Post-OSU Update: David Boston left Ohio State with one year of eligibility to enter the 1999 NFL Draft. He was selected 8th overall (1st round) by the Arizona Cardinals. Boston’s career got off to a promising start; he had two thousand yard seasons in his first three years, including an NFL-best 1,598 receiving yards and a first-team All-Pro selection in 2001. His career was derailed by injuries, clashes with coaches and front offices, a suspension for steroids, and a DUI after that. In 2008, Boston attempted to revive his career in the CFL, but a pre-existing injury limited his action to only one game. In 2011, Boston pled guilty to an aggravated battery charge against a woman and received a six month prison sentence, a reduced sentence due to evidence showing Boston sustained permanent brain damage from four concussions during his playing days. He is married with three children. (updated: Jan. 2024)

Jersey #: 9 (1996-98), 49 (1996)

Major: Sociology (1998), Undecided (1996-97)

Weight: 215 (1998), 205 (1996-97)

1998 Media Guide: Academic all-Big Ten pick is one of the great receivers in college football and a leading candidate for All-America honors and the Biletnikoff Award in 1998 … position coach Chuck Stobart says “we expect great things from David … he is a force on the football field” … a big, strong, physical receiver, who runs great routes … has terrific hands, a phantom-like first step and breakaway speed after he catches the football … set numerous school records last year, including a single-season mark of 73 receptions, breaking the old record of 69 set by Cris Carter in 1986 … also set a school record with 14 receptions at Penn State, breaking the old mark of 13 that he had shared with Gary Williams … finished the season with 14 touchdown receptions, three shy of Terry Glenn’s school record of 17 in 1995 … is currently tied with Doug Donley (1977-80) for sixth place on the all-time OSU receiving list with 106 receptions and trails Carter (168 receptions from 1984-86), the career leader, by 62 … is also second in career touchdown catches with 21 … also returns punts, averaging 8.3 yards per runback on 47 attempts last year.

1997: Led the Big Ten in receiving with 70 receptions during the regular season … caught at least one pass in all 13 games and currently has a streak of 20 consecutive games with a reception … had a TD grab in 10 of the 13 games …finished second on the team in scoring with 84 points, eight behind kicker Dan Stultz … finished 19th nationally in receptions per game at 5.83 (based on regular-season games only) …153 receiving yards at Penn State tied his career high and was one of four 100-yard games on the year … also played safety in the waning moments of the Arizona
game … named Chevrolet Player of the Game following his two-touchdown, 101-yard receiving day against Missouri.

1997 Media Guide: Will be a candidate for postseason honors even though he is only a sophomore … played in all 12 games last year as a true freshman, starting the final seven … was one of the heroes of the Rose Bowl, catching a pair of touchdown passes, including the dramatic game winner with 19 seconds left to play … scored the first time he touched the ball last year, racing 58 yards to pay dirt with a Stanley Jackson pass in the season opener against Rice … scored three TDs the next week against Pittsburgh, two on receptions and the third on a slick 66-yard punt return on which OSU had just eight men on the field … wound up as the Buckeyes’ second leading receiver with 33 catches for 450 yards and seven touchdowns (the OSU record for catches by a freshman is 41 by Cris Carter in 1984) … caught passes in nine of the 11 games (all but Notre Dame and Wisconsin) and had 13 receptions at Indiana to tie the school single-game record originally set by Gary Williams (vs. Florida State in 1981) … 153 yards against the Hoosiers was his season high and is the most receiving yardage ever in a regular-season game by an OSU freshman (Carter had 172 yards against Southern Cal in 1985 Rose Bowl) … began the year as the backup to Buster Tillman, but cracked the starting lineup against Purdue and was a regular the rest of the way … averaged 9.3 yards per punt return on 32 attempts … his 34-yard punt return in the fourth-quarter of the Wisconsin game set up OSU’s winning touchdown … gifted athlete with excellent speed, tremendous hands and a phantom-like first step … can play either “X” (split end) or “Z” (flanker).

High School: Played both wide receiver and safety at Humble High School … Caught 51 passes for 780 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior and averaged 23 yards on kickoff returns and 17 yards on punt returns … Had 88 tackles and 10 interceptions as a senior … As a junior, caught 16 passes for 385 yards and three TDs, as well as picking off two passes … All-America selection by SuperPrep, Tom Lemming and The National Recruiting Advisor … First-team all-state as a safety and second-team All-State a wide receiver … Awarded the Greater Houston Player of the Year award from the Houston Chronicle and first team all-greater Houston … All-district first team offense and defense in 1995 and first team offense in 1994 … Rated the ninth best wide receiver in the country by SuperPrep and the 11th best player in the Southwest region … An all-Southwest Super 25 selection by Bluechip Illustrated and ranked the second best receiver in the Southwest … A Max Emfinger Top-33 selection … Rated the 27th best player in the Southwest region by The National Recruiting Advisor … Led Humble to state tournament in football and basketball … Senior year football team was 10-3-2, losing in the state semifinals, while junior season went 9-1-1, advancing to the second round of the playoffs … Has hopes of also playing basketball at OSU … Led hoop squad to the Texas state final four and was a second team All-State choice as a senior … First team all-tournament at 1996 state final four … First team all-Greater Houston as a senior and junior … Humble MVP … In track, won the district championship in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in 1995 … Three year letterwinner in football and basketball and two years in track.

Personal: Father, Byron, is an official in the National Football League … High School coach is Neil Quillin … Chose Ohio State because he “loved everything about it”… lists Joey Galloway and Terry Glenn as his two favorite receivers … Plans to major in business … Has one brother and one sister… Full name is David Byron Boston.