THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — Argos running back Cory Boyd is making the most of a new lease on his football life.
The six-foot-one, 214-pound tailback has registered consecutive 100-yard games to move atop the CFL’s rushing race with 283 yards. More importantly, he’s helped lead the Toronto Argonauts to two straight wins and top spot in the East Division standings.
“My thing is I’m not going to let one person take me down…I fight for every yard. Every yard counts. It’s a game of inches. I thank my O-line, they just give me a bit of time and that’s all I ask. I just play the way I’ve always played, I’m a physical guy.”
– Argos RB Cory Boyd on his unique power running style
Heady stuff for a player who was out of football last year after being released by both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos and believed his playing days were over.
“I love the CFL, they actually give you a chance,” Boyd said. “If I was in the NFL I’d probably be on some team’s practice squad right now or playing special teams.
“To come out here and be a starter and battle through all I’ve had to battle through and still be here with a great team in a new organization, you can’t ask for much more.”
Boyd, 24, enjoyed a solid college career at South Carolina, becoming only the second player in school history to amass 1,000 career yards rushing and receiving. During his senior season, he ran for over 900 yards and scored nine TDs, good enough to be selected in the seventh round, 238th overall, in the 2008 NFL draft by Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers waived Boyd in July 2008 and put him on the season-ending injured reserve. He was released with an injury settlement a few months later.
Boyd then joined Denver’s practice roster in November 2008 and was promoted to the active roster the following month. But he was released six days later and re-signed to the practice squad. He returned to the active roster the 17th week of the season before being ultimately waived at the end of March 2009.
Boyd missed the entire 2009 season before signing with Toronto on last March. Boyd was so grateful for the opportunity presented to him by the Argos that he wept before taking to the field for the club’s final exhibition game in Montreal against the defending Grey Cup champions.
Boyd only ran for 42 yards on eight carries in Toronto’s season-opening 30-16 road loss to Calgary. But he had 109 yards on 19 carries and scored a touchdown in a 36-34 road victory over Winnipeg before running for 142 yards on 20 carries as the Argos rallied from an 11-point third-quarter deficit to down the Stampeders 27-24 on Wednesday night.
Boyd’s forte this season has been his physical running style. He’s a rugged north-south runner who is more content running through defensive opponents than around them and often carries two or three would-be tacklers before going to the ground.
“Cory Boyd is a quality back,” said Argos head coach Jim Barker. “He’s a tough back to tackle.
“When you put the ball in a guy like Cory Boyd’s hands, who’s 220 pounds and runs hard, it’s hard to bring him down. I was proud of how Cory played and how he battled and kept us in the game with his running.”
Boyd was able to wear down a Calgary defence that was playing its second game in four nights — the Stamps beat Hamilton 23-22 on Saturday. And his rugged running provided much-needed energy for an Argos squad that was playing on a short week following the road win in Winnipeg five nights earlier.
Boyd took a rather unique approach this off-season, opting to start his training sessions at midnight so he could spend more time with his family during the day.
“My thing is I’m not going to let one person take me down,” he said. “That’s what all the off-season training was for, 4 a.m., 3 a.m., just for these times right here.
“I fight for every yard. Every yard counts. It’s a game of inches. I thank my O-line, they just give me a bit of time and that’s all I ask. I just play the way I’ve always played, I’m a physical guy.”
And a vocal one.
“I make sure I stay in my O-linemen’s ear letting them know that I have confidence in them and they can have confidence in me,” Boyd said.
With the win over Calgary, Toronto (2-1) moved atop the East Division standings. It’s a lofty position considering the club has missed the CFL playoffs the last two years and won a combined seven games over that span, including just three in 2009.
Boyd has a simple reason for Toronto’s early-season success: Confidence.
“It’s just that simple, that’s what we feel,” he said. “That’s the swagger we need around here.
“It comes with us setting the tone first and not letting the other team dictate what’s going on. We started slowly (versus Calgary) but as the game went along we started to show our identity and that’s being a physical team. Not a lot of teams won’t want to do that on a short week but we’re going to keep building on that.”
Boyd and the Argos will have a little more time to prepare for their next contest, which will be against the B.C. Lions on July 23 at Rogers Centre. For tickets, please call 416-341-ARGO (2746) or click here to purchase online.