The Elusive Damiere Byrd Updates Michigan Sports Zone On His Recruitment

Damiere Byrd is a 5'10" 162 pound speedy WR/Slot from Timber Creek High School, Erial New Jersey. He currently holds six NCAA Division 1 offers from South Carolina, Rutgers, Stanford, Duke, Maryland and UConn. Byrd has already taken unofficial visits to Michigan, South Carolina, Rutgers and UConn. Even though he has already taken numerous visits he does not have a clear favorite. According to Byrd, his dream school is “a school that will let me have the opportunity to excel in sports and the classroom.” When asked if there are any particular schools Byrd is interested he replied with he is interested in “any schools that are interested in me.” Official visits for Byrd dont start until Sep 2010. While visiting schools academics are important but according to Byrd “no matter what university you go to you will have a degree that carries some weight.” With academics not being a deal-breaker he will be keeping his options open. Since he doesn’t plan on enrolling early he will be able to take his time with his recruitment and look at each school evenly.

Byrd currently holds a 3.3 GPA and hopes to become an athletic trainer by majoring in sports medicine. Even though he has aspirations of playing in the NFL, he hopes to use his degree to support a future wife and family if the NFL doesn’t pan out. Byrd comes from “a decent size family.” He has three brothers and one sister. Growing up he idolized people who “have traveled on the right path to success but credits his parents for helping him get to where he is today.” With his parents support he was able to fulfill his greatest achievement of winning the gold medal in the Junior Olympics.

Byrd stated he brings “the potential to take it for 6 every time I touch the ball” to the college level. He feels his talents are a better fit for the spread offense. Anyone that has seen Byrd play has a hard time disagreeing with him. He is a talented football player who possesses unheralded speed. On the football field he compares himself to Philadelphia Eagles receiver Desean Jackson. During his sophomore year he rushed the ball 28 times for 250 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also had 35 receptions for 481 yards and 3 touchdowns. Byrd’s junior campaign was even more successful with 38 receptions for 605 yards and 2 touchdowns. During his junior season he also had 78 rushes for 685 yards, 8 touchdowns and 1 punt return touchdown. In the last two seasons he has combined for 106 rushes for 935 yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, 73 receptions for 1,086 yards, 5 receiving touchdowns and 1 punt return touchdown.

Byrd plans on making himself a better football player by participating in combines during the off-season such as the Rutgers Rivals Premier Invitational on Feb 20th at Rutgers University. He has already attended other combines such as the US Army All-American Junior Combine. Byrd wants to work on “anything to get me to become a better player, the basics catching the ball, route running, blocking and footwork.” During the off-season Byrd works on his running abilities by being apart of the Timber Creek HS Track team. During his sophomore year he was the state champion in the 55-meter with a time of 6.39 seconds. Byrd works hard to ensure he is always in top shape to compete at the highest level in both football and track. In order to stay in shape he says “my life revolves around running whether its track or running routes at receiver so I think (conditioning) it’s up there. I wouldn’t say I could take on any type of running workout but I think my conditioning is pretty good.”

Byrd is working hard to prepare for a huge senior season. Even though his number one goal is “to always be the best person I can be no matter what” he is focused on this coming fall. When it comes to his senior season he is most looking forward to “just being a senior and taking the role as leading my team to victory and another successful season.” Byrd takes great pride in the Timber Creek football program. He thrives on being part of why Timber Creek has become a feared and dominate football program after a few losing seasons. So far Byrd’s greatest highlight of his high school football career is being able to be the first team in school history to make the Group 3 State Championship. This fall Byrd will be looking to lead his team back to a title run in hopes of being able to not only make the championship but to be able to win it for his Ti
mber Creek ball club.

Byrd is a hard-working athlete and a dynamic game changer. He is focused on becoming a better football player to lead his team next season. Byrd is not only focused on football but is also focused on getting into college in hopes of obtaining his degree. Byrd will become a great leader for his future team. Michigan Sports Zone will bring you more updates about Byrd and the status of his recruitment in the coming months.