Brett Boyko achieves dream of signing contract with Roughriders

Brett Boyko went from asking as a kid for Jeremy O’Day’s autograph to putting his own signature on a contract to play with O’Day’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“It’s funny how the world comes full circle. I used to have all the guys’ (autographs). I was that kid who used to wait outside the old Taylor Field and they’d come out and I’d have pictures and autographs,” Boyko told the Green Zone.

Boyko, whose family is from Saskatoon, remembers driving down Highway 11 to old Mosaic Stadium to watch the CFL’s Roughriders play. He remembers seeing players such as O’Day, Gene Makowsky, Jackie Mitchell and Reggie Hunt play.

On March 1, he signed a contract for O’Day, who’s now Saskatchewan’s general manager.

“It’s nostalgic. I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity and it was an easy decision and something I wanted. When you grow up a Rider fan, there’s just something about it and it’s every boy’s dream to eventually play for the Green and White and now I’m going to have that opportunity,” Boyko said.

While Boyko now finds himself protecting the quarterback from hitting the dirt, his original football dream started with him wanting to be the one distributing passes.

“I definitely wanted to play quarterback for the Riders; that was the dream. But this part ain’t bad. I’ll take it.” Boyko said, noting he played quarterback in his senior year of high school. “When I got to college, I kind of expected the transition and they told me they saw me at another position and I took it and ran with it.”

He played college football at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he found a home along the offensive line.

It was during college that he first met current Riders quarterback Cody Fajardo, who was the starter at the University of Nevada, Reno – UNLV’s archrival.

“I’ve known Cody for quite some time, more so from a distance. He was a Reno guy and I was a UNLV guy so we didn’t like each other for a lot of years,” Boyko said.

Boyko was taken by the B.C. Lions in the second round (14th overall) of the 2015 CFL draft but signed a practice squad deal with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.

He then moved on to the Los Angeles Chargers in 2016 where he spent three seasons, playing one game with them.

In 2018, Boyko tore his calf muscle, which put an end to that season.

Boyko was a member of the San Diego Fleet in the American Alliance of Football.

In 2019, Boyko returned to Canada and signed with B.C., playing 15 games with the Lions. The injury bug bit again, with Boyko getting rolled up on during Day 3 of training camp. He played through an injured knee all season.

“The biggest thing I’m most excited for right now is that I’m actually healthy,” he said. “COVID has been tough for everybody but for me it was a chance to really get my body back to 100 per cent. I’m feeling the best I’ve felt.”