A lockdown cornerback from Tallahassee (Fla.) Lincoln High School, DeAndre Byrd had more than 20 scholarship offers on the table, plenty of heavy-hitting programs on the list.
BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Tuesday, August 5, 2008 7:00 pm
Quarterbacks didn’t want any part of DeAndre Byrd. Plenty of college coaches did.
A lockdown cornerback from Tallahassee (Fla.) Lincoln High School, Byrd had more than 20 scholarship offers on the table, plenty of heavy-hitting programs on the list.
Considering all those offers and the fact that Byrd has never visited Nebraska’s campus, it might seem that the Huskers were a long shot to nab his services.
But through the recruiting process, Byrd kept thinking about how much he liked Bo Pelini when he had met him last year as a defensive coordinator at LSU.
“He’s a great coach. He treated me like the coaches treat me down here,” Byrd said. “That was what made me make my decision.”
The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Byrd called Pelini on Tuesday night to say he was committing to Nebraska, giving the Huskers their 10th oral commitment of the 2008 class. He is the first cornerback in the class.
“He was very excited,” Byrd said. “He said the fans are going to treat me like a rock star. He said, ‘The fans are going to love you.’ ”
Though teams tended to throw away from Byrd, he had four interceptions, nine pass breakups and more than 40 tackles last year as a junior and was regarded as one of the top defensive backs in the area.
Wisconsin, Illinois, Arkansas, Colorado, South Carolina, South Florida, Iowa, Iowa State, Ole Miss, Michigan State and Kansas State were among the schools courting Byrd.
Though he hasn’t been to Lincoln, Byrd said he’s been studying up on the program on the Internet, learning that the Huskers were dominating in the ’90s.
In analyzing himself, he said he wants to improve his tackling but is very confident in coverage.
“I have good field speed,” Byrd said. “I cover real well.”
He plans on visiting Lincoln either before the season or perhaps during a bye week in the fall.
“It feels good to have no more pressure on me,” he said. “It just feels good.”
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.