Cory J. Boyd (born August 6, 1985) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. He was selected by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

in the 7th round of the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

Early life

Boyd played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

and basketball at Orange High School, earning him a football scholarship to the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

College career

Boyd played for legendary coaches

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former college football coach and television analyst. He served as the head football coach at the College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the N ...

and

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nicknam ...

while at South Carolina. He finished ranked 10th all time in Gamecocks rushing with 2,267 total yards and 9th all time in yards receiving with 1,283 total yards. Boyd finished with 28 touchdowns in his 4 seasons with the Gamecocks. He played in the 2007 East-West Shrine Game.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Boyd was drafted by the

in the seventh round (238rd overall) of the

. He injured his knee during a rookie mini-camp and was placed on injured reserve for the 2008 season. Boyd was released by Tampa Bay on October 17, 2008.

Denver Broncos

Boyd was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

on November 4, 2008 after

P. J. Pope was promoted to the active roster. Boyd was promoted to the active roster on December 9 when fullback

Peyton Hillis Peyton Derek Hillis (born January 21, 1986) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks football, Arka ...

was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

. The Broncos waived Boyd six days later and re-signed him to the practice squad. He was then put back onto the active roster for Week 17 of the 2008 season following the season-ending injuries to

Selvin Young Selvin Young (born October 1, 1983) is an American former professional football running back. He played college football at Texas and played two seasons with the Denver Broncos in the National Football League (NFL) from 2007 to 2008. Early life ...

and P.J. Pope. The Broncos waived Boyd on March 31, 2009.

Toronto Argonauts

Boyd signed as a free agent with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

on March 12, 2010 and was extended with Toronto on March 21, 2011. In his first year in the CFL, he rushed for 1,359 yards and had 363 yards receiving in spite of missing several games due to injuries. Boyd received several post-season honors including being named the CFL's toughest player, the Argonauts' most outstanding player and was also nominated to the CFL East All-Star Team. For 2011, Boyd rushed for 1,141 yards and had 118 yards receiving having missed multiple games due to injuries. Once again, Boyd was named a RB for the CFL East All-Star Team. Boyd was released by the Toronto Argonauts on August 12, 2012. At the time of his release, Boyd led the CFL in rushing.

Edmonton Eskimos

Hours after his release from Toronto, Boyd joined the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

. On October 11, 2012, Cory Boyd was released by the

Eskimos ''Eskimo'' () is a controversial Endonym and exonym, exonym that refers to two closely related Indigenous peoples: Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Canadian Inuit, and the Greenlandic Inuit) and the Yupik peoples, Yupik (or Sibe ...

. Boyd saw limited playing time (76 yards through 8 games) as the Eskimos backfield became very crowded with

Hugh Charles Hugh Charles (born January 7, 1986) is an American former professional football running back who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Colorado. Early life Hugh Charles was born on January 7, 1986, in Tulsa ...

and

Jerome Messam Jerome Messam (born April 2, 1985) is a former professional Canadian football running back who played in nine seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for five teams. He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the BC Lions. After ...

. He was re-signed on October 21 after an injury to Hugh Charles.

Post retirement

Boyd now coaches football at South Carolina Faith Athletics & Music College in Charleston Sc.

References

External links

Stats Crew profileEdmonton Eskimos bioToronto Argonauts bioDenver Broncos bioTampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Cory 1985 births Living people American football running backs Canadian football running backs Denver Broncos players Edmonton Elks players Orange High School (New Jersey) alumni Players of American football from Orange, New Jersey South Carolina Gamecocks football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Toronto Argonauts players Players of Canadian football from New Jersey