Byrd a budding star in UO secondary

NFL player’s son was a one-man wrecking crew in high school

By Jason Vondersmith

The Portland Tribune, Sep 7, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Accomplished prep football players make up the Oregon football team. And then you have Jairus Byrd.

The son of former NFL player Gill Byrd practically won the Missouri Class 4A championship by himself for Clayton High in 2004. He played option quarterback, threw for 1,038 yards and 13 touchdowns, and rushed for 1,480 yards and 26 TDs. He caught six passes and returned 10 kicks and 15 punts. He played safety and racked up seven interceptions, three sacks and two fumble recoveries. Oh, he also punted 18 times for a 37.6-yard average.

“I played everything but offensive and defensive line,” says Byrd, the Ducks’ standout sophomore cornerback, slightly exaggerating.

Clayton went 13-1. “We had a lot of senior leadership, guys who wouldn’t quit,” he says.

He couldn’t punt as high as UO’s Josh Syria, but Byrd says half-jokingly that his spirals “were better than Nate Costa’s.” Costa, a UO sophomore, has one of the prettiest spirals you’ll see.

These days, the 5-10, 210-pound bruiser simply excels at corner. After picking off six passes and earning Pac-10 co-freshman of the year honors, he recovered a fumble and made an interception in the first quarter against Houston last week. It’s pretty apparent the Ducks have a budding star on their hands, someone in a category with rover Patrick Chung.

And, you never know, Byrd could end up reaching the same level as his father. Gill Byrd, a defensive back, played 10 seasons in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl twice and earning a spot in the San Diego Chargers’ Hall of Fame.

Gill Byrd has another son, Gill Jr., who plays at New Mexico State. Jairus Byrd doesn’t remember many details from his father’s playing career — he retired in 1993 — other than that the kids didn’t really like to hang around at the “office.”

“I went to a lot of camps and games, but we hated going to games,” Jairus Byrd says. “We were young and restless.”

1 | 2 Next Page >>

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit