ATHENS — Brandon Boykin knows who Champ Bailey is, and he knows what Bailey did while he was at Georgia. Frankly, he has a hard time wrapping his mind around it.
Bailey, who is now an All-Pro cornerback with the Denver Broncos, was a two-way player for the Georgia Bulldogs in the late 1990s. He was mainly known as an All-American cornerback, but he also played nearly full time as a wide receiver on offense in 1998 and returned punts and kickoffs.
Six times during the 1998 season Bailey played more than 100 plays in a game. Against Auburn, when he was named SEC player of the week, he was in on 119 snaps. It’s thought to be the modern-day UGA record, though the school does not keep it as an official statistic.
“Unbelievable,” Boykin says, shaking his head.
Boykin can empathize. A senior cornerback from Fayetteville, he is filling a similar do-it-all role for the Bulldogs (0-2), who face Coastal Carolina at 1 p.m. Saturday at Sanford Stadium. In addition to manning his full-time position as an All-SEC corner for Georgia, Boykin also is a record-setting kickoff return man who occasionally returns punts and has begun to play some on offense.
Boykin enters games on offense sometimes as a receiver and sometimes as a running back, but his job is to carry the football. Heading into Saturday’s game he’s the Bulldogs’ second-leading rusher with 94 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown run against Boise State. He has yet to catch a pass.
“If he was purely an offensive player I think he’d be pretty darn good,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said this week. “And really I don’t know if he’d be a tailback or a receiver because he’s got enough skills to do both.”
Boykin also leads Georgia in intravenous fluid consumption. The Bulldogs have had to give him two IV bags at halftime during each of the first two games.
In Georgia’s 45-42 loss to South Carolina on Saturday, Boykin was on the field for about 75 plays. He played every defensive snap except one series early in third quarter when he injured an ankle. He also returned seven kickoffs for 184 yards and rushed twice for 14 yards while serving as a decoy several other times on offense.
Boykin’s role on offense likely will increase. Boykin has effectively served as the Bulldogs’ third-team tailback the first two games, and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo is not sure they’ve utilized him enough.
“When he gets the ball in space, he’s a threat to go the distance,” Bobo said. “You see that with him on kickoff returns, and it’s the same thing on offense.”
Said Richt: “I think we waited too long to use him on offense. He’s really a dynamic player offensively.”
Boykin is all for getting his hands on the ball as much as possible. But he isn’t interested in trying to run down Bailey’s record. The physical strain he has felt during and after games while playing fewer than 80 plays is enough.
“I’m nowhere near that, I can promise you that,” he said. “I’m probably 85 [plays] max, on a hard day.”
Georgia’s support staff is working hard to help Boykin flourish. He is being prescribed a special diet by head nutritionist Jenn Ketterly to combat cramps and is in a constant of hydration.
“I take those little Powerade electrolytes and put them in everything,” Boykin said. “I salt all my food. Our nutritionist has me eating a lot of fruits and things like that. And I drink Pedialyte sometimes, as bad as I hate to say it. But it helps. Game days I have a special bottle of stuff on the sideline. They make sure I’m hydrated all the time.”
Staying on the field is nothing new for Boykin. As a star player at Fayette County High School, he played quarterback on offense — rushing for 600 yards and passing for 416 as a senior — while playing defensive back and returning all kicks.
“It’s funny because, honestly I never came off the field, and I never pulled a muscle or got cramps,” he said. “I guess because I came to college and I got stronger and leaner.”
Boykin is not likely to set any personal records Saturday. For one, Coastal Carolina is not expected to kick off as much as South Carolina did, when Boykin had 184 yards in returns. And he might get a break or two against the FCS (formerly Division I-AA) opponent.
But Boykin said he’s not out to prove any points.
I view myself as a playmaker whenever I’m on the field, not just with the ball in my hands,” he said.
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