There is a star in the making, right in the heart of Mid-Michigan. Evan Boyd, a 6-foot-4 senior wide receiver at East Lansing High, is preparing for his next chapter. One that will see the 3-star rated player continue his athletic and academic career at Central Michigan.
This season, Boyd has racked up 46 receptions, for 813 yards, with five touchdowns. With his regular season high school football career over, Boyd still has a few goals he wishes to accomplish, like winning the state and conference championship with ELHS.
The Trojans are still in title contention, taking on Forest Hills Northern for the Regional title on Nov. 11 in Grand Rapids.
Boyd’s desire to win and improve, as evidenced by his high school achievements, are things he wants to continue for as long as possible.
“Gotta enjoy your high school, cause there's nothing like it, like Friday night lights,” Boyd said.
Boyd’s recruitment experience was eventful, receiving offers from Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and the Naval Academy. He also visited many other schools.
By the end of the process, everything pointed back to Mount Pleasant.
“The family they have out there,” Boyd said, about why he chose the Chippewas. “The first few times I went up there I used to get a little nervous, but now I go up there, it's just like I’m kind of in the family now. They’re really welcoming, and it’s a place you can get pretty comfortable pretty fast.”
Boyd said one of the best pieces of advice he received came from CMU’s coaching staff, telling him to keep his options open and visit other schools.
“I visited Miami (Fla.) last year, and I still never ran into any place like Central, so that’s why I picked them,” Boyd said.
Boyd grew up in Howell, but has lived in East Lansing since seventh grade. He's played for the Trojans’ ever since. His coach and teammates only have good things to say about him. His quarterback Dalen Adams said he's a great person and teammate to lead the team with.
“We've grown a good relationship on and off the field, which is good to have, good to lead the team, I'm glad to lead the team with him and set a good example for the younger guys behind us,” Adams said.
Adams also praised Boyd’s athletic ability, and said that he makes his job as quarterback that much easier with him on the field.
“He’s a big target, he’s fast, love to hit him, he’s always going to be open,” Adams said. “He makes it easy for me. He takes what the defense gives him, so I just gotta put it in a spot and he’ll get the ball and do something with it.”
Boyd uses his feet and his speed as a valuable asset on the field. He turns short plays into big gains, and uses his hands to haul in the long-range passes. A big part of Boyd’s development was the coaching staff at ELHS.
Coach Bill Feraco has coached Boyd for the past four years, and said watching all his players progress is a special feeling.
“That’s one of the rewarding things about coaching, is that you see the development occur when they’re very young and as they grow into the sport,” Feraco said. “It’s been a very rewarding experience.”
Boyd’s decision to attend CMU was dictated by his heart. Central Michigan is in-state and close to home. His older brother, Michigan State redshirt offensive lineman Ethan Boyd, also used those criteria to stay close to home.
“Like my brother, he’s right at MSU, to me and him, our mom raised us, so staying close to her is the best option for both of us,” Boyd said, “Just being only like an hour from home is good cause I can come back and see my family.”
Boyd learned from his older brother that college football is much different than high school football. His brother told him that there is a big gap between high school and the NCAA.
“It’s more of a mental game in college and obviously it's faster, you have more things to do and stuff,” Boyd said. His brother also told him to, “enjoy your high school, cause there’s nothing like it like Friday night lights and stuff.”
While Boyd’s life goals aren’t fully planned out yet, he plans on studying social work and following in his mother’s career path while studying at CMU.
“My mom’s a social worker,” Boyd said. “I just want to help people, that’s probably my biggest goal in life.”
Boyd, in addition to being on the football team, is also on the Trojans’ basketball team, playing as a guard. And he’s a pretty good one, according to his football coach.
So good, Boyd toyed with the choice of choosing basketball or football for his future plans.
“There is this romantic connection with other sports, in Evans' case, basketball,” Feraco said. There came a point maybe in the last year, maybe 8 months ago, where he realized football is probably the sport that is going to allow him to do the things that he wants to do more so than maybe basketball, he’s a pretty good high school basketball player.”
Feraco said while it hasn’t always been easy, he has high expectations for Boyd as well.
“There were certain stages he had to go through to get here, and I still think with him the ceiling is very very high,” Feraco said. “He’ll leave us with a very positive experience, but the ceiling is still going to be very high for him to reach his potential.”