Q&A: 2023 Barbe WR/TE Reed Boyd
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Barbe and other programs around Lake Charles returned to action this past fall after the devastation of Hurricane Laura turned much of life in the area on its heads in 2020. And while the Buccaneers took their knocks through a…
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Continue ReadingBarbe and other programs around Lake Charles returned to action this past fall after the devastation of Hurricane Laura turned much of life in the area on its heads in 2020.
And while the Buccaneers took their knocks through a 4-6 regular season, their talented junior class feels like they showed some flashes on which they can build to close out their high school careers with a bang this fall.
Wide receiver Jamaal Levi Jamaal Levi 5'9" | 155 lbs | WR Barbe | 2023 State LA caught 72 passes for 1,597 yards and 20 touchdowns in a record-setting, Class 5A all-state campaign to headline the 2021 season.
And he, quarterback Will McClain Will McClain 6'0" | 170 lbs | QB Barbe | 2023 State LA , cousin Reed Boyd —who is more like a brother — and the rest of the Buccaneers still see bigger things ahead in 2022 both individually and collectively.
Here are a few highlights from a recent conversation with Levi and Boyd during Easter weekend, including some of the latter’s thoughts on how their complimentary frames and talents can present problems for opposing defenses.
Last spring ball for y’all is right around the corner. What’s that like for y’all? It’s been an interesting high school few years for y’all. We talked a little bit before about the fact that it’s been such tumultuous times in southwest Louisiana with the storms that have come through. So y’all have had some highs and some lows. What’s it like to realize y’all are getting ready for the last year of it?
It’s kind of the final ride coming in. It’s the beginning of the end for us. It’s our senior year, and we just wanna lead our team in as much as we can get done and be productive to kind of set a good example for all the years that are coming up. I mean, we’ve had it pretty bad with the storms and everything, a lot of adversity and having to push through. Last year we had, I think, two players that had ever played varsity football before on our starting lineup, and all the other 20 players had never seen the field before. So going through that, and just kind of the brotherhood that we have with other just working through everything, it’s a plus for us going into next year knowing we have each other’s backs and seeing how we all perform under pressure.
Does it start to feel kind of normal again yet out there? Are y’all kind of back into a more normal rhythm?
Just kind of working with a chip on our shoulder, kind of pushing ourselves from our last season and have a better, more successful season and go deeper in the playoffs and do what we can.
And last year, dealing with some of the adversity of so many people being new to varsity football and y’all just trying to get back to it at all, but one of the highs involved was Jamaal having 72 catches for 1,597 yards and 20 touchdowns and breaking a couple of Trey Quinn’s school records with three 200-yard games and your yardage total. And I think a few people have had the same reaction that I had: If you’re breaking Trey Quinn’s receiving records, you’re doing something pretty right… And when did you guys realize it was going to be that type of a special performance?
Going into our first couple of games, he was averaging three or four touchdowns a game, and that’s kind of whenever it gave it away that this was gonna be a pretty big and special year. And just, like you said, teams were going to prepare for Jamaal. Towards the end of the season, there were just brackets on him with two or three guys watching him… And knowing that we’ve got the speed from Jamaal and everything like that, then the rest of our receiving corps is all averaging over 6-feet tall just about. And just the diversity we’ve got on the offense when it comes to size and speed and height and just our ability to work together and the chemistry we’re going to have together coming back… Just about almost every offensive and defensive player is returning with the exception of probably six, and that’s what I think is probably going to lead us to a pretty good season next year.
I was going to ask you about that dynamic of being one of those guys that I’ve got right at 6-1, 205-ish, so you’re more of an inside receiver and line up sometimes in the backfield even as more of an H-type role. When you’ve got him on the outside going off that way and stretching things that much vertically, how much did that open things up for you over the middle in making some of the plays you made?
Very much. Like we talked about, the brackets on him, it’s ridiculous how much it will open up the field for all the other receivers. And our quarterback being back there for a whole year now, it’s opened his eyes, and toward the end of the season we spread it out a lot better. And just, having 6-1, 210 and then 5-8, 5-9 running a 4.4, it’s hard to guard everything. And then outside of us, we’ve got other receivers who are standing at 6-2 and can go up and go get the ball. So it just opens up the field a lot knowing they’ve got to worry about him, and if they don’t, it’s coming back toward the inside of the field. It’s just a very good dynamic of the game to have so many people worried and looking at one player, and then whenever we dash it out here, it breaks down defenses. And our offensive line is all returning now, so we’re gonna have a lot stronger offensive line. So if they’re too worried about their secondary, we’re gonna be able to run it right up.”
One of the people that had the same reaction as me about those Trey Quinn records, (former tiger end) DeSean Smith reacted on Twitter and said kind of the same thing: If you’re being beating Trey Quinn numbers, then you’re doing something pretty special. What did it mean to see a guy like that that had gone on to play at LSU and everything reach out and show that love — a guy that had had a fantastic career in his own right when he was at Barbe? How much did it mean to hear from some of those older guys as y’all were able to get back and put some excitement back into that program this past fall?
It goes to show that during that season of the hurricane season we refer to it as, with us not having a varsity season that one year and us just working constantly in the weight room and on the field after practice and everything, he broke Trey Quinn’s record. And that just goes to show we’ve been putting it in. And our first year back from that, we’re able to come back and break a phenomenal record. There’s no telling what we have in store for this coming up season.
They had Kennon Fontenot back in the day. Y’all have Will McClain Will McClain 6'0" | 170 lbs | QB Barbe | 2023 State LA . Talk a little bit about the way he leads that offense and is able to distribute the ball around, to work with you Jamaal despite some of those tight coverages you see, but to know when to find his other weapons and get the ball to the right place on the field.
He does a good job of distributing the ball and adjusting to his receivers, because like I said Jamaal’s 5-8 or 5-9 and runs a 4.4 and I’m 6-1 and 210 and run a 4.9, so it’s a big difference. And being able to adjust to that and knowing how to get it to your receivers and knowing their limitations, it took a little bit. But once we got it down, it was pretty hard to beat. Being able to distribute it that different variation of guys, that’s gonna be what’s going to help us and bring us a far way next year.
What are some of the things that you two are working on this spring, whether on your own right now or workouts over at school or any trainers you work with, and then as you get into spring and summer? What are some aspects of y’all’s games or physical development that y’all are working on?
Our biggest thing I’d probably say is, one, size is undeniable and, two, speed. The two most undeniable aspects of football. I mean it’s hard to beat speed, so my biggest thing this summer going into it is getting faster and doing what I can to help (Jamaal) get bigger. Because if we can get ready and adjust to that, it’s going to be hard for other teams to develop and work against us if he gets bigger and I get faster. Just working together, we’ve been living with each other since fourth grade, so our connection on the field is unstoppable.