Liberty University offensive lineman Tajh Boyd dies at 19

08/08/2023

0 2 minutes read

Liberty University, a private evangelical Christian university in Virginia, has announced the death of freshman offensive lineman Tajh Boyd, who was just 19 years old and was said to always pray before each game. The cause of his death remains undisclosed.

Boyd, a recent addition to the Liberty Flames football team, passed away, the university announced Sunday.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the loss of one of our student-athletes, Tajh Boyd,” Liberty Flames wrote on Instagram.

“We thank God for bringing Tajh into our Liberty Athletics community and we will always remember him as a Flame. Tajh will be missed dearly. Our thoughts and prayers are with Tajh’s family, his teammates and friends, our football coaching staff, as well as our entire athletics department and the greater Liberty University community. We grieve together as a family and will seek guidance, comfort and understanding from the Lord during these difficult times.”

Boyd had expressed to Liberty’s sports information department his aspiration to travel to Tokyo someday, The News & Advance said.

He shared prayers before each game, it said, adding that receiving his first college scholarship was a moment in his athletic career that he held dear.

Boyd drew inspiration from his mother’s unwavering determination to see him succeed. Being raised single-handedly by his mother, he regarded her as the strongest person he knew. “She never gave up,” Boyd said in his conversation with Liberty University, reflecting on his mother’s resilience.

Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell and athletic director Ian McCaw said in a joint statement that “Tajh joined our Liberty Football family as recently as January and his impact on the program will be felt for years to come,” as quoted by WTKR.

The 6-foot-4, 295-pound Boyd, a native of Chesapeake, Virginia, signed with Liberty out of Oscar F. Smith High School as part of the 2023 recruiting class, according to CBS Sports.

During his high school career, Boyd led his team to back-to-back state championships, earning him a three-star prospect rating in the most recent recruiting class. He had received offers from several universities, including Duke, Maryland, and Virginia Tech, as per his Liberty athletics biography page.

The university community expressed their grief and offered condolences to Boyd’s family.

Conference USA, which welcomed Liberty into the conference this summer, also expressed their sorrow. “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Liberty football student-athlete Tajh Boyd,” the conference said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the Boyd family and Flames nation during this difficult time.”

Boyd’s aspirations extended beyond the football field. He had expressed a desire to become a computer science engineer after graduation.

The university has not released further details about Boyd’s death.