PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Tyler Boyd only got to play 13 games with Aaron Donald at Pitt. They would win a bowl game together, now the two who grew up 20 miles apart from each other play for a slightly bigger bowl, on opposite teams.
"I think it's awesome," Boyd said Monday. "I think it's real wholesome to have two guys that went to Pitt and that's actually from Pittsburgh that's playing against each other in the Super Bowl. It shows two guys that got it out the mud and prospered from the bottom."
"Everything is starting to pay off for both of us. I'm very happy for him and his success, but unfortunately there is only one winner in this game. I hope all the best for him. It's going to be a great game."
Over a dozen years removed from Penn Hills High School, Donald has become the best defensive player of his era, three times winning Defensive Player of the Year.
Boyd remembers Donald coming off 5.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss as a junior and coming into their lone season together in 2013. It was Pitt's first year in the ACC and a first conference road game at Duke.
"Week three of my freshman year, coming off a loss to Florida State," Boyd recalled. "He wasn't talked about at all. We were out there playing, we were up and they started to make a comeback. He went out there and played like the apex predator that he is."
"The quarterback said hut and he did a read option with a running back and he tackled both of them. Once I saw that, it was set in stone for me. I knew what kind of player he would be and that he would be a great player in the NFL."
Boyd has done alright for himself too with a mostly downtrodden Bengals team,
3743 yards and 21 touchdowns the last four years. The Clairton native showed that small-school players can get it done at the highest level.
"Hard work and preparation," Boyd said of his success. "I take every day like it's my last 'cause it's actually a privilege to be playing in the National Football League. Every time I step foot out there I want to prove to myself and everybody why I deserve to be there. With Joey B's help, it makes everything easier because he's so smart and understands football. He makes our job easier."
Under Joe Burrow, the Bengals had their first double-digit win season since Boyd got there and the first Super Bowl appearance since 1988. Boyd has also seen his college team grow from 21 wins in the three seasons he played to 11 in 2021 with an ACC Championship.
"Narduzzi was the best fit for the head coaching job," Boyd said. "Where I'm from I think I take a lot of pride in everything I do. We are a blue-collar team and players. We are strong and will do whatever it takes to win. We will scrap until we don't have anything else. I think he was the perfect fit to come in. He lived by that same code."
"He made every guy fierce, want to do anything to help us get the win. Guys changed throughout that course. I think him coming in and applying the pressure that he applied, it showed. We won the ACC Championship last year and continue to go."
