Late last week, star Pittsburgh wide receiver Tyler Boyd was arrested on a suspicion of driving under the influence charge. Tomorrow, that charge is expected to be formalized -- and at least a couple of others thrown in for good measure.
The chief of the Jefferson Hills (Pa.) police department, Eugene Roach, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the department will “file DUI and other summary offenses Tuesday against” the 20-year-old Boyd. The charges would’ve been filed Monday, except the courts are closed because of Flag Day.
The other summary offenses will include underage drinking as well as what was described as “various vehicle code violations.”
Additionally, a couple of other details emerged regarding the traffic stop that led to the initial charge against Boyd.Boyd, 20, was stopped at 2:35 a.m. Friday on Route 885 for suspicion of driving under the influence, police said. Officer John O’Leary stopped Boyd’s vehicle after it passed another vehicle “with limited sight distance ahead,” according to a police report.
Boyd, who told police he consumed two shots of an alcoholic beverage a short time earlier, was given a portable breath test that registered positive, Roach said. Boyd later was given a blood test at Jefferson Hospital, but those results may not be available for several weeks, the chief said.
Labeling the situation as “both serious and disappointing,” first-year Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi said in a statement that “will be held accountable to our internal standards of discipline and behavior.”
If that discipline includes any lost playing time, even for a single game, it would serve as a significant blow as Boyd is, simply put, an indispensable piece of Pitt’s passing attack.
As a true freshman in 2013, Boyd led Pitt with 85 receptions for 1,174 yards and seven touchdowns. A year later as a sophomore, Boyd hit the same trifecta with 78-1,261-8. No. 2 in receptions in 2014 had 21 (J.P. Holtz), while No. 2 in receiving yards had 201 (Manasseh Garner). Only Holtz, a tight end, returns of those two in 2015.
Boyd’s name will litter nearly every preseason All-American team, and he’s widely projected to declare early and become a first-round pick in the 2016 NFL draft, with the potential to be the first receiver taken off the board.
