Jairus Byrd
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Jairus Byrd (born Jairus Keelon Byrd on October 7, 1986) plays cornerback for the University of Oregon Ducks in the NCAA college football tournament. Byrd is a second generation football star who follows the footsteps of his father, Gill Byrd, as a defensive back. As a freshman, he immediately made an impact on the Duck defense as he led Oregon in pick-offs while contributing his fair share of tackles. Still an underclassman, Byrd has already garnered interests of several scouts in the professional league after leading the Duck defense in the team's first bowl win in five years at the 2007 Sun Bowl against South Florida.
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Personal Life
Jairus (pronounced JARE-us) is one of Gill Sr. and Marilyn Byrd's two sons along with his older brother Gill II. Jairus came from a family of football players as his father was a standout at San Jose State before playing for the San Diego Chargers for ten seasons as a defensive back. A two-time Pro-Bowler and an inductee in the Chargers' Hall of Fame in 1998, Gill also had an administrative job with the Green Bay Packers, held a coaching position with the St. Louis Rams, and was hired as a defensive quality control coach with the Chicago Bears. Gill Jr. on the other hand, also suited up as a defensive back for New Mexico State. His uncle (Marilyn's brother) Richard "Rock" Rodgers was also a starter at safety for California for three years in the early 1980s and was credited with calling "The Play" in the huddle of Cal's 1982 game against Stanford.
In 2006, Jairus' mother Marilyn, who had a close bond with her younger son, was diagnosed with a breast cancer.
Jairus, who was named after a reference in the Bible (Mark 5-22), is close friends and was workout partners with former NFL cornerback and free safety Aeneas Williams. He majored in sociology at the University of Oregon.
High School
Byrd spent his first two seasons of high school at Pulaski High in Wisconsin before moving to St. Louis and enrolling at Clayton on the summer of 2003. As a junior, he played under coach Larry Frost as a do-it-all quarterback (who also played on special teams as a punter, punt returner and kick returner) and racked up 776 rushing yards on 132 carries (5.9 yards per carry) while completing 24 of 48 passes for 444 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions as the Greyhounds zoomed to win its first nine outings. Byrd, who scored a total of 15 touchdowns, also made his presence felt on defense as a free safety with 42 tackles and five interceptions. Unfortunately, although Byrd has attended Clayton through the district's tuition program, he was deemed ineligible to play varsity athletics by the Missouri State High School Activities Association because he lived outside of Clayton's district. The ruling wiped out Clayton's first nine wins and would originally prohibit Byrd from participating in varsity athletics for one full year after the last day he participated ineligibly, meaning he will not be allowed to play as a senior. Clayton still managed to win its last game without Byrd with a 55-7 triumph over DuBourg for an overall record of 1-9.
The MSHSAA later on lifted the restriction which allowed Byrd to play his last season with Clayton under coach Mike Musick. Byrd and the Greyhounds went on to erase the horrific finish that came about in 2003 by posting a 13-1 record, a Suburban East Conference title, and a state championship in 2004. Byrd paced the team with 158 points (4th in the state) and scored 26 touchdowns while rushing for 1,480 yards (7th in the state), catching 125 yards (on 6 receptions), and passing for 1,038 yards (on 65-of-128 completion with 13 passing TDs) to earn the Missouri 4A offensive player of the year award. He also did the job on defense with 71 tackles (2nd in the team), 60 solo stops, seven interceptions (5th in the state), three quarterback sacks, and two fumble recoveries. He also returned 10 kickoffs (30.1 avg.) and 15 punts (13.3 avg.) while punting the football 18 times for a 37.6-yard clip.
College
A two-star rated cornerback, Byrd did not receive a lot offers aside from Oregon. Among his other school of interest include Arizona State, Illinois, Kansas State, Missouri, Notre Dame, and UCLA.
2005
Byrd was redshirted as a freshman but was instrumental in Oregon's game preparations as part of the scout team. He was named as the scout team defensive player of the week prior to the Arizona State game and the scout team offensive player of the week for the Washington game.
2006
During the annual spring game, Byrd returned a kick-off for 4 yards, had four tackles, forced and recovered a fumble, and picked off a pass which he returned for 52 yards while playing for the victorious green team.
In his collegiate debut, Byrd came off the bench and played as a safety, contributing 4 stops in the 48-10 win over Stanford. He played the same position the following week @ Fresno State and intercepted a pass, had two stops and forced a fumble in the 31-24 over the Bulldogs. He was eventually promoted to the starting cornerback position in only his third game (which he kept throughout the season), tallying 4 stops and a pass deflection in the close 34-33 win over Oklahoma. In the team's back-to-back road games @ Arizona State and @ California, Byrd had 2 and 3 tackles, respectively, in addition to an interception in the loss to the Bears. At home against UCLA, Byrd set his career high in tackles at 8 with 1 pass deflection in the 30-20 win over the Bruins which netted him the team's defensive player of the week. In the loss to Washington State, Byrd registered his 3rd interception along with four tackles then had his fourth pick-off the following game against Portland State (returned for 30 yards). In the 20-point win over Washington, he tallied 5 stops and his second straight pass deflection before receiving his second team defensive player of the week honors @ USC after chipping 3 stops in the 10-35 loss to the Trojans.
