Orlando high school athlete selected to attend NFL Pro Bowl

West Orange High School student-athlete Tyler Boyd loves to talk to anyone who will listen. But when the NFL invited him to this year’s Pro Bowl, he was speechless, his coaches said.

It took the 18-year-old a moment to absorb that he’d been named an NFL “Super Kid” by the league and would be a special guest at the all-star festivities last week in Orlando.

Tyler competes with West Orange High’s “unified” flag football team through a program with Special Olympics Florida that puts student athletes with and without intellectual disabilities together on the same team.

Born five weeks premature, Tyler suffered from a lack of oxygen while in the womb and has developmental disabilities, said his father, Kenneth Boyd.

He loves football, loves to compete and loves to talk sports. He’s also West Orange’s reigning homecoming king.

Tyler was slated to present the game ball at Sunday’s Pro Bowl game at Camping World Stadium and joked ahead of time that he was going to run to the end zone instead of to the referees, adding that the referees couldn’t catch him if they tried.

He said he wanted to do his signature touchdown celebration in front of the crowd. “I’m totally going to spike it in the end zone,” Tyler said. “I’m heck-a fast, boy.”

Tyler was one of two “Super Kids” selected by the NFL and Special Olympics this year. A teenager from Louisiana will attend the Super Bowl in New Orleans.

Tyler got to attend private Pro Bowl practices with NFL stars and was most looking forward to throwing passes with Minnesota Vikings Quarterback Sam Darnold — whom he referred to as his “boy”.

At Thursday’s Pro Bowl Skills Challenge, Tyler watched NFL quarterbacks compete in accuracy competitions where they would throw at targets more than 40 yards away.

“I could hit that,” Tyler said after each throw.

During his own team’s practices, Tyler likes to race his teammates who are running laps for goofing off — even when he isn’t in trouble — just to prove he’s faster than them.

As the team’s quarterback, Tyler takes it upon himself to make sure his teammates are involved and having a good time when they play, said Karen Smith, a special education teacher and assistant coach for the flag football team.

He is also a celebrity on campus, she said, because he’s so outgoing and a natural leader.

“When he walks through the courtyard, it takes him 10 minutes to get to class because everybody stops and gives him high fives and fist bumps,” added Smith, who nominated Tyler for the NFL honor.

Tyler learned he was going to the Pro Bowl when West Orange High threw a pep rally on Jan. 7 and then announced the news. Kenny Moore II, a cornerback for the Indianapolis Colts and Tyler’s favorite player, surprised him with a video message played at the rally, and classmates carried him through the school’s hallways as the marching band played.

Tyler first found football in middle school, Kenneth Boyd said, playing flag football at a Special Olympics camp in Winter Park. Then, he started watching NFL games and playing the Madden video games to learn the sport and its players.

Noah Smith, Tyler’s head flag football coach and Karen Smith’s husband, said the West Orange High junior is a jack of all trades who plays whatever position is needed to help the team win.

Tyler plays quarterback, running back and several defensive positions.

Football is a way for Tyler to showcase his leadership abilities — something he will take with him later into life, Smith said.

“It does not matter what he does, he is going to be a voice in the room making sure everyone’s doing the best they can,” he added.