Emerald Ridge standout Denzel Boston, a UW commit, realizing Division I dreams — just like his older brother
The Boston brothers began their football careers many years ago, growing up near Boise, Idaho.
Both Andrew and Denzel, who have both been standout receivers at Emerald Ridge High School during the past decade, spent their days outside in their backyard, playing catch, or passing games or tackle.
“Sports were big for us,” Andrew Boston said. “Me and Denzel, and then our close family, our cousins, we were just always playing football.”
When their family moved to Washington later on, the brothers’ love for the game, and their proficiency for it, only grew.
By the time Andrew wrapped up his high school career in 2016, he was the Jaguars’ top target, pacing the offense in receiving each of his final two seasons, with a career-best 963 receiving yards and seven touchdowns as a junior, and 859 receiving yards and 13 scores as a senior. The 69 catches he hauled in his final year and the 13 touchdowns both remain program records for a single season.
Denzel entered Emerald Ridge’s program two seasons later, and, like his older brother, has emerged as one of the South Sound’s top receivers, contributing big catches to the Jaguars’ offense since debuting as a freshman three seasons ago. Entering his fourth and final year with the program, Denzel has already eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in his career, with 69 catches for 1,024 and 15 touchdowns the past three seasons.
Andrew was a two-time Class 4A South Puget Sound League first-team performer, and a TNT All-Area pick his senior season. Denzel was a 4A SPSL first-teamer this spring, after posting 553 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 34 catches in only five games.
And there’s still more to come from the Boston brothers. By next season, the two will both have added Division I wide receiver to their resumes.
Denzel recently announced his commitment to Washington, where he will eventually join a young, but talented receivers room looking to make a big impact on this Huskies offense moving forward.
Andrew, who was part of the state’s loaded 2017 recruiting class, is entering his fifth year at Eastern Washington, and has carved out a role in the Eagles’ strong receiving group.
How did the two not only become wide receivers, but two of the best the South Sound has seen in recent years?
The answer is simple — they are playmakers.
There was some thought early on the brothers might play elsewhere on the football field, but Andrew said he liked watching wide receiver highlights, and decided that was the position he ultimately wanted to play. Denzel also followed that path. And the two have been making big catches since.
During his high school seasons, Andrew became one of the most daunting receivers for opponents to defend, with his physical play and ability to snag tough passes.
“Every ball that was thrown in the air his senior year, he was going to go get that catch,” said Brandon Huffman, the National Recruiting Editor at 247Sports.com.
Considered a three-star recruit in high school, Andrew held offers from eight FCS schools before choosing EWU, where he’s gone on to tally 1,652 yards and 12 touchdowns on 119 catches in 32 career games, including 24 as a starter, and led the Eagles in receiving their last full season in 2019.
He said he is focused on continuing to grow athletically this season, and staying in the gym — he is now listed at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds as a redshirt junior — and should again be a contributor for an Eagles team ranked 11th in the FCS entering the season.
“We feel like we have a lot going for us, so we’re really focused on going out and playing our best football,” Andrew said. “We have a lot of confidence in this team.
“And then personally, I’m just doing what I can to really affect that and really leave my mark on the team and on our success.”
He also hopes his college career helps Denzel, as the younger Boston wraps up his final high school season before beginning his own Division I path.
“I like to give him as many tools as I can,” Andrew said. “So it’s kind of a proud moment when I get to see him kind of apply the stuff that I’m trying to teach him.”
Whether it’s on the field or off, with training or through the recruiting process, Andrew has tried to help be a guide for his younger brother.
“I want to see him do great,” Andrew said. “ … I’m just trying to be somebody that he can lean on, and hopefully pave the way so he has a blueprint.”
Even though the COVID-19 pandemic delayed and shortened Denzel’s junior season, the 6-foot-3, 180-pound receiver still drew attention from Division I programs, and had already received offers from Arizona, Arizona State, EWU, Nevada and Washington State before the Huskies offered him this summer.
He attended a camp in Seattle in June, and later returned for an individual workout before the Huskies extended an offer on July 29.
“They seemed like they really wanted me there,” Denzel said. “I could really feel the love.”
Denzel announced his commitment less than a week later, becoming the second receiver to commit to the Huskies’ 2022 class, joining four-star Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) recruit Germie Bernard.
