FORT WORTH, TX - DECEMBER 06: Quarterback Trevone Boykin #2 of the TCU Horned Frogs scores on a 55 yard touchdown reception against the Iowa State Cyclones during the first quarter of the Big 12 college football game at Amon G. Carter Stadium on December 6, 2014 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

1. TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin arrested for assault, suspended from Alamo Bowl

 

FORT WORTH – Earl Campbell never had to deal with turncoat online fans or cyber trolls as a Texas Longhorn. He never faced personal attacks or vulgar comments about his life and family on social media. His game performances were not instantly dissected and uploaded in video or podcast form by any avid football fan with a computer, webcam and microphone.

That just was not a way of life for a college athlete in 1970s.

His play was written about in the next day’s edition of the newspaper, discussed in the sports segments of the nightly local news. He was approached by fans and boosters who all had their take on this run or that fumble. There were at least some occasions to escape the attention, but the pressure and the scrutiny lingered.

Thirty years later, TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin is faced with high-tech analysis by the media, taunts and threats on social media, and the glaring spotlight that comes with being a college football star. He posed with the Horned Frog mascot on a recent cover of “Sports Illustrated.”

Boykin and Campbell’s journeys are decades apart but there are similarities the two realized when their lives recently intersected. Technology may have changed the game, but at the heart of it are two stories about young men excelling as stars in America’s biggest sport. It is that connection that has bonded Boykin and Campbell. It is that connection that has led the Pro Football Hall of Famer to become a mentor to the young quarterback.

“We talk on a daily basis,” Boykin explained recently during Big 12 Media Days.

In 2014, Boykin was the recipient of The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award. After the presentation of the honor, the two stayed in touch and formed a valuable relationship in Boykin’s life.

“He talks to me, he’s a normal guy,” Boykin said. “He’s just like one of us. He was one of us once before. He knows the things we go through every day, on and off the field. So, he gives you his story from a different perspective and you just try to apply it to your whole life.”

When Earl Campbell was on the field, people watched. East Texas lore is still passed on to this day about Campbell bulldozing to the end zone as a John Tyler Lion with five or six defenders hanging on, desperately trying to slow him. They surely could not stop him. He was highly recruited and approached by coaches from major programs from all over the country.

Campbell won the Heisman Trophy Award in 1977 following the Texas Longhorns’ undefeated regular season. He led the nation that season, rushing for 1,744 yards and 19 touchdowns.

There is now buzz surrounding Boykin as a legitimate Heisman contender in 2015. In 2014 he placed fourth overall in voting.

Boykin was ranked in the top 25 of high school quarterbacks and fifth in the state as a senior at West Mesquite High School. Last season he set a TCU single season record for passing yards with 3,901 and 33 touchdown passes.

Boykin was surrounded by reporters five rows deep with cameramen balancing on ladders for a shot of him at Big 12 Media Days. The TCU Horned Frogs are preseason ranked at number two in large part because of Boykin’s offensive leadership.

“That big eye in the sky is going to be on him,” Campbell said. “(I’m) just trying to get him to understand that, people are going to do the good things. You’re not going to have a problem with that, when something is going great in your life. But when you have a bad game, how to bounce back from that. Media is everywhere so he has to understand that the good comes with the bad, the bad comes with the good. Don’t get into reading all that stuff, go out and do your job. That’s what’s important.”

Campbell went on to play in the NFL, a career that spanned nine seasons with both the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints. He believes Boykin is not only headed to the NFL but will become a superstar at the professional level.

“I think Trevone is going to do bigger things than just TCU,” Campbell said. “I mean he’s a great ball player, that takes care of itself. But a lot of things are going to come after you get out of (college).”

Boykin is still in awe of his mentor. Their frequent talks have not diminished the impact of Campbell’s guidance. Boykin is more attentive to the hall of famer’s words now more than ever.

“It was just unbelievable when I finally got to meet him,” Boykin said. “I mean you read about him, you see things about him but when you finally get to meet him and you see everything he’s been through, he’s just so humble.

“You see the things he dealt with during his career and you see the stuff he’s dealing with after, he’s a fighter. He goes after it. He’s a pretty strong dude and he really doesn’t complain about much. He’s probably been through everything in his career. There’s just really nothing bad I can say about him.”

The adoration is mutual and Campbell sees some of himself at age 21 in Boykin.

“He’s a jokester but he’s very, very serious about life beyond football and school and everything, his family,” the Tyler Rose said. “That’s what is really important to him right now and that’s the most important thing. Because, with all you go through in life, if you don’t have grounding with your family, like I keep saying to him, you don’t have anything.”

Campbell has encouraged Boykin not only to hang on to his family bonds but his sense of humor as well. Campbell’s words resonate with him every day.

“Just staying humble, not trying to be bigger than what you really are, not trying to be bigger than the team,” Boykin said of Campbell’s advice. “Don’t try to change for anybody. I mean I’m a pretty goofy person and I like to play around, but when we’re on the field, it’s business it’s serious. It’s just the way you have to be.”

There was one joke Boykin could not resist when it came to the possibility of becoming a Heisman Trophy winner.

“I asked for his vote,” Boykin laughed. “No, I’m just playing.”

Boykin is on The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award watch list again in 2015. Campbell says it’s a possibility at the end of this season his protégé may very well win his award a second time and hoist the Heisman too.

“That’s one he really wants now,” Campbell said. “He’s gotten the Earl Campbell, he wants both of them. Which, there’s nothing wrong with that.”