When Heisman-hopeful Tajh Boyd visits Virginia this Saturday, his career will come full circle. After starting his first ACC road game against Virginia Tech in 2011 — a 23-3 Tiger win — Clemson’s senior quarterback from Hampton, Va. will fittingly conclude his ACC road career in his home state.
The meeting is the first between the Cavaliers (2-6, 0-4 ACC) and the No. 8 Tigers (7-1, 5-1 ACC) since Virginia’s 2009 34-21 loss in Clemson, during Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s first full season at the helm. Boyd, redshirted at the time, will be facing the Cavaliers for the first time in his career and returning to Scott Stadium for the first time since he visited as a recruit.
“Late in the season, senior year, I think it plays out really well,” Boyd said. “When we played Virginia Tech up there it was like the [fifth] game of the season … 40 degrees out, it was raining. So I think the atmosphere will be a little bit better for this one, and I’m looking forward to it.”
But Boyd won’t be the only quarterback from Hampton on the field Saturday. Virginia sophomore quarterback David Watford will start opposite Boyd, a player Watford considers both a friend and a mentor.
“Me and Tajh, we have a pretty close relationship,” Watford said. “He was one of the older guys. I worked out with him before, just trying to learn from that guy. I saw what he was doing, how good he was, and the potential that he had. He kind of took me under his wing when I was in high school, so we’re pretty close from that.”
This weekend’s game will mark the second time the two have faced each other. During his senior season at Phoebus High School in 2008, Boyd led the Phantoms to a 42-6 romp against then-sophomore Watford’s Hampton Crabbers in front of more than 10,000 fans at Darling Stadium in Hampton.
“The Hampton-Phoebus games are … probably the most electric game in the state,” Boyd said. “I couldn’t let a young guy beat me.”
Boyd and the Phantoms would eventually finish with a perfect 15-0 record and the VHSL AAA Division 5 state title.
Boyd is seeking a similar outcome against Watford this time around. Clemson trails No. 3 Florida State by one game in the ACC Atlantic Division after falling 51-14 at home to the Seminoles Oct. 19.
The Tigers have developed a reputation in recent years for faltering in the face of high expectations — a phenomena known widely as “Clemsoning” — and another loss would likely drive the nail in the coffin of their BCS dreams. Boyd, for one, thinks the reputation is unwarranted.
“I think we’ve put ourselves in a situation where we’ve shown we’ve been consistent in games,” Boyd said. “I think it’s just something for people to make an excuse if something does happen — they can say it’s typical or usual. Right now, it’s pretty far from usual. We’ve been doing a great job, especially being consistent and winning.”
Yet the senior manages to keep the game in perspective, continuing to provide guidance to Watford despite their impending matchup.
“I talked to him [Monday] and told him how proud I was of the game he had [against Georgia Tech],” Boyd said. “It’s never easy being the quarterback of a program when you’re not winning as much as you want to. I think it’s important to talk to somebody in a similar situation, but in a different perspective. And especially me being somewhat older, you kind of get into one of those mentor roles and it’s something I take pride in.”
Much of Boyd’s mentoring instinct stems from his exposure to the tight-knit network of successful quarterbacks from the 757 area code. Boyd lists Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick as a mentor, discussing his decision to return for his senior year, among other things, with the former Warwick High School and Virginia Tech star.
And just as Boyd and Watford look up to older quarterbacks from the Tidewater region — like Vick, Ronald Curry, Tyrod Taylor, Aaron Brooks and current Virginia wide receivers coach Marques Hagans — young players from the 757 now look up to them. Boyd said he is looking forward to seeing some of the kids from the Virginia Beach Mustang Youth Camp that he worked with this summer at Saturday’s game.
Despite expecting a large support network in attendance and having to acquire additional tickets for friends and family, Boyd claims that his impending homecoming has not been a distraction this week.
“I think at this point, we’ve seen pretty much everything you could possibly see,” Boyd said. “You put a little bit more pride in it because it is your home state, but at the same time, nothing out of the usual, nothing I wouldn’t do normally.”
Boyd said he did originally wonder what would have happened if he’d chosen to stay in-state, but he knew he wanted a different challenge and he has savored his time at Clemson.
Somewhat lost in the hoopla surrounding Boyd’s return to his native state is the pressure burdening Watford before he clashes with both his mentor and rival. Though Saturday marks Boyd’s final game in Virginia, Cavaliers coach Mike London believes Watford also has an extra incentive to perform against one of the all-time Hampton greats.
“You could ask the same thing about David because Tajh has been noted as one of the best quarterbacks in the country,” London said. “I know that it’ll be exciting to the two of them probably to meet at pregame and they’ll hug after the game, but they’ll be competing against each other because they’ll want to come out of the game as the best quarterback on that day.”
Although Virginia is a clear underdog in this weekend’s matchup, the game provides a national spotlight for Watford to showcase his growth as a starter in recent weeks against a powerhouse opponent. His Tiger counterpart also thinks Watford is well on his way to becoming a dual-threat force.
“I can’t wait to watch what he does in the future,” Boyd said. “He’s becoming a dynamic player out there, running the ball really well … and can throw the ball all over the place. It’s just fun watching him.”
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