Kris Boyd recruit scouting report: Long, lockdown cornerback

Kris Boyd is an tall, speedy class of 2015 cornerback.

Boyd, out of Gilmer (Texas) High School, stands 6’1 and weighs in at 175 pounds, and he runs a reported 4.45 40-yard dash. As of February 2014, he’s rated as a consensus four-star prospect by the four major recruiting services, and he’s the 75th-best player in the class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He’s ranked No. 7 at his position and No. 5 among players from the state of Texas.

Boyd is drawing interest from some top programs, and he currently holds nine scholarship offers from Texas, Baylor, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida State, Mississippi State, Texas Tech and TCU.

Fans can follow Boyd on Twitter at @kris23db.

At 6’1, with long arms, Boyd has elite size for the cornerback position, a fact that always raises the question of whether he has the fluidity to stay there in college.

The two questions that arise from that are: 1) How fast is Boyd in a straight line? 2) Can he flip his hips and transition in coverage?

The answer to the first question can be verified by his track times -- Boyd ran a sub-11 100m last spring in track for Gilmer and his absence of many times suggests that he doesn’t participate that often or that his times aren’t always accurately recorded. Based on his work for the Gilmer offense with the ball in his hands, he looks like a player who could run a sub-10.7 100m with the right technique.

So, it seems clear that Boyd is fast enough to make up for any tightness in his hips or poor technique/footwork.

And if lateral quickness at running back can translate to coverage ability, Boyd is impressive with his change of direction, ability to turn the corner at a high speed, and lateral movement to get to the edge. In fact, there’s some pure running back skills in Boyd’s game and it’s not a stretch to imagine him as a high-impact player on the offensive side of the ball in college, though he’s being recruited as a defensive back at this time.

Beyond a few brief looks in press coverage and some zone coverage in a bail look, it’s hard to get a read on Boyd’s ability to flip his hips and run with receivers, as well as his ball skills -- on this 16-minute highlight reel, those things just don’t show up on film.

What is apparent is that Boyd is excellent in press coverage. His long arms help tremendously, but what really shines is his willingness to get physical with opponents. On one running play, Boyd explodes through his lower body like an offensive lineman to pancake a wide receiver.

The physicality translates to his tackling ability, too, as Boyd is a solid striker overall, though he would benefit from bringing his lower body like he does defeating perimeter blocks in the running game and by more consistently wrapping up.

However, there is enough from the Gilmer product as a tackler to favorably project him at safety if the cornerback skills don’t end up being there in college. Throw in the fact that he could be a productive wide receiver and running back and there are plenty of positions that Boyd could contribute at in college.

Given his size, his greatest value lies at cornerback and if can show some technique and ball skills there, he has a chance to have a tremendous college career.