UGASports is counting down the days until the Bulldogs’ 2024 season opener. For each day in our countdown, we will reveal our opinion of the best player in Georgia history to wear that particular jersey number.
We select Brandon Boykin as the best Georgia player to wear jersey No. 2.
Position: Cornerback, Wide Receiver, Returner
Hometown (High School): Fayetteville, GA (Fayette County)
Height/Weight: 5-10, 183
Lettered: 2008-2011
Stats: 159 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 9 interceptions on defense; 5 receptions, 71 yards, 2 TD receptions and 7 rushes, 103 yards, 1 TD rush on offense; 110 kickoff returns, 2,663 kickoff return yards, 4 kickoff return TDs; 14 punt returns, 180 punt return yards, 1 TD
Career: There were a bevy of players to choose from No. 2, but we chose Brandon Boykin for how versatile he was. He did not play a lot as a freshman,. but that would change soon after. As a sophomore, he played 13 games while starting 12 of them and made 54 tackles. He was also second on the team with three interceptions. Where Boykin made most of the headlines was returning kicks. He set a school record by scoring three kickoff returns for a touchdown that season (South Carolina, Tennessee and in the Independence Bowl vs. Texas A&M). The first two of three mentioned went for 100 yards. Boykin became the first SEC player ever to have two 100-yard kickoff returns for touchdowns in one season. As a junior, he added another 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the game against Kentucky. He would frequently line up on offense in various ways as well as defense as a senior. In the season opener against Boise State, he scored on an 80-yard run. Later in the season, he would add a pair of touchdown receptions. He would also win the 2012 Outback Bowl team MVP award. He became Georgia's first (and as now, only) recipient of the Paul Hornung Trophy as the nation's most versatile athlete.
Post-UGA Career: Boykin was a fourth-round draft pick in 2012 by the Eagles. He would play in the NFL for Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Carolina, Chicago and Baltimore. He would have eight career interceptions including one for a pick-six.
#3 Honorable Mention: Tim Wansley, Asher Allen, Richard LeCounte, Kendall Milton, DeMario Minter, Smael Mondon