Not only does he have a chance to contribute to this budding receiving room in seasons to come, but joining the Huskies also gives him an opportunity to stay close to home.
“If I want to, I can come back up to the field to ER and talk to the young guys,” Denzel said. “I can come help out with events around the area.
“It’s really about staying home and being close to my family. For me, I just wanted to be around the people that have always supported me.”
Emerald Ridge coach Adam Schakel told The News Tribune in August, when Denzel made his commitment, UW is getting “a kid that has a desire to be a great football player.”
“I think he’s a matchup issue,” Schakel said. “He’s really long. He’s tall. And he’s going to continue to work on his agility and his speed and it’s just going to help him even more.”
In his first three seasons with the Jaguars, Denzel, with his length and range, has shown his ability to get separation from the defense, get behind the secondary, and move the chains, Huffman said.
“He’s a very crafty pass-catcher,” Huffman said.
“Big, fast, quick, great hands,” Andrew said. “I think he has a lot of upside to him.”
Like his older brother, Denzel also has the tools to be a physical receiver.
“I feel like you’ve got to be aggressive,” he said. “That’s the game.”
Schakel, who has coached both brothers, said in August a similarity between the two is that competitiveness on the field.
“They almost play receiver like a middle linebacker,” Schakel said. “They’re going to go get it. That’s a mentality thing.”
“Exactly,” Andrew said in response to the coach’s linebacker comparison. “That aggressive mentality.”
Before Denzel joins the Huskies, he has one more high school season left to play, and is looking to guide Emerald Ridge to a postseason appearance.
The Jaguars made the first playoff appearance in program history in 2014, when Andrew was a sophomore, and advanced the district round again when Denzel was a sophomore in 2019, but haven’t made it further yet. The 4A SPSL is loaded at the top again this season, as always, with perennial state powers Graham-Kapowsin, Puyallup and Sumner all in the mix, but with Denzel, and several others who earned all-league mention in the spring back, the Jaguars have a chance to be competitive.
“I feel like we have a pretty good season ahead of us,” Denzel said.
And maybe he will reset a few school records along the way. Landon Jones currently holds Emerald Ridge’s season record for receiving yards (1,053). Andrew holds the records for receptions and touchdowns in a season, and is rooting for his brother to reset them.
“I hope he achieves all of those goals,” Andrew said. “It’s not necessarily about me staying up on the wall, or anything like that, it’s about the family and us doing big things. If he can go out there and smash some of the records that I’ve put up, then it brings nothing but more good to the both of us.”
When Denzel finishes his final high school season, this is the legacy Andrew hopes the Boston brothers have left at Emerald Ridge:
“I want people to remember us in way that is, these guys were positive, they were good teammates, they worked hard, and because of that, that’s why they got to where they are,” he said. “And, hopefully, that’s both of us in the NFL one day.”
EMERALD RIDGE JAGUARS
Coach: Adam Schakel, third year
Spring 2021 record: 3-3
Offensive coordinator, base scheme: Adam Schakel, spread
Defensive coordinator, base scheme: Jeremy Tvedt, 4-2
Top players: WR Denzel Boston, 6-4, 185, sr.; QB Jake Schakel, 6-1, 190, soph.; OL Nick Weber, 6-4, 295, sr.; WR Preston Landeis, 6-0, 175, sr.; RB Nate Tvedt, 5-9, 160, sr.; LB Rob Rhyner, 6-0, 185; DB Cantrell Thomas, 5-10, 150, sr; LB Daylen Mathews, 5-11, 205, jr.; DB Giovanni Kafentzis, 5-9, 165; DB Ben Hunter, 5-11, 150.
Outlook: Last spring’s 3-3 record showed us two things about this Emerald Ridge squad: They still have a ways to go to close the gap between the top teams in the league, but there’s some reasons for optimism, too. The consensus is the top of the 4A SPSL will be some combination of Graham-Kapowsin, Sumner and Puyallup. That leaves Emerald Ridge right in the thick of things competing for the league’s fourth-place spot, with the likes of Olympia and Bellarmine Prep. Denzel Boston, a UW commit, is one of the area’s premier receivers and quarterback Jake Schakel is a budding star. Can that duo get the Jags into the postseason?
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Emerald Ridge standout Denzel Boston, a UW commit, realizing Division I dreams — just like his older brother."