TAMPA, Fla. — Brandon Boykin was named the Most Valuable Player of the Outback Bowl and he couldn’t have cared less.

“Honestly, I don’t care about accolades,” Boykin said. “[Leaving Georgia] what I’ll remember the most [is] getting that ‘W’ and how I felt in the locker room for the rest of my life. It wasn’t a good feeling to just get the MVP.”

Senior cornerback Brandon Boykin scored on offense, defense and special teams in Monday's Outback Bowl, which helped him win the bowl's Most Valuable Player Award. KRISTY DENSMORE/Staff

Despite Boykin’s thoughts about the award, the senior cornerback put on a performance to remember in his last game donning a Bulldog uniform.

Boykin accounted for 14 points against Michigan State, scoring in each facet of the game — offense, defense, and special teams — but it still wasn’t enough to push the Bulldogs over the top, as they lost to the Spartans 33-30 in triple-overtime.

“I’ve never scored on offense, defense and special teams. I’ve scored on offense a couple of games, special teams a couple throughout my career,” Boykin said. “But I definitely wish we could have come out with that ‘W’ to end my career. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

His first score came on defense, when the All-SEC second team player was able to tackle Spartan wide receiver Keshawn Martin in the end zone for a safety on Michigan State’s first offensive play to give Georgia an early 2-0 lead.

“[The play] was a wide receiver screen,” Boykin explained. “The slot [receiver] tried to block [Sanders] Commings which left me one on one with Martin so I just tried to make a play.”

However, it was Boykin’s next score that was the most electrifying.

With Georgia leading 9-0, Boykin fielded a punt which he was told to call a fair catch on, but instead decided to  fielded the kick.

Boykin, it seemed, knew what he was doing as he bobbed and weaved his way through Michigan State defenders for a 92-yard touchdown.

“We were in punt safe so we didn’t really have a return. I was kinda supposed to fair catch it if it was that deep,” Boykin said. “But the coaches trust me. If I have enough room they’ll let me run it. I felt like I had a chance probably when I cut back, I didn’t have anybody there to tackle me. Then I saw [Bacarri] Rambo and somebody else blocking ahead. So I just tried to get through in-between them and then I knew I was gone after that.”

The 92-yard scamper by Boykin was not only longest punt return in Outback Bowl history, but also the longest in Georgia’s illustrious bowl history.

Boykin’s final score of the game came through the air on third down, and was arguably his most important as it gave Georgia the lead in the fourth quarter.

Lining up in the backfield Boykin, streaked out into the middle of the field and caught a bullet pass from quarterback Aaron Murray and dived into the end zone to give Georgia a 27-20 edge after a two-point conversion.

He also finished the game with seven total tackles.

Ultimately, the Bulldogs fell just short of capping Boykin’s award with the bowl title in the senior’s last game.

“He scored a touchdown as a back, he scored a touchdown as a punt returner and certainly played great defense,” Georgia head coach Mark Richt said. “He’s a very dynamic football player and a great person, a guy who loves his team, loves Georgia and loves football. I know he’s going to have a really good career. I’m sure he’ll be a pretty high draft pick and have a great future.”

The top man on Boykin’s side of the ball felt much the same way as Richt in regards to Boykin’s importance in all phases of the game — both on the field and in the locker room.

“He’s one of the leaders on our team, he’s a guy that makes a lot of plays and he’s one of the reasons we are where we are right now,” defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said. “…I’m really proud that last year he had the chance to leave early and he chose to come back. I think that he helped himself. I think he’s a better player today than he was a year ago, so I’ve got nothing but praise and respect for him.”

And when pushed a bit harder on the subject, Boykin finally noted the significance of bringing home an award for his play in the final game of his collegiate career.

“I guess getting the MVP just symbolized how hard I tried to play. I felt like I gave it my all and tried to leave it all out on the field so I can honestly say I have no regrets,” he said. “I wish we would have won the game, but getting the MVP was an accomplishment in the last game of my career.”