Tylan Boykin played corner for Hoban football in 2022. But there's more to his background
Tylan Boykin made a name for himself last season as a starting cornerback for the Archbishop Hoban football team.
Now he's hoping to do the same as a starting quarterback.
“I like when people come out and say, 'Wait, who is that kid?' Then when they see me play, it's just like, 'Whoa!' So I'm looking forward to that — a little surprise factor,” Boykin said Monday during Hoban's media day.
Boykin has played football every year since he was 5 years old. Quarterback had been his calling card until last season, when, as a sophomore, Hoban used him at cornerback and designated him as the primary backup to starting QB JacQai Long, a Marshall University commit who returned to his home state of West Virginia.
With Long leaving after one season with the Knights, Hoban has turned to Boykin to lead its offense as a junior.
“Things happened, things changed and I stepped up and I took the challenge,” Boykin said.
Hoban coach Tim Tyrrell describes Boykin as a dual-threat QB and said he's had “a great summer” establishing himself behind center.
“He's always had that in him,” Tyrrell said last month. “It's just no one knows that, unless you know him personally or watched him grow up.”
Hoban senior defensive back Ayden Boykin is an expert on his cousin Tylan Boykin, whose nickname is “Juice.” They played together for many years as members of the Akron Titans youth football team.
“Juice is the hardest-working person I know,” Ayden Boykin said. “He's been since I met him when I was 6, 7 years old. He's got that dog in him.
“They threw him in last year at corner. He was one of the best corners in Ohio as a sophomore, and I feel like he's going to be one of the best quarterbacks.”
Tylan Boykin, listed by Hoban as 6 feet and 165 pounds, helped the freshman team go 9-1 as its starting quarterback two years ago. He said he's been dreaming about becoming the starting varsity QB of the Knights since he was in seventh grade.
“Varsity football is going to be a lot faster,” Boykin said, “but I think I'm ready for it.”
Boykin labeled himself “a pass-first guy.” Yet, he pointed out he has a history of doing damage with his legs, too.
“When I get the ball in the open field and I'm running, it's a show,” he said.
In reference to Boykin's mobility, Tyrrell and Hoban senior fullback Dominic Bush compared him to former Knights quarterback Shane Hamm, a University of Kentucky player.
Boykin's first full-fledged test as Hoban's QB1 will unfold Aug. 19 against Frederick Douglass at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. Frederick Douglass was the Class 5A state champion in Kentucky last season.
Hoban was the Ohio High School Athletic Association's Division II runner-up in 2022, and the Knights are on a mission to maintain their status as a state title contender after the graduation of star running back Lamar Sperling, Ohio's Mr. Football last year.
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Hoban's new starting QB envisions success.
“Nothing less than 16-0 and the state championship,” Boykin said. “I would never lower my expectations for no team that I'm on or any of these guys. They're all great players, and when we're locked in we can do special things.”
Boykin's teammates are adamant the same is true of him.
“He's going to shock a lot of [people],” Hoban senior cornerback and running back Xavier Williams said. “He's going to be a household name — Tylan Boykin.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hoban football confident in its new starting QB Tylan Boykin
