Watch above: Saskatoon’s Brett Boyko on the cusp of turning a childhood fantasy of playing professional football into a reality. As Jack Haskins report, Boyko is determined to see his hard work pay off.
SASKATOON – Just like thousands of kids growing up in Saskatchewan, Brett Boyko’s dream was to play professional football. Well, that young boy never gave up on his dream, and now Boyko is on the cusp of turning that childhood fantasy into a reality.
Boyko was born to play football. He was always taller and thicker than other kids his age, which is why Brett played as a defensive lineman in high school.
But deep down inside, Brett wanted to play quarterback. In Grade 12, Brett finally got his wish. He earned the starting QB job for the St. Joseph Guardians.
It was quite the sight to see. Here is this towering six-foot seven, 260 pound quarterback, nimbly dancing around the pocket like a ballerina, and when he planted his feet, Brett could sling the football down field with effortless grace.
Brett’s combination of size and athleticism got him noticed south of the border. Boyko was recruited by the UNLV Rebels, where he learned how to become an offensive lineman.
“It was extremely tough,” said Boyko in a phone interview on Tuesday.
“I felt like I could skate, I could play ping pong, I could do a lot of things, but for some reason playing the o-line, I was very bad. It took me a while to get comfortable and kind of understand what was going on.”
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Boyko started in every single one of his 43 games at UNLV. However, the final game of his college career did not end well for Brett.
He sustained a significant elbow injury which would linger for months to come. His damaged elbow hindered Brett’s performance in the NFL combine, which hurt his draft stock.
No team selected Boyko in the 2014 draft, but Brett did receive a phone call that would change his life. The Philadelphia Eagles wanted to give the 22-year-old from Saskatoon a shot, and they offered him a contract.
“There was a lot of stress going through my mind. A lot of uncertainty, and once you get that phone call, you kind of forget about everything and it’s more like, now I got to prove my worth and show everyone I belong.”
The NFL pre-season has wrapped up, and the final cuts are looming. The Eagles have to finalize their roster on Sept. 5.
Brett is remarkably close to achieving his goal. He has sacrificed so much to get to this point, and he is determined to see his hard work pay off.
“I would like to see my family more, and see my friends more and stuff like that, but I know that my end goal and my dream is to play in the National Football League, and I’m kind of living it right now.”
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