NSU: Boyce starting at WR, special teams a strength

When Norfolk State wide receiver Xavier Boyce isn’t sure of his route, or his role, in a certain play he’ll look to his wide receivers coach or offensive coordinator, shrug his shoulders and hold out his hands.

Fortunately for the Spartans, that’s happening less and less often.

“I pretty much have most of it,” Boyce said. “There’s still little kinks that I have to work on. The more I practice, the more I work on it, the more it’s going to come.”

So infrequently, in fact, that NSU bumped Boyce into its most important wide receiver position, the starter at the “X” position, which traditionally leads a Joe Blackwell offense in catches.

“He and Reggie are out there right now,” Adrian said. “I think as it develops you’ll see Reggie move to the Z. He’s smart enough. You can see Boyce is getting his football stuff down. He runs really good routes. That will take care of itself.”

Given Boyce’s athleticism, the shift was expected, but the two-week turnaround was relative quick. He ran routes twice a week while he sat out last spring and worked out occasionally, but arrived at training camp behind his teammate.

“When I got out of here, I thought I was more out of shape than I was, but I was definitely out of shape,” Boyce said. “I’m getting into a rhythm, getting my legs under me. To me, I felt like I wasn’t explosive as I normally am, but after talking to (quarterback Chris) Walley and some others, they said I looked explosive. Sometimes my legs get tight, so I’ve got to make sure to stretch them.”

Reggie Garrett, the previous X receiver who led NSU in catches and yardage in four of the final five games of the season, will shift over to the Z spot, with Victor Hairston sticking as the slot receiver.

When Boyce needs a breather, Garrett is capable of taking over the X, and Derrick Demps will probably shift to the Y. True freshman Keith Johnson and Kelvin Lewis will spell them as needed.

Special teams a strength

No NSU player has looked more improved from last season than kicker Ryan Estep.

Estep was terrible over the first half of last year and each week early in the season I seemed to ask head coach Pete Adrian about his job security weekly. Adrian kept trotting Estep out there and later revealed the kicker had a sore groin.

Despite the injury, Adrian insisted Estep was the best option – a statement of confidence and an indictment of the other kickers on the roster.

“I told the coaches, so they knew,” Estep said. “I didn’t want to make a big deal of it.”

Over the final four games, Estep made 4 of 5 field goals and 13 of 14 extra points, excellent numbers for a MEAC team. The one missed field goal was blocked, but the missed extra point was memorable.

Estep said that kick, possibly the most disheartening moment of NSU’s season, affect Estep this season, he said. While it would have been easy to pile on the kicker after the 7-6 loss, Estep said they only supported him.

In practice so far, Estep has been near perfect, including making all seven kicks during NSU’s last scrimmage.

“Those guys have said the same thing,” Estep said, pointing to a group of fans attending practice. “I’m pretty confident right now.”

Estep estimates his range at 50 yards and in. Anything longer would likely prompt Adrian to punt, or take a risk by calling on Everett Goldberg.

Special strength

Goldberg, who will start the season as a kickoff specialist, appears to be a major upgrade.

In practice, Goldberg has routinely placed the ball inside the 5-yard-line in a corner of the field, pinning return men into a corner. Occasionally he’s put the ball a yard or two into the end zone.

Last year, NSU was better than just three MEAC teams in kickoff coverage, netting 32.4 yards each kickoff, often resorting to pooch kicks.

He has struggled some on field goals. Adrian said coaches believe he’s trying to kick the ball too hard, prompting him to pull it to the right.

“That’s going to make a huge difference for us,” Adrian said.

In the MEAC, notorious for terrible special teams play, I’d predict that Goldberg and Estep will give NSU the second-best kicking game in the conference, next to South Carolina State and Blake Erickson, routinely the league’s best. That will be dependent on NSU doing better on punt protection than last year and getting good snaps from true freshman long snapper Rickey Foreman, of Oscar Smith.

Three corners

Adrian confused me with his usage of “nickel back” earlier this season when I announced Marcus Cooperwood and Natturner Harris the starting cornerbacks. He dubbed Harris the nickel back.

In my mind, that meant he was the fifth defensive back on the field, coming in after the other two. In Adrian’s terminology it means the corner that covers the slot receiver.

Adrian said he has three starting corners and will rotate through Cooperwood, Harris and Center.

Other injuries

Wilonte Roscoe, a freshman from Churchland, continues to sit out with an undiagnosed leg injury, while Steven Bunce is sitting with an undiagnosed kidney issue. … Two true freshman are spending the year sidelines with injuries. Receiver Shaun Corbett is out with a torn ACL, while tight end Jim Lynch cut his Achilles tendon during a lawnmower accident. Corbett was likely to redshirt, while Lynch was a potential contributor.

Hurricane Impact

The Spartans missed two practices due to Hurricane Irene, one on Friday and another on Saturday. With Virginia State coming up, Norfolk State should be OK.

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