He matched his career high and led the team with 8 tackles in the 10-37 loss to Arizona, including a season high 7 solo stops with 0.5 tackle for loss. He also led the team with 5 tackles in the regular season finale @ Oregon State, with 1 pass deflection in the heartbreaking 28-30 defeat to the Beavers. In his postseason debut at the Las Vegas Bowl, he recorded 7 stops, picked off a pass, and deflected a couple more as the Ducks lost to the Cougars, 8-38. His remarkable rookie season, marked by 5 interceptions (#1 in the team), 56 tackles (#6 in the team), 7 pass break-ups (#2 in the team), and 1 forced fumble, was rewarded with a share of the league's co-Freshman of the Year award and a spot in the all-conference team as an honorable mention.
2007
In the April spring game, Byrd had two tackles for the Green team which defeated its White counterpart, 20-6. He made his season debut against Houston and recorded 5 tackles and an interception in the 48-27 win. In the road opener against Michigan, he contributed 2 stops while picking a pass which he returned for 22 yards. Following a 5-tackle, 1-TFL, and 1-pass break up effort in the 52-21 win over Fresno State, Byrd recorded 7 tackles, and a sack for a 6-yard loss in the 55-31 win @ Stanford enroute to being named as the team’s defensive player of the week. In Oregon's first loss of the season, Byrd chipped in 8 tackles, including one for a 4-yard loss, with 1 QB hurry in the 24-31 defeat to Cal. The Ducks avenged that loss by dismantling Washington State in their ensuing assignment, with Byrd tallying 5 stops and 2 pass deflections. He picked up his third interception of the season at Washington, in addition 2 stops in the 55-34 over the Huskies. In wins over 9th ranked USC and 6th ranked Arizona State, Byrd established a career high 9 tackles and 6 stops, respectively, in addition to 1 TFL and 1 pass deflection against the Trojans.
In the #2 ranked Oregon's upset loss to Arizona, Byrd intercepted a pass, had 3 tackles, deflected 3 passes, and made his punt returner debut with 1 return for 7 yards in the 24-34 loss. Despite the humbling experience against the Wildcats, Byrd's effort on the defensive end was recognized after he was named as the team’s defensive player of the week for the second time. With injuries to key players, the Ducks were blanked in their road trip to UCLA, 0-16, nullifying Byrd's 4-tackle, 2-pass break up, and 1-interception effort which netted him a second straight team defensive player of the week accolade. The loss also marked the first time Byrd was named as OU's special teams player of the week after returning 4 punts for 34 yards. In the regular season finale against OSU, Byrd scored his first career touchdown on a 33-yard fumble return that tied the game in the first half. The Ducks went on to lose the game in overtime, with Byrd contributing 2 pass deflections and a solo stop.
The lowly and wounded Ducks dragged themselves to the Brut Sun Bowl and managed to salvage an almost disastrous season with a 56-21 win over South Florida. Byrd for his part finished his sophomore campaign with a pair of interceptions, four pass breakups and seven tackles to earn a spot in CFN's All-Bowl team. By season's end, he was fifth in the team with 65 tackles, including 4 for losses and a sack. His 15 pass deflections and 22 pass defended were second in the team while his 7 interceptions paced the team. In only two seasons of play, Byrd has already tied the 8th most career interceptions in the Oregon record books. For the second straight year, he was named by the league into the All-Pac-10 team as an honorable mention.
2008
Among Byrd's early preseason accolades are First Team All-Pac-10 selections from Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.
Career Stats
| Interception | Tackle | Tackle for Loss | Misc | ||||||||||||
| Year | Int | Yds | TD | Int./G | Solo | Asst | Total | PerGame | TFL | TFLYds | TFL/G | PBU | QBH | FF | K/P Blk |
| 2006 | 5 | 30 | 0 | 0.38 | 40 | 16 | 56 | 4.31 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.04 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2007 | 7 | 31 | 0 | 0.54 | 44 | 21 | 65 | 5.00 | 4.0 | 13 | 0.31 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Highlights
| Jairus Byrd post-game comments after the Sun Bowl (2007). |
Achievements
2008
- Athlon Sports Preseason All-Pac-10 First Team
- Phil Steele Preseason All-America Second Team
- Phil Steele Preseason All-Pac-10 First Team
2007
- All-Pac-10 honorable mention
- Collegefootballnews.com All-Bowl Team
- Collegefootballnews.com Preseason All-Pac-10 Second Team
- CollegeFootballNews.com Sophomore All-America Honorable Mention
- Oregon's defensive player of the week (vs.Stanford, vs.Arizona, vs.UCLA)
- Oregon's special teams player of the week (vs.UCLA)
- Phil Steele Third Team All-Pac-10
2006
- All-Pac-10 honorable mention
- Collegefootballnews.com Freshman All-America Second Team
- Oregon's defensive player of the week (vs.UCLA, vs.USC)
- Oregon's Len Casanova Award as team’s top newcomer
- Pac-10 Conference Co-Freshman Player-of-the-Year
- The Sporting News second-team Freshman All-America
2005
- Scout team defensive player of the week (Arizona State)
- Scout team offensive player of the week (Washington)
References
- A Byrd's-eye view: Clayton star has a normal, grounded focus
- Home is where Byrd's heart is
- Jairus Byrd CfbStats.com
- Jairus Byrd Oregon Profile
- Jairus Byrd Scout.com Profile
