Tyler Boyd: "Select few" Pitt players willing to go all out

As Pitt fans, we've all been a little displeased with the effort of the football team at times this season. Seems we're not the only ones.

Jerry DiPaola of the Trib penned an article this morning that didn't take long to make the rounds on social media and in it, Boyd questioned some of his teammates' effort:

Boyd said several Pitt players, including himself and fellow Clairton graduates Kevin Weatherspoon, Terrish Webb, and Titus Howard, have enough determination to help the team win now and in the future.

"James (Conner) has that in him. Ray (Vinopal) has it. Todd (Thomas) has it. K.K. (Mosley-Smith). T.J. (Clemmings) has it," Boyd said.

Their numbers are limited, he said.

"I just feel like not everybody on both sides (of the ball) has it, though. Just a select few," he said. "I just feel like everybody has to get on board with everybody, has to feed off each other. Because if we had more guys that are willing to go all out, then we won't be able to be touched."

I think if you look at the season, there has been a couple of no-show moments, so Boyd appears to make a reasonable complaint. You look at the second half of Iowa, the entire game against Akron, a ten-minute stretch against Virginia, and all of the fumbles against Georgia Tech (where, ironically, he had one), and you can see that the focus and effort just isn't always there for 60 minutes.

While it's good to hear Boyd speak up, the flipside is that this is disturbing to hear at the same time. Since Paul Chryst came aboard, he has made a big effort to change the culture at Pitt and getting everyone to buy in. To hear Boyd's thoughts that not everyone is doing as much as they could in year three of Chryst's rule means that focus is still a major problem in the program. Boyd didn't throw anyone under the bus, specifically, but you don't hear these types of comments every day.

You can look at this any way you want, but when Boyd speaks, it means something. He doesn't make it a habit of shooting his mouth off in the press, so he obviously sees something that he doesn't like and felt it needed to be addressed. 

Boyd commands a lot of respect on and off the field according to many around the football program and the fans love him. The message has been sent., but how will it be received?

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