Dynamic Georgia defensive back a threat to score at any point
South Carolina special teams coordinator John Butler was surprised when told Brandon Boykin has four career kickoff returns for touchdowns, which ties the Georgia return man for the all-time Southeastern Conference record.
Butler figured Boykin had more.
"I swear I saw [more than four] on film," Butler said. "I swear I saw about six or seven; he must have had some called back.
"I mean, that kid, he can fly."
The Gamecocks know that all too well. Two seasons ago, Boykin starred against USC in Athens. Boykin returned four kickoffs for 187 yards in the Bulldogs' 41-37 win in 2009, including a 100-yard touchdown return that is the longest play in the history of Sanford Stadium.
"That's a huge weapon for them," Butler said. "That's field position for them. Any time he touches the ball, he can take that thing to the house. No question."
USC kept Boykin in check last fall — two returns for 40 yards — and hopes it can do the same again. Kicker Jay Wooten will be integral to that goal. Wooten had three touchbacks against East Carolina, but said that won't necessarily be his strategy to keep the ball away from Boykin.
"It all depends," Wooten said. "We'll see how the weather is, if the wind's blowing and whatnot. It's definitely something we'll think about."
Wooten said he wasn't preoccupied with the threat Boykin presents.
"My responsibility is just to kick," Wooten said. "I'll put it where they tell me to, or at least do my best to do that, and we'll just see how it pans out."
The bar was pretty low for Wooten's first night as USC's kicker, and he more than cleared it. In addition to the touchbacks, the former North Carolina transfer converted all eight of his point-after tries. It was a far cry from the first day for Wooten's predecessor, Spencer Lanning.
Lanning had two botched field goal attempts — one on a bad miss, one on a bad snap — in USC's season-opening 7-3 win at N.C. State in 2009. Lanning's second night was the polar opposite: He was the silver lining to USC's special teams disaster in Athens the next week, kicking five field goals to tie the school single-game mark.
Wooten, who didn't make the trip to Georgia but was on the team and watched from home, remembers Lanning's performance and has thought about how his current situation is similar in some ways.
"[Lanning] had a great game (in 2009)," Wooten said. "Any time you can help your team put some points on the board, that's a great opportunity. I'm just going to be as ready as I can and we'll see how it goes."
Wooten's success likely won't be measured by how many field goals or PATs he kicks, but by the kickoff team's performance in preventing itself from becoming a footnote to an SEC record. Butler said he felt the unit did "OK" against ECU but needs "to cover with more intensity and more physicality."
"We've just got to kind of clean up the negative and keep building on the positive," said Butler about all special teams.
Playing keep-away with Boykin would be a good start.
