So this one is complicated.
During the 2008 year, Gaypier was the TE coach and the Recruiting Coordinator. However, he gave up those roles mid-season in 2008, and became QB coach when WR Coach Dabo Swinney was promoted to Interim Head Coach. From October-ish 2008 until he was fired, Gaypier was the QB coach at Clemson, and he also gained the OC role in early 2009, when Swinney became the permanent full-time Head Coach.
By all accounts, Clemson was NOT in the mix for Tajh Boyd until January 2009 (US Army All American Game), and it was a whirlwind recruitment. The key to Boyd's recruitment, though, was Dabo Swinney and Andre Powell, and NOT Billy Gaypier (see accounts below). Furthermore, the time when Gaypier coached Boyd, Boyd had almost no playing time. Boyd redshirted in 2009 (Gaypier's first full year as QB coach) and Boyd was a 63-pass-attempt backup in 2010 (after which Gaypier was fired).
Anyhow, here is an account of Boyd's recruitment and decision from 2009:
At a 5 PM press conference today, five-star recruit and U.S. Army Bowl MVP Tajh Boyd announced his decision to attend Clemson University—picking the Tigers over Oregon and Ohio State.
A mere month ago, Clemson was not even in the conversation for Boyd, but a strong push by new head coach Dabo Swinney pulled Tajh on board.
His father, Tim Boyd, was quoted recently comparing the three schools, citing the distance to Oregon and the quarterback situation at Ohio State as concerns for Boyd as he settled on Clemson.
Boyd also attributed his decision to an appreciation for the strong Christian values of Swinney.
Clemson has no set QB for the short or long-term, and Boyd will immediately have the opportunity to establish himself as the quarterback of the future at Clemson. Boyd is rated as the No. 4 QB in the country by scout.com, and capped off his senior season with a state title.
Here's another account, and it is CLEAR that the guy who convinced Boyd to visit Clemson was RB/ST coach Andre Powell:
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Tajh Boyd walked through the front doors of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center alongside former coach Jim Tressel before pausing for a brief moment to admire the rings and awards of Ohio State’s past champions.
Then Boyd saw the Heisman Trophy won by former Buckeyes quarterback Troy Smith, the player he grew up admiring who also happened to be the primary reason Boyd was so interested in potentially playing for Ohio State.
“Then Coach Tressel was like, ‘You know you could wear No. 10 if you come here,’ ” said Boyd, who is now Clemson’s senior starter at quarterback. “I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ sitting there look at the Heisman and everything. It was a lot for me to take in at that moment. It’s something I’ll never forget.”
It was everything Boyd wanted. He walked through Ohio State’s facilities, he saw up close what the program has accomplished historically and he had the head coach telling him he could be the next the great Buckeyes quarterback.
How does an impressionable high school senior say no to all of that?
He doesn’t.
“It wasn’t official, but (I gave) a real small verbal,” Boyd said. “It was like, ‘Yeah coach, I’m coming.’ ”
That’s why Boyd, who wears No. 10 in honor of Smith, to this day remains the one who got away. A former four-star prospect whom Rivals.com rated the No. 4 quarterback in the 2009 recruiting class, Boyd was all but signed, sealed and delivered to Ohio State.
Then fate stepped in.
While at the 2009 U.S. Army All-American Game, Boyd met Roderick McDowell and sat on the bus with him on the way to a practice. Already committed to Clemson, McDowell, now the starting running back for the Tigers, called assistant coach Andre Powell and told him he was sitting next to Boyd.
“We hung up and then Coach Powell called me right back,” McDowell said. “I handed the phone over to Tajh, and they were talking on it for a long time. You could tell they were hitting it off. After a while I was like, ‘Can I get my phone back? I had people I wanted to talk to, too.’ ”
In the span of one phone call, it wasn’t all about Ohio State for Boyd anymore. He set up an official visit to Clemson, one that turned into his final visit before National Signing Day. That was all Clemson needed.
“Honestly, I can probably say this now – whoever I had as my last visit, I probably would have went to, honestly,” said Boyd, who will now finish his Clemson career against the Buckeyes in the Orange Bowl. “I almost went to Kansas State with Bill Synder, I almost went to Michigan, but I don’t think I would have enjoyed that too much – no offense to those guys. It was tough, though.
“Coach Tressel called me probably 12 times after I told everybody I was going to Clemson. I just didn’t pick up, I’m not even going to lie to you. I didn’t know what to say. What do you say? If you’re (reading) this, just know I still have love for you coach.”
It doesn’t matter that Boyd would have come to Ohio State after Terrelle Pryor and before Braxton Miller. There’s still scar tissue that remains in Columbus because Boyd got away, but to Tressel, that’s just part of the game.
Though Boyd was perhaps the most significant recruit to ever be that close to signing with Ohio State before going elsewhere, Tressel understands it doesn’t always work out. Tressel also recruited quarterback Jameis Winston, who despite liking the Buckeyes ultimately signed with Florida State.
“Those are the kinds of kids that are going to be successful in today’s style of play,” Tressel said of Boyd and Winston. “(Former quarterbacks coach Nick) Siciliano identified them as he studied film and decided which ones we would try to get involved with. It’s kind of fun watching those guys.”
For Boyd, his decision wasn’t personal. It was a business decision, and he removed his heart from it and analyzed what he wanted and how his college would fulfill those wants. Ohio State, unlike Clemson at the time, didn't have a direct path toward playing time with Pryor already enrolled in his freshman year and Miller potentially on the way.
“I actually heard about Braxton Miller a lot during my visit,” Boyd said. “They were like, ‘There is this guy that goes to Wayne High School, he’s going to be really good. He is next in line.’ And he’s turned out to be a terrific quarterback.”
So has Boyd. In his career, he has thrown for 11,526 yards and 102 touchdowns, an ACC record. In large part to the quarterback’s play, Clemson has had three consecutive 10-win seasons and the Tigers’ captured their first ACC championship in 20 years.
That’s why it hurts Ohio State so much that he’s still the one who got away.
