OK, I’ll admit it: As the firing unfolded at B.C. yesterday, I thought to myself, “I can’t believe Tajh Boyd didn’t decide to go there.”

Really — and in a completely serious, non-sarcastic manner — didn’t that seem like the next step? He promises his services to WVU, who promised he was their only quarterback in this recruiting class, then withdraws. He picks Tennessee, knowing a coaching change or a staff overhaul was probably coming, and is then politely told he’s not wanted by the new regime.

That left him with two options: B.C. and Oregon. Given the way things were going, it only made sense he’d pick B.C., then watch his coach get fired in an appropriately bizarre manner.

That never happened, but Boyd’s sad story continues. The day he earned MVP honors in the U.S. Army All-American Game, it was announced he’s had a torn ACL for months now. He’ll have reconstructive surgery Feb. 4 — National Signing Day. He hopes he’ll be good to go by August, though in reality his chances of playing as a true freshman are really compromised. But, gosh, don’t you kind of root for the kid now?

Everyone knew his knee was hurting. Against Warwick on Sept. 19, he went down awkwardly and came out for two plays. He missed the next two games, but since they were against overmatched opponents, few were suspicious. The official word: a sprain.

Boyd returned Oct. 10 against rival Hampton. And he played the rest of the year. But what Boyd, his family and Phantoms coach Bill Dee didn’t tell anyone was, his ACL was torn all along.

“We didn’t want to go public about it because we thought maybe some opponents would aim for his knee and he would get hurt further,” said his mother, Carla. “We didn’t want to risk that.”

Boyd faced a decision: Declare his high school career over and focus on college, or gut it out and try to win another state title.

“At first, I wasn’t going to play,” he said. “But we put so much work into the off-season, and I didn’t want to disappoint the team. So I felt I should at least try.”

The work really begins once he overcomes the injury. Depth charts at his prospective schools predict a battle for playing time.