I won't pretend to know Tyler Boyd, but my wife is a social worker for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit out of Clairton for the past 9 years. In her job she refers families to Tanya Payne(Tyler's mother)who works for the Clairton Head Start program, and they have become friendly over time .Anything I say is pretty much public knowledge, so I am comfortable expressing these things in a public forum. Tanya believes in education strongly, and coaxed Tyler to Pitt because she loved the academics and felt it was the best place the school and she could keep a close watch on her son's classroom performance. That said, life in Clairton is anything but white picket fences. At the end of high school the family experienced a significant house fire which has been to this day a burden for them to recover from. Two years ago Tyler had a baby daughter. He is no longer with the mother but making every effort to be in his child's life. I pass no judgment on him for this-the sad reality is that in Clairton many of the young men with few prospects for their future have 3 or more kids and avoid being involved. If you watch the news at all you will see that over the past 2 years Clairton has grown more and more violent. I become more concerned daily that my wife makes it home at night, but she believes she is making a difference in kids lives who need someone to advocate for them. Having been raised in Wilkinsburg, she is fearless but not too foolish. Just in the past couple of weeks in Clairton a 44 year old man was found shot dead in his apartment, a 22 year old man was shot dead by a 21 year old man, and a man got shot at a bar frequented by bikers after women got into a brawl. This is all occuring in a small town with a dwindling population. It is not a pretty picture when the Friday Night Lights are off.
I guess my point is everyone needs to keep in mind what makes sense for one may not make sense for another. Whether he makes 1st round or 4th round money, Tyler may decide it is important to help his mother and his daughter ASAP. Or he may decide he has struggled and survived this long-what's one more year. Regardless of the decision, it is a deeply personal one and,which ever way he chooses, I believe he will be torn either way. He has given his all to the Panthers and I will respect him, whichever choice he makes.
My only nightmare would be seeing him selected by the Patriots at the end of the first or second round, where he adds years onto Brady's career accomplishments.
I guess my point is everyone needs to keep in mind what makes sense for one may not make sense for another. Whether he makes 1st round or 4th round money, Tyler may decide it is important to help his mother and his daughter ASAP. Or he may decide he has struggled and survived this long-what's one more year. Regardless of the decision, it is a deeply personal one and,which ever way he chooses, I believe he will be torn either way. He has given his all to the Panthers and I will respect him, whichever choice he makes.
My only nightmare would be seeing him selected by the Patriots at the end of the first or second round, where he adds years onto Brady's career accomplishments.
