This Guy Plays Notre Dame Football: #81 Miles Boykin

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a roster full of players, and we want to talk about them. One Foot Down’s player profile series will take a look at every single one of them, and hopefully we all learn a little bit more about these guys, and Notre Dame’s chances for the upcoming 2018 season. Up next: Miles Boykin.

#81 Miles Boykin

The man, the myth, the legend.

I am unofficially dubbing him the Citrus Bowl Bandit.

In case you haven’t heard, he stole the Citrus Bowl right from the grasp of the LSU Tigers with an amazing catch and run to cap off an up-and-down 2018 season for the Irish. He enters 2018 as the elder of the receiving corps, and has high expectations based on Brian Kelly’s praise. Kelly went so far as to say Miles Boykin was their best receiver in the spring and it wasn’t close.

If the Citrus Bowl is to be used as the barometer of play, Boykin is certainly capable of having a huge 2018.

3 Things About Miles Boykin

1. He didn’t have a huge year in terms of receptions or yards in 2017, but he averaged 21.1 yards per catch. He has proven himself a more than adequate deep threat.
2. He was rated as the #24 wide receiver and #3 player in Illinois according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.
3. He is enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business.

YouTube Hot Fire

Miles Boykin’s take on “The Catch,” made infinitely better.

Country, Condiment, or Canon

Identifying the player as either a country, condiment, or member of Star Wars Canon.

Croatia.

Nobody saw Croatia coming. England most definitely didn’t.

But after having stolen multiple games in a row, Croatia now holds a position in the World Cup.

Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Miles “Citrus Bowl Bandit” Boykin wasn’t expected to star in the Citrus Bowl. But three catches and 103 yards later, he was the hero of the game and was immediately thrust into the spotlight. His catch was miraculous, impeccable, and probably even good, just like the run that Croatia has had.

2018 Expectations

Boykin seems to be entrenched in a starting role for 2018, if Brian Kelly’s statements are anything to go by. Kelly has also set the bar pretty high for Boykin with his praise.

But it’s best to temper expectations here. Boykin will likely have a big year, no doubt, but expecting him to turn into Michael Floyd is setting yourself up for disappointment. Just due to his past statistics, anticipating a 1,000 yard type of season may be wishful thinking, but he has the ability to make it happen.

With that said, it seems as if the expectations from the media are that Boykin doesn’t end up starring like he possibly could. A solid but unspectacular season seems to be the safe (and popular) bet.

But if the Citrus Bowl has taught us anything, it’s that we shouldn’t sleep on Miles Boykin.