The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Ex-Xavier, UConn QB signed by Green Bay
MIDDLETOWN — Tim Boyle is traveling to Wisconsin on Thursday with his eyes wide open — from the excitement of being a Green Bay Packer as well as the realization he’s going to have to earn his way onto the roster as an undrafted free-agent quarterback.
Boyle was one of 15 players signed by the Packers once the NFL draft concluded Saturday night. The news was a big deal when classes resumed Monday at Xavier High School, where Boyle was part of three state championship teams and, as a senior, a firstteam Register All-State selection and the CHSCA’s player of the year.
“There was a lot of buzz at school. The kids were talking about it quite a bit. In fact, Tim came down on Monday to see me,” Xavier offensive coordinator Greg Jaskot said. “The kids see him and he’s a presence, a positive presence, and he really cares about the Xavier community. He cares about where he comes from.
“I know he maintains contact with a lot of players and coaches he worked with at Xavier, and I think that means something to him. There was definitely excitement about him joining the Packers because we all remember him walking the halls at Xavier, and then playing in college, and now preparing for what’s next.”
Like all undrafted rookies, the 6-foot-31⁄2, 232pound Boyle gets a threeyear contract. It would become guaranteed if he makes the team out of training camp, meaning the Packers would own his rights for 2018, ’19 and ’20.
His weekend at the team’s facility will center on rookie mini-camp. Come
July, he will be one of five quarterbacks in Green Bay’s camp, joining twotime Super Bowl champion Aaron Rodgers; Brett Hundley, who backs up Rodgers and appeared in 11 games last year; former Cleveland Browns starter DeShone Kizer; and Joe Callahan, a Division III product who was signed to the active roster in December and appeared in a game.
“You always have to earn your way in this sport, especially in the NFL,” Boyle said earlier this week. “It’s a production-based league and I’ll be in competition to the day I stop playing football. I’m going to have to prove myself to my coaches and my team and I look forward to competing and earning my stripes.”
Boyle, who turns 24 in October, was ready for the next level at the conclusion of his college career.
At UConn, he played in 27 games over three tumultuous seasons and under three different head coaches. Then he transferred to FCS (formerly Division I-AA) Eastern Kentucky. After appearing in five games as a junior redshirt, he threw for 2,134 yards and 11 TDs in 11 games as a senior. He also got a degree in sports management.
Boyle’s pro day took place at the Sport and Speed Institute in Northern Virginia, where he ran a 4.75 in the 40, had a 35.5inch vertical and benchpressed 225 pounds 16 times while scouts looked on. For context, Baker Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick by the Browns, had a 4.84 in the 40 and a 29 vertical at the NFL’s scouting combine. Boyle’s 40 time and vertical also were better than the combine showings of quarterbacks Sam Darnold (No. 3 pick by the Jets) and Josh Rosen (10th to the Cardinals).
“It was a huge day for me from a scouting standpoint,” Boyle said. “It got me on some more radars.”
The Packers brought in Boyle for a visit the week before the draft, he said. He did not work out for their staff. It was more of a feeling-out type of visit, he said.
“When I was there, it definitely felt like they were interested,” Boyle said. “One of the reasons I was brought out there was they wanted to make sure I was 100 percent healthy. I’ve had three surgeries over the past four years, so I had some MRIs and X-rays done. The visit was huge for me as a person and a dream come true. Everything there was first-class.”
Boyle, who did not want to discuss specifics of the injuries, said he is fully healthy for football and “100 percent ready to go.”
His reaching the pros is as much a source of pride for Xavier as it is for Boyle. Jaskot was just one coach (Don Crescimano was another) who oversaw Boyle’s development as a Falcon from the beginning, working with him and teammates on the offensive side of the ball.
“As he matured, you started to see he looked the part,” Jaskot said. “He has the tools you need to be successful to be in the National Football League. He was motivated to reach his goals, he was driven to succeed, and that was apparent throughout all of high school.”
As Boyle looked ahead to wearing gold and green, he also reflected on what he achieved on the field at Xavier and what the school still means to him as he enters the ultimate phase of his football career.
“The biggest thing Xavier’s taught me is a sense of community, being able to rely on all my teammates and coaches, and it taught me how to win,” Boyle said. “Xavier instilled in me to be a winner. I’m grateful to have been surrounded by great players and coaches and so thankful to my teammates, coaches, teachers and the community. It’s all such a blessing.”