A five-year impact player for Northern Iowa, it’s time to get familiar with Khristian Boyd. A three-down interior lineman with the ability to not only clog gaps on early downs but pin his ears back and win matchups on third down, Boyd has presented a heck of a floor for scouts tasked with selling his game to a general manager.
Pressure from the guts of a defensive line is a must no matter what defensive scheme you align in—even front, odd-front, bear front, it doesn’t matter. Pressures and the ability to wreak havoc remain king.
While dominating at a lower level of college football may have surrounded Boyd’s game with questions heading into the pre-draft process, his ability to not only show up but dominate Power Five competition at the Shrine Bowl got rid of any potential doubts evaluators had that he could play with the big boys.
Whether it was stacking and shedding (clip above) or utilizing an overpowering push-pull move in one-on-one pass pro reps, Boyd was simply sensational during his time on the East squad in Frisco. While his pre-draft showcase opportunities initially only included an invitation to the Hula Bowl, a fantastic showing in Orlando quickly saw him earn an invite to the step-up in competition in Frisco.
“I always knew I could play at the highest level,” Boyd said. “Heading into the week, I just tried to maximize each rep, dominate every single rep.”
The word dominant may even be an understatement for what we saw from the 6-foot-2, 320-pound 1 and 3-tech. There simply wasn’t anyone that could stay in front of Boyd, let alone establish their hands and stay in front. It’s the kind of performance that makes the draft process so special.
As people tend to focus on helmet decals and how many stars a guy had during the high school recruiting process, sometimes it’s as simple as flipping on the tape and watching players compete, rather than undermining players at smaller programs simply because they competed at, well, smaller programs. Tape hasn’t, and will never lie.
“I just love to work,” Boyd said. “Playing at Northern Iowa we may not have all the resources but working under Coach [Mark] Farley and Coach [Bryce] Paup, those are old school dudes that always had that grit and toughness that ultimately shaped me as a player.”
Off the field, nothing was given, either. While many athletes across the country are spoiled with unlimited resource after unlimited resource, players who are forced to take care of the finite details of life themselves ultimately carry a different type of chip on their shoulder.
“I had to cook on my own, figure out food situations, figure out tutoring… it really helped me grow as a man.”
While a minimal spotlight to the league placed Boyd a tick behind the eight-ball in comparison to players at high-prestige programs, Boyd has taken the pre-draft process by the reins. A high-level athlete with a powerful yet nuanced game within the trenches, the AP FCS Third-Team All-American should make an NFL team extremely happy later this year.
