Jeff Byers
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Jeff Byers (born September 7, 1985) is an offensive lineman for the University of Southern California, playing the Guard position for the Trojans in the NCAA college football tournament. Byers came out of high school as one of the most decorated and highly touted offensive linemen in the nation. However, the promising Fort Collins, Colorado native was struck by bad luck not once, but twice after suffering a couple of injuries that sidelined him for two straight seasons. He did manage to return as a junior in 2007 and slowly made his way back into the national radar with his physical and strong play as well as his athletic ability, smarts and instincts.
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Personal Life
Jeff is the son of Alan Byers, a president of a beef company in their hometown. Jeff has equally achieved success on both athletics and academics in college, posting a B average (3.27 GPA) at the University of Southern California. He has received his bachelor's degree in business administration in the summer of 2007 and is working on his master's degree in business. He did most of his academic work while recuperating from his season-ending injuries in 2005 and 2006. From seventh to eleventh grade, Jeff attended Colorado State's football camp and trained under coach Sonny Lubick and his staff.
High School
Byers attended Loveland High School in Loveland, Colorado where he was a three-sport athlete, competing in football, basketball and track. On the gridiron, Byers was utilized on both ends of the field by coach John Poovey, as a center on offense and as a defensive tackle on defense. As a junior in 2002, he recorded 138 tackles, 29 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks to earn All-State honorable mention, All-Area and All-Conference honors. The following season, he was even more productive with 203 tackles, 56 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 14 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries (with a TD) while seeing action as a linebacker on defense, helping lead the Indians win their second consecutive Class 4A state championship. Offensively, Byers was estimated to have pancake blocks on 25% of all the running plays for the entire season while not allowing any sack in his career and to top it all, he was able to register 34 pancake blocks in one of Loveland's games.
For his efforts, Byers collected numerous accolades, including the most prestigious ones, such as Gatorade's and EA Sports' National Player of the Year awards, becoming the first ever center to win the award. He was also handed the Army of One Award for his effort on the field, class and community and the Arena Football League Ironman of the Year award as the nation's best two-way player. Among his team honors include All-American citations from SuperPrep, PrepStar, EA Sports, and Insiders.com; USA Today All-USA first team; and Parade All-American MVP honors. He also received All-Midlands honors from SuperPrep and PrepStar, was listed into the Super Prep Elite 50, Prep Star Top 100 Dream Team, and Tom Lemming Top 100, and also earned first team accolades from the Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West and the Orange County Register Fab 15.
College
The No.1 ranked offensive lineman in the nation received scholarship offers from several major universities, including USC, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas, and UCLA. He declared his intention to join defending national champion USC in October of 2003 during a guest stint with Tom Lemming at ESPN.com. He was the second 5-star recruit for USC in the 2004 class.
2004
Only eight weeks after arriving at USC, Byers had already earned the admiration of his teammates and coaches with the work ethic he has shown. Quarterback Matt Leinart, the eventual winner of the Heisman Trophy that year was impressed and so was linebacker Matt Grootegoed, who said that he won't be surprised if Byers gets the nod to start. Byers was competing with then sophomore Ryan Kalil for the starting center position which would put Byers in record books as the first Trojan offensive lineman to start the opener since Travis Claridge did so back in 1996. Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be as Kalil won the job and went on to win the team's Courage Award that year. Byers was left on a reserve role although he did see action in the season opener against Virginia Tech mostly on the place-kicking teams. He spent the next seven games as a back-up to John Drake at the left guard position and behind Kalil on the center depth chart. His first opportunity to start came against Oregon State when he was fielded in at the starting LG position in lieu of the injured Drake. He did pretty well on borrowed time, helping the Trojans gain 415 yards against the Beavers while allowing only a pair of sacks for a mere six yards loss. He retained the starting job for the next three games and helped USC gain 585 yards against Arizona, 488 against Notre Dame, and 477 against UCLA, all the while allowing opponents only five sacks for 34 yards loss. He relinquished the job back in the Orange Bowl victory against 2nd ranked Oklahoma but still managed to earn Freshman All-American and Freshman All-Pac-10 honors to end his rookie year.
2005
During his sophomore year, Byers was hyped to get more playing time as a left guard, in fact he was listed as a starter on USC's End-of-Spring Depth Chart. Unfortunately, he underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove torn cartilage in his right hip prior to 2005 spring practice and missed most of spring drills while recuperating. His recovery period was timed between 15-16 weeks which meant that he had to sit out the entire season, forcing him to redshirt in 2005.
2006
After recovering from his injury, Byers was set to pick up where he left off as he was once again listed to start for the Trojans at the LG spot despite missing some of the spring drills while recovering from his injury. However, after suiting up as a back-up in the season-opener against Arkansas, Byers sustained a back sprain prior to the Nebraska game and was once against forced to sit out the entire season. Since the injury happened early in the season, Byers was given a medical redshirt.
2007
After a couple of injury-marred seasons, Byers managed to reclaim a starting guard slot entering his junior year. He started 12 games at the left offensive guard position as well as the center spot during the Washington State game. In his stint on the Trojan line in 2007, Byers helped USC gain an average of 197.2 rushing yards per game and 237.7 passing yards per game, while allowing only 17 sacks for 141 yards loss. His effort was rewarded with a spot at the 2007 Phil Steele All-Pac-10 team as a third team selection.
2008
The versatile Byers, who enters his fifth year at USC, had to undergo hernia surgery prior to 2008 spring practice. His name was included in the Watch List for the 2008 Outland Trophy, an award given to the best United States college football interior lineman by the Football Writers Association of America.
Achievements
2008
- Athlon Sports Preseason First-Team All-Pac-10
- Athlon Sports Preseason Second-Team All-America
- Outland Trophy Watch List
- Phil Steele Preseason All-Pac-10 First Team
2007
- Phil Steele All-Pac-10 Third Team
2004
- The Sporting News Freshman All-American second team
- The Sporting News Freshman All-Pac-10 first team
References
- Whicker column: USC's Byers making a difference on the field
- Byers living up to recruiting hype
- Jeff Byers USC Profile
- Jeff Byers Scout.com Profile
- Jeff Byers Declared USC Today
