*Miles Boykin – Noteworthy
Miles Boykin has work left to do. His biggest tests will come Saturday at the NFL Combine. During his time in Indianapolis, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Boykin wants to prove that he’s more than a big-bodied wide receiver from Notre Dame. Boykin wants to log a 40-yard dash in the range of 4.4 seconds, which would be faster than the time clocked by former Irish running back Dexter Williams (4.57) on Friday. He wants to show how he can create separation from defensive backs at the NFL level. Boykin knows that’s one of the question marks on his draft stock. “The drills we do are there for a reason,” Boykin said. “I’m going to run my routes to my full ability. But I definitely think that it’s going to show up in the testing.”
After the combine, Boykin has work left to do at Notre Dame too. He’s one course away from fulfilling the requirements of a marketing degree, which he plans to receive in May. He’ll be headed back to campus for his final class after spending time with XPE Sports in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., training for the combine. “When I went to Notre Dame, I had two things that I wanted to do,” Boykin said. “That was graduate and win a national championship. “We had a chance to win a national championship this year. It didn’t pan out the way we wanted it to. We had a great season though. I’m graduating in May. I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish for Notre Dame. I couldn’t ask for anything more.” – South Bend Tribune
Javon McKinley – Noteworthy
Unless Notre Dame wide receiver Javon McKinley’s next court hearing regarding his Feb. 10 arrest is moved up from its scheduled date of April 15, which is highly unlikely, the senior-to-be will miss the entirety of spring practice – at the very least. Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly confirmed on Friday that McKinley has been suspended indefinitely from all football activities since the two met shortly after the arrest and will continue to be suspended until the case runs its course in both the legal system and through the university’s Office of Community Standards.
The 20-year-old senior-to-be from Corona, Calif., is charged with two Class A misdemeanor counts of battery resulting in bodily injury and one Class C misdemeanor count of illegal consumption of alcohol after reportedly punching two Notre Dame police officers. His first court appearance was Thursday in St. Joseph County Traffic and Misdemeanor Court, at which time the April 15 court date was set by the judge. The Irish conclude spring practice two days earlier, with the April 13 Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. McKinley, as the No. 59 player overall per Rivals.com (and No. 11 receiver) in the 2016 recruiting cycle, is the highest-ranked wide receiver recruit of the Brian Kelly Era. – South Bend Tribune
