James Boyd will not let up — never. Well, almost never.

After making statements batting down Saturday's Hail Mary pass, drilling Heisman Trophy favorite Drew Brees under his chin and shutting down Purdue's prolific offense, the Nittany Lions safety still had more to say.

"Our secondary is one of the best in the country," Boyd boasted. "We went out there and showed it today."

Boyd stated his case during Saturday's game as he made four tackles, rattled Heisman Trophy favorite Drew Brees and knocked down the potential game-winning touchdown in Penn State's 22-20 win against then-No. 22 Purdue.

But when it was over, Boyd crashed to the Beaver Stadium grass. Finally, with victory secured, Boyd could relax as he lay overcome with emotion on that same grass as pandemonium prevailed as the clock expired.

Boyd has played with emotion, with heart and with a slight injury — a setback that he suffered in the first half when he was at the bottom of a pile and contracted a muscle in his knee.

"He's been playing so well that when he came off and when he was injured, I told him, 'You can't be hurt,' " Penn State defensive coach Tom Bradley said. "We are kind of thin in the secondary right now. James Boyd was absolutely fabulous this week in getting those guys, pulling them together and telling them what had to be done. I can't say enough about him."

Usually, though, it is Boyd doing the talking.

Before Saturday's contest, Boyd talked more trash than a sanitation worker on the morning rounds. He bashed the nation's other secondaries, Purdue's wide receivers and had the harshest words for Brees, saying he would knock the Heisman favorite off the ballot.

Boyd might have done that as well as almost knocking Brees out when he leveled the senior All-American so hard it stunned Brees, Boilermakers coach Joe Tiller and the 96,000 fans in attendance. And with one hit, Boyd let his actions speak louder than his words.

"If I couldn't back it up, I wouldn't say it," Boyd said. "We feel like we can play with anybody in the country. I know if I say something, I know they got my back."

But Boyd backed up his talk throughout the game, breaking up five of Brees' passes. In part, because of Boyd's efforts, Brees finished the day with 23 completions in 50 attempts for 281 yards.

"I thought he had an outstanding game," Joe Paterno said.

Boyd made his presence felt with his hard hits, his preventative pass coverage and his performance on special teams. It was Boyd, along with redshirt freshman Horace Dodd, who helped set up Penn State's winning touchdown by stopping Deaunte Ferrell at the 7-yard line on a kickoff return. And then Boyd stopped talking and raised his arms to hear the voices of the Penn State contingent. But Boyd would not be silenced for long.

With the crowd in a frenzy, the ball at the 40-yard line and four seconds remaining in the game, Boyd spoke volumes.

As Brees hoisted the Hail Mary in the air, Boyd outskied Bruce Branch, Titcus Pettigrew and Charwan Wood, deflecting the pass and preserving a Penn State victory.

"We need to tell James to be quiet sometimes," fellow defensive back Bhawoh Jue said. "But you have to say what's in your heart, too."