The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
For Xavier grad Boyle, the dream is a reality
On Thursday, Tim Boyle played pretty well, throwing for 127 yards and a touchdown in more than two preseason quarters against the Kansas City Chiefs. On Friday, he stayed glued to his phone.
Nothing.
Finally, Saturday, as the day wore on toward the NFL’s afternoon deadline for teams to pare their rosters, well, actually, it is best that Boyle tells the rest.
“I got the call from my agent around 4:02 p.m., and he opened by telling me that he was speaking to the newest member of the Green Bay Packers. He said that the team reached out to him and let him know that I was officially on the 53-man roster.”
Last week was quite a week for Packers quarterbacks. On Wednesday, Brett Hundley got traded to Seattle, which meant that DeShone Kizer won the backup job. Later that same day, future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers received a record-breaking $134 million contract extension.
The activity benefited Boyle indirectly. He looked good in the preseason — the arm strength, the precision, the poise, the maturity. Rodgers and Packers coach Mike McCarthy were telling reporters that they liked what they were seeing. It seemed logical that, especially after Hundley got dealt, that Boyle would remain on the roster as an undrafted rookie.
It was another snapshot in his journey out of sleepy Middlefield to Xavier High School, where he played on excellent teams and won two state titles, to surviving a lousy UConn experience created by UConn, and then getting to show his stuff at Eastern Kentucky as a senior transfer.
Today, Tim Boyle is an NFL quarterback. For real.
“Obviously a very emotional moment for me,” he told the Press late Saturday. “It was such a great feeling knowing that I had made
it. By no means have I accomplished what I want to accomplish, but to reach this level of football and know that my hard work had paid off … there is no better feeling.
“Telling my family and my girlfriend was very emotional for me. A lot of tears on both ends and pure happiness. I will never forget this day for as long as I live and I can’t thank my support staff enough for being there through good times and bad no matter what.
“This has been a culmination of a lot of people’s hard work and I truly am blessed.”
The Packers are the only publicly owned franchise in the NFL, with more than 360,000 individual stockholders. The reach of their rich history touches even the most casual of football fans. Lombardi, Lambeau, Kramer, Nitschke, Starr, Hornung, Wood, White and Favre. There is the Ice Bowl and four Super Bowl wins. Next August, the franchise with celebrate its 100th year.
Boyle is a stitch in this fabric as he embarks on his
pro career. It is a satisfying success story for him, Xavier and anyone else who helped him along the way, and a great moment for our community as a whole.
Green Bay opens the season Sunday night at home against the Chicago Bears. Go out there and buy a No. 8 Packers jersey.
WHEN GUYON GOT BUSTED
While preparing for the new season at Xavier, football coach Andy Guyon reflected on one of his lasting memories of Boyle’s time with the Falcons. At that time, Guyon was Xavier’s defensive coordinator.
“After the first state championship (this decade), in 2011 training camp, Tim had a difficult time with touch when he was close up to you. He threw me the ball and broke my ring finger, so I had to get a bigger ring size for the championship ring. The problems of winning,” Guyon said with a laugh.
“What’s happened to him is amazing, to be perfectly honest with you,” the coach added. “Everything he endured at UConn (among them, three changes at head coach, coordinator and quarterbacks coach), he kept an amazing attitude.
He would not let anything get him down. I texted him to say ‘congratulations, now the real work starts, make sure you get better, continue to work to stay on team.’
“But I couldn’t be prouder and happier for his family. He’s getting the chance everyone thought he deserved.”
MARSHALL ON THE MIKE
Lorenzo Marshall will be the public-address announcer this fall for Middletown High football games. The Blue Dragons play their opener at 7 p.m. Friday against Wethersfield at Rosek-Skubel Stadium.
Marshall has called Blue Dragons games in the past and succeeds the voice of Middletown sports, Jim Bransfield, who died last winter.
Marshall is a key figure at the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, where he is its workforce development director, and is on the board of directors of the Middletown Sports Hall of Fame.
A MADISON-TO-DURHAM INFLUENCE
Eric Becker is intent on building a winning football program at Coginchaug, where he begins his second season with Saturday’s season opener at Canton. Becker was the offensive coordinator at Daniel Hand before coming to Durham.
“I’ll always be black and gold,” Becker said, “but I always saw myself taking over a struggling program and building it. When the Coginchaug job opened up, it felt right and I’m just so grateful for the opportunity. I love the work, the families, the kids.”
Becker said one of his strongest influences in the game was the great Steve Filippone, who Becker played for at Daniel Hand and later coached under his wing. Filippone coached Hand football for 27 seasons, retiring after the 2016 season, and amassed 223 victories and seven state championships.
“Football to me is men’s work,” he said. “It develops great character. Steve Filippone was such a mentor. Coaching kids at this level, he said, has got to be more than blocking and tackling.”
THIS AND THAT
** Following his death, Middletown High School created the “Jim Bransfield Legacy Award” to recognize student-athletes who
played three sports annually across their high school careers.
“Jim was a big believer in kids being kids. He always wanted our kids to enjoy the moment and be a part of everything that high school had to offer,” MHS athletic director Elisha De Jesus said. “He believed that student-athletes should play multiple sports and not just specialize in one.”
Those 12-season Blue Dragons who became the first recipients of the award in June were Benjamin Carlson (cross country, indoor and outdoor track); Dylan Drescher (soccer, swimming, outdoor track); Aliyah Hayes (fall and winter cheering, outdoor track); DeAaron Lawrence (football, basketball, outdoor track); Brennan Maxfield (soccer, basketball, golf) and Morgan Resnisky (fall and winter cheering, outdoor track).
** Middletown Post 75’s fall baseball team will open its season this weekend after three days of “spring training.” The 75ers will play road games against Windsor Locks on Saturday and Tri-County on Sunday. Their first game at the new Pat Kidney Field will be Sept. 11 against
Newington.
** Ohio State scored 77 points on Saturday and Buckeye Nation rejoiced. Coach Urban Meyer will be back on the job in Week 4 after serving a three-game suspension for mishandling domestic assault allegations against a troubled assistant. When Meyer returns, the fans will try to act as if none of that ever happened, but we know better. There is a stain on the program that might never lift.
** Speaking of Big Ten programs, the clock is ticking on Jim Harbaugh’s tenure at Michigan after the Wolverine lost their opener to Notre Dame. I don’t see Harbaugh beating Wisconsin or, again, the Buckeyes this year, and that probably will be enough for the administration to turn on him and cut ties. Which is kind of sad, but hey, college football is a business, not a sport.
** It seems that most Giants fans I’ve spoken to would be happy with an 8-8 followup to 3-13. The GMen have Odell back and Saquon Barkley is now in the picture, and the offensive line and the defense might be improved over last year. The schedule is very difficult. Eight wins would satisfy me, too.