Two former Gamecocks join Blythewood football staff

Two former South Carolina standouts have joined the Blythewood football coaching staff.

Former Gamecocks running back Cory Boyd and quarterback Syvelle Newton will be part of first-year coach Brian Smith’s staff. Boyd will coach the receivers, and Newton defensive backs.

“We are excited to have both players on staff here,” Smith said. “They have both played at a high level. Both players have a lot of experience they can pass along to the players and can be great role models that kids can look up to.”

At USC, Boyd played in 46 games and rushed for 2,267 yards and 23 touchdowns. He caught 117 passes for 1,303 yards and five TDs.

Boyd was a seventh-round draft pick by the Tampa Buccaneers in the 2007 NFL Draft but suffered a knee injury and was cut the following year. He appeared in one game for the Denver Broncos in before going on to a successful career in the Canadian Football League.

Boyd played from 2010-12 in the CFL with Toronto and had a pair of 1,000-yard seasons. He led the CFL in yards from scrimmage in 2010 with 1,722 and broke or matched several club records.

Boyd finished his career with 3,095 yards and 15 touchdowns. He has worked and coached at Kelly Middle School since his football career ended.

Newton played receiver and quarterback during his time at USC from 2003-06. He amassed nearly 4,000 total yards of offense with 33 touchdowns.

Newton is one of four players in college football history with more than 600 yards rushing, passing and receiving in his career.

After college, Newton played briefly in the CFL and also played in the Arena Football League with the Chicago Rush and Philadelphia Soul.

Newton was an assistant coach at Keenan a few years ago and taught at Blythewood last year. He also was color analyst on Sonic Friday Night Rivals high school football games on WACH Fox.

The Bengals begin spring practice May 1.

This story was originally published April 20, 2017 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Two former Gamecocks join Blythewood football staff."