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University of Minnesota Athletics
Under the Helmet: Briean Boddy-Calhoun
12/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 14, 2015 
You can still find Briean Boddy-Calhoun's high school highlight film online. Nearly 10 minutes long, the video features offensive and defensive highlights from multiple seasons, with background music and even a little slow motion. Fast forward to the fall of 2011, and find another video, almost nine minutes, of his junior college highlights.
In both cases, the star of the videos created them himself. Boddy-Calhoun spent hours uploading game footage to use with video software at Delcastle High School in Wilmington, Del. Even with a good memory for the plays he wanted to include, it still took him a few days to clip and piece together all the elements.
After his freshman season at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, he again showcased his top football moments in the hope of moving to Division I. He took advice to start with touchdowns and interceptions, follow with pass breakups and conclude with tackling.
"Briean spent a lot of time and effort putting together his high school highlight film," Minnesota recruiting coordinator Billy Glasscock said. "He did a great job of showcasing his best plays at the beginning of the video, which definitely catches a coach's attention. Briean understood that showing the clips that highlighted his cover skills were just as important as his interception clips. His junior college film showcased his great ball skill and coverage ability."
The highlight films must have done the trick, as the Golden Gophers offered Boddy-Calhoun a scholarship for the 2012-13 school year. Now a senior defensive back, he has been a staple in the lineup and earned All-Big Ten recognition as a junior.
Those highlight films were not Boddy-Calhoun's first experiences in video production. Delcastle is a vocational high school, and students select a particular track to study. Boddy-Calhoun chose digital media. As part of his area of focus, he worked with the school's morning news show.
"I remember one time I did a Halloween segment on going trick-or-treating and checking your candy," Boddy-Calhoun said. "We had a whole little scene going on, and I was in the scene. It's kind of embarrassing as I look back to it, but it was a good deal."
Throughout his time with the news show, he was involved in all facets of the project: behind the camera, in front of the camera and on the computer putting it together.
"I love the editing process," he said. "I love taking nothing and turning it into something. I know all about the close-ups, the wide shots and all that stuff."
Boddy-Calhoun's favorite part of his digital media experience was video, but he also learned how to use Photoshop for still graphics. He recalls the teacher telling the class what to make, and the students building that image from scratch.
"It just shows how you how people could take one object and do the same exact thing and interpret it the same exact way but it looks completely different," he said.
Boddy-Calhoun doesn't have his own video equipment and doesn't do as much graphic design as he used to, but he still possesses the same digital savvy and likes to use it when he can.
"I do some music stuff," he said. "I grew up in a music family where my stepdad was a musical engineer. I like to edit music and make beats and stuff like that."
Boddy-Calhoun's dream project would, in a way, be similar to what he did for himself in high school and junior college.
"I would make great highlight films for all sports, whether it be tennis, football, basketball, and make it very individualized with the athlete," he said.
Asked what he would include in a highlight reel from his Gophers career so far, Boddy-Calhoun named a handful of plays just to get started. Naturally, they were from the defensive side of the ball.
"First and foremost, I think of the Cedric Thompson play," he said. "That was probably the best interception I have ever seen in person, the one that sealed the deal versus Purdue (in 2014) where he just jumped in front of the guy. That would have to be the first play. You want to catch the attention of the person who's watching and keep them intrigued."
Boddy-Calhoun said he would then mix in some big hits, like one by Damarius Travis against San Jose State and one by Theiren Cockran against Nebraska. Last but not least in this short list, Boddy-Calhoun named one of his own top moments simply described as "the Nebraska play." He stripped the ball away at the goal line to seal a road win against the Cornhuskers in 2014.
With plays like that to entice scouts, Boddy-Calhoun hopes to move on to the NFL after his final season. Whenever his football career is done, the elementary education major believes he would enjoy teaching grade school and coaching high school football.
"If I'm fortunate to make a lot of money, then I plan on my team having the best jerseys in the state."
They would probably best have the best recruiting videos, too.
In both cases, the star of the videos created them himself. Boddy-Calhoun spent hours uploading game footage to use with video software at Delcastle High School in Wilmington, Del. Even with a good memory for the plays he wanted to include, it still took him a few days to clip and piece together all the elements.
After his freshman season at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, he again showcased his top football moments in the hope of moving to Division I. He took advice to start with touchdowns and interceptions, follow with pass breakups and conclude with tackling.
"Briean spent a lot of time and effort putting together his high school highlight film," Minnesota recruiting coordinator Billy Glasscock said. "He did a great job of showcasing his best plays at the beginning of the video, which definitely catches a coach's attention. Briean understood that showing the clips that highlighted his cover skills were just as important as his interception clips. His junior college film showcased his great ball skill and coverage ability."
The highlight films must have done the trick, as the Golden Gophers offered Boddy-Calhoun a scholarship for the 2012-13 school year. Now a senior defensive back, he has been a staple in the lineup and earned All-Big Ten recognition as a junior.
Those highlight films were not Boddy-Calhoun's first experiences in video production. Delcastle is a vocational high school, and students select a particular track to study. Boddy-Calhoun chose digital media. As part of his area of focus, he worked with the school's morning news show.
"I remember one time I did a Halloween segment on going trick-or-treating and checking your candy," Boddy-Calhoun said. "We had a whole little scene going on, and I was in the scene. It's kind of embarrassing as I look back to it, but it was a good deal."
Throughout his time with the news show, he was involved in all facets of the project: behind the camera, in front of the camera and on the computer putting it together.
"I love the editing process," he said. "I love taking nothing and turning it into something. I know all about the close-ups, the wide shots and all that stuff."
Boddy-Calhoun's favorite part of his digital media experience was video, but he also learned how to use Photoshop for still graphics. He recalls the teacher telling the class what to make, and the students building that image from scratch.
"It just shows how you how people could take one object and do the same exact thing and interpret it the same exact way but it looks completely different," he said.
Boddy-Calhoun doesn't have his own video equipment and doesn't do as much graphic design as he used to, but he still possesses the same digital savvy and likes to use it when he can.
"I do some music stuff," he said. "I grew up in a music family where my stepdad was a musical engineer. I like to edit music and make beats and stuff like that."
Boddy-Calhoun's dream project would, in a way, be similar to what he did for himself in high school and junior college.
"I would make great highlight films for all sports, whether it be tennis, football, basketball, and make it very individualized with the athlete," he said.
Asked what he would include in a highlight reel from his Gophers career so far, Boddy-Calhoun named a handful of plays just to get started. Naturally, they were from the defensive side of the ball.
"First and foremost, I think of the Cedric Thompson play," he said. "That was probably the best interception I have ever seen in person, the one that sealed the deal versus Purdue (in 2014) where he just jumped in front of the guy. That would have to be the first play. You want to catch the attention of the person who's watching and keep them intrigued."
Boddy-Calhoun said he would then mix in some big hits, like one by Damarius Travis against San Jose State and one by Theiren Cockran against Nebraska. Last but not least in this short list, Boddy-Calhoun named one of his own top moments simply described as "the Nebraska play." He stripped the ball away at the goal line to seal a road win against the Cornhuskers in 2014.
With plays like that to entice scouts, Boddy-Calhoun hopes to move on to the NFL after his final season. Whenever his football career is done, the elementary education major believes he would enjoy teaching grade school and coaching high school football.
"If I'm fortunate to make a lot of money, then I plan on my team having the best jerseys in the state."
They would probably best have the best recruiting videos, too.
Players Mentioned
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Defensive Back
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