He talks as good a game as he plays. His mouth runs as fast as he sprints. His comments are as hard hitting as some of his tackles.

James Boyd brings intensity into everything he does — whether it is patrolling the secondary in Beaver Stadium or his weekly teleconference.

He makes receivers cringe, quarterbacks quiver and reporters drool.

Boyd on other teams' defensive backfield: "When I hear someone's good, I watch to see how he plays. And he ain't no better than us. He ain't no better than some of our backups, for that matter."

Boyd on Purdue's wide receivers: "If we threw the ball 85 times a game, we'd have three of the top five receivers, too."

Boyd on All-American Drew Brees: "He's got to show us he's a Heisman candidate or a possible Heisman winner. We're going to go out there and try to knock him off the ballot."

Those are strong words from a strong man, but here is the thing: Boyd backs it all up. He has been a menacing presence in Penn State's secondary. As the team's leading tackler, Boyd has made 49 stops, 35 this season. He has broken up four passes and intercepted three more. He has recovered two fumbles, had a tackle for a loss and scored a touchdown.

"He is more of a leader this year," cornerback Bruce Branch said. "He's the heart and soul of our secondary. He helps the linebackers and the whole defense. He has become a great player this year."

And he plays safety. And he has been doing it for the past three weeks against foes that are among the nation's leading passing squads.

That is why his coaches and fellow players have as much praise for Boyd as he has for the secondary that boasts two former wide receivers in its starting unit.

"He is playing well and is running the team well," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "I think he is really doing well. I think he has turned out to be a heck of a football player and a heck of a leader."

Boyd will have to demonstrate some of that leadership against Brees and one of college football's most prolific offenses. Brees has made a strong case to be the fifth Big Ten player in the last 10 seasons to claim the most coveted honor for an individual at this level.

Brees has completed 103 of 159 passing attempts for a 64.78 percentage. That has led to the Boilermakers to 1,363 yards for the air. Brees has tossed for nine touchdowns and yielded just two interceptions.

Expect a good matchup.

"He (Boyd) has been playing great for us," linebacker Ron Graham said. "He has been the leader of our defense. He has been doing everything he has been asked and more. We all feel confident our secondary can come out and play well against Drew Brees and that offense this week."

Boyd has done it all season long. He has carried the defense against the likes of Pittsburgh's Antonio Bryant and Latef Grim. He has lashed out against Ohio State's Reggie Germany and Ken-Yon Rambo. And now Boyd is ready for his biggest challenge of the season.

"I'm going to be fired up regardless," Boyd said. "I want them to be fired up. I want them to come with all they got. We are going to come with all we got."