. The Tigers’ quarterback threw a perfect ball as Hopkins was breaking toward the flag on the left side of the field.
“When he let it go, Nuk was not even out of his break yet and Nuk never had to break stride on it. He catches it and scores,” Morris said. “He just has a really good feel for the deep ball.”
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney says Boyd has always thrown the deep ball very well.
“He was born with a golden arm. He can thank God for that,” Swinney said. “He has always been able to spin it. There is no question over the last two years, and how he is coached here in this system and how we teach the deep ball, whether we throw it high or short or back-shoulder it or throw it over the top, he has a much better understanding of the delivery.
“But, when it comes to his ability to throw the ball, he was special when we got him. He was special in high school. That’s why everybody in the country recruited him. He can throw the football.”
Thirteen of Boyd’s 28 touchdown passes have been from at least 28 yards out. Of the 13, six are from at least 41 yards. The coaching staff charts the deep passes and though they are low percentage passes, Boyd is completing a high rate of them.
“When I got to Clemson that was not my best throw,” Boyd said. “Coach Morris puts a big emphasis on being able to complete those deep passes. When you throw the ball deep, you have to step up.”
Boyd ranks second in the nation and leads the ACC in passing efficiency with a 172.0 rating. He ranks fourth nationally in yards per attempt (9.52), seventh in touchdown passes (28), 12th in total passing yards (2,941) and ninth in total offense (330.4 per game).
“I think it is his maturity, his fundaments and his footwork has contributed a lot to his overall confidence and just the knowledge of the system with another year in it,” Morris said. “We feel like, to play championship caliber football, you have to be in the 68 or 70 percent completion rate area.”
Boyd is completing 68 percent of his passes.
“That’s what we talk about all the time,” Morris said. “We chart it all the time. We talk about it and chart it in spring ball and that’s a big thing. Tajh always looks at. He always wants to know how he is doing.”
Boyd says he still sees that 40-yard pass he threw when he was 11 years old. He can still make out the white lines and how perfect it looked as it sailed through the night air. It’s still a moment he is trying to equal, and though he may never again do it, he sure is giving it his best shot.