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The player nicknamed "Big Byrd" is considered one of the top prospects in the country and has 31 scholarship offers.
As North Augusta begins spring practice Monday and the recruiting trail warms up, C.J. will be sharing his thoughts with The Augusta Chronicle in a diary. Today, he gives the first installment.
I know the first question that comes to mind: What on Earth is all the hype about?
That's a good question, and one I cannot give you a clear answer to. Believe me, no one is more surprised about all these offers than I am. Since my sophomore year, coaches and other players have told me something like this was going to happen later on, but I never really believed it. And I still don't.
I've played against some great high school players, such as Demetris Summers of Lexington and Sidney Rice of Gaffney (both signed with South Carolina). Heck, I thought two of my teammates from last year, Andre Young and Brandon Satcher, were the best high school players I had ever seen in person or on film. They did stuff in real games that you only see in video games. That's why I don't understand why I have gotten more recruiting attention than them.
I guess I know some of the reasons why recruiting has gone so well for me: First, my coach Joe Long and the rest of the staff put in hundreds of hours sending off an endless amount of tapes to colleges every year and then following up with countless phone calls to the scouts. They really want to see players do well after high school.
Second, North Augusta has had 26 players sign over the past three years, including seven with major colleges. Because so many players signed, our school has developed a reputation for turning out top prospects. When Reggie Merriweather played his way to a scholarship at Clemson, scouts who came to see him got a look at Frayne Abernathy (who went on to Northwestern) as a junior. When they came to scout Frayne as senior, they saw Brandon Thomas (Ole Miss) and Andre Young (Illinois) as juniors. And so on.
In other words, a large part of what is happening to me has to do with the path laid down by the guys before me. Hopefully, when scouts see me and the rest of the seniors play this year, they will notice underclassmen such as linebacker Marcus Jackson, who will probably have more offers than me by this time next year.
Because I have been around all these other players over the past three years, I am used to the recruiting process. I really don't feel my life has changed at all, other than my telephone rings a lot more often and people always give me their viewpoints on colleges.
A lot of the colleges told me they will be at our spring practice over the next two weeks. I think it's great because all of my teammates are really excited. It is a chance for them to be seen and recruited.
I don't feel any extra pressure by looking over and seeing the scouts. I push myself as hard even if no one is watching. I'm not worried about messing up or making mistakes, which I know I will do. All I can do is my best and the rest is out of my control. Again, I am not completely sure how all of this happened, but I definitely feel very fortunate and very blessed.
Offerings
A few of the 31 schools that have already offered C.J. Byrd a scholarship
Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, LSU, Maryland, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Southern Cal, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech.
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http://augustachronicle.com/stories/..._1012805.shtml
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He earned the nickname "Big Byrd" early in his junior recruiting period due to his tall frame and pleasant personality. He will be one of the top football recruits in America this fall and has 31 scholarship offers.
North Augusta wrapped up its spring practice last week and will hold its annual spring scrimmage on Tuesday. C.J. will share his thoughts over his recruitment and final season with the Yellow Jackets this summer and fall in a diary. Today is the second installment of that ongoing series.
Now that our spring practice at North Augusta is about finished, it will be time to get back on the road and visit colleges.
Spring practice was everything and more that we expected. We got to practice in the stadium because of scouts and fans, and it was fun to practice in front of a small crowd as opposed to no one being there. Our team has a lot of hard work to do over the summer, but our coaches feel like we have a chance to be good next year. They feel like we are a few players away from being a very competitive team. Our coaches are really concerned about the quarterback position. We have players in our program that have the talent and raw ability to fill QB and other positions, we just need to put in the time and hard work over the summer to improve.
Everybody was excited to see the college coaches come through this spring. On the first day, three assistants from the University of Georgia were there, along with the recruiting coordinators from South Carolina and Georgia Tech. Clemson's Tommy Bowden stopped by last week, and there were a lot of Clemson fans from North Augusta following him around.
As you know, under NCAA rules, you can't talk to them during this time of year. But you know they are there. You see them and they see you. My family and I will soon start making unofficial visits to colleges again. When you are on their campus, you can talk to the coaches and players. That is probably the best thing about recruiting: seeing a lot of different places and meeting a bunch of new people.
I've already had some memorable experiences in my visits over the last two months:
l At Clemson, my dad got to talk X's and O's with Coach Bowden and I got to see (former North Augusta standout) Reggie Merriweather go through drills at tailback. We all thought it was funny when the Clemson assistants chanted "Big Byrd" a few times.
l At Georgia, we got to spend a lot of one-on-one time with coach (Mark) Richt. We got to Athens late that day and also left late. When we were walking out of the athletic building, we saw David Pollack. The rest of the players had taken off hours before, but Pollack was there all by himself working out with weights. He took a break to talk with us.
I've always admired David because of what he stands for: His spiritual life is very important to him, and he's not afraid to show it even though he is an All-American football player.
l At Auburn, the coaches presented me with a scholarship letter on the field. ... at South Carolina, I got to listen to coach (Lou) Holtz. ... at Tennessee, coach (Phil) Fulmer was late for his daughter's softball game so he could welcome us. ... at Florida, I got to hang out with Chris Leak. He's not as tall as he looks on TV, but he is definitely more muscular in person. He has a great arm and throws perfect spiral after spiral like a machine.
From now until the beginning of preseason workouts, my family and I plan to continue visiting as many schools as possible. We hope to do that so we can narrow down to five or 10 schools by the end of the summer
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Positions: WR/FS
Ht: 6-3
Wt: 184
40-yard dash: 4.5
GPA: 3.1, 880 SAT
School: North Augusta (South Carolina Class AAAA)
2003 stats: Led North Augusta with 92 tackles, also caught 37 passes for 536 yards and returned a pair of kickoffs for 100-yard touchdowns.
Favorite Quote: "I can do all things through He who strengthens me." Phillipians 4:13.
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