MOBILE — In his quest to impress NFL scouts, coaches and general managers, former Georgia standout Brandon Boykin picked up another position Tuesday.
The cornerback, punt returner, kickoff returner and running back saw action at safety during the South’s full contact practice Tuesday.
“Yeah, that was a little different for me,” Boykin said. “It’s similar to the slot. I played some nickel in college. It’s pretty much the same. [Washington Redskins defensive backs coach Raheem Morris] made sure that when I went to safety, it was a [man-to-man] coverage opportunity in the slot. I felt like I did fine.”
Boykin’s versatility has been his calling card this week on the field and during his interviews with the teams. He’s interviewed with more than 10 teams, including the Falcons, Dallas, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Carolina.
“I just want to be able to play as many positions as I can,” Boykin said. “I just want to get on the field and make an impact for as many plays as I can.”
Morris, former head coach for Tampa Bay, has been impressed with Boykin’s skill-set.
“Brandon is going out there and using his lateral quickness,” Morris said. “He’s doing a nice job at corner and safety. Obviously, that transition should be good for him. He can do a lot of those different things, and the more things you do in this league, the better.”
The experiment with Boykin, a cornerback by trade, likely will be noticed NFL-wide as defenses try to catch up to the pass-happy offenses. This season, 10 quarterbacks passed for more than 4,000 yards, three for more than 5,000. The Falcons’ Matt Ryan passed for a team-record 4,177 yards, which ranked eighth in the league.
“The traditional role of safety isn’t the same anymore because of the way we are playing the game,” NFL Network analyst Charles Davis said. “I’ve had a number of coaches tell me that they would love to have four corners to play in the defensive backfield.”
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper ranks Boykin at No. 11 among senior cornerbacks. Boykin hopes to improve his standing with a good showing at the Senior Bowl.
“He’s going to battle the heck out of you when he’s playing at the corner position,” Davis said. “He has that ‘It’ factor that goes into [the evaluation] because he’s going to compete on every snap.”
Boykin is listed at 5-foot-9 1/4 and 183 pounds.
“I can’t do anything about my height or how I was born,” Boykin said. “But what I can do is show my drive and determination. I can control all of that. Just giving 100 percent on every play has got me to where I am today, and I’m going to continue to do that.”
LSU’s Morris Claiborne, Alabama’s Dre Kirkpatrick and Nebraska’s Alfonzo Dennard are considered the top cornerbacks in the 2012 draft class.
“That’s something that I really don’t feed into,” Boykin said. “Being on national championship-level teams [Claiborne and Kirkpatrick] got a little more publicity than what we did, but at the same time the media isn’t exactly right all the time. Who’s to say that I’m not up there with them? All I can do is control what I do out here on the field, just continue to do that and hopefully things will work out.”
Some scouts have compared Boykin with Tampa Bay’s Ronde Barber (5-10, 184) because of their similar size.
“Hopefully I can stay in the league as long as he has,” Boykin said. “But my favorite corner is Charles Woodson. He’s the player that I try to model my game after. He’s very versatile.”
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