Ohio State alum Keith Byars on Jim Tressel: ?I know he?ll land safely?
by Matt Porter
Boca Raton head coach Keith Byars, an Ohio State alum and 13-year NFL veteran, was disappointed to hear the news of former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel?s resignation.
?I was hoping it didn?t come to that because he?s a good man,? Byars said. ?Sometimes good people make a mistake. I didn?t? think it was a fireable offense or something that he should have been forced to resign [over].
?I know he?ll land safely. Whoever gets him is getting a good coach and a good man.?
Byars said he remains close to Tressel, who was Ohio State?s running backs coach in 1984 and ?85, Byars? junior and senior seasons at the school. He said he was not previously aware of misdeeds by Tressel, who stepped down Monday after the NCAA learned of his players trading memorabilia for tattoos.
Byars said that tattoos weren?t very popular when he was in college ? ?that stuff was for army guys and sailors,? he said ? but said that college players have long received illegal benefits.
?There were always shady people involved in college sports, long before I got to college,? Byars said.
He denied any of his college teammates received illegal benefits.
?I know about a whole lot of people at other universities,? he said. ?Not at OSU.
?There wasn?t anything to trade. You get your jersey at the end of the season and that?s it. I still have all four of my jerseys. That stuff never happened.?
Byars said Ohio State players who traded their game-used memorabilia for tattoos and other benefits would later regret it.
?I still wear my Big 10 championship ring. It still means something to me,? said Byars, who was a junior on the Buckeyes? 1984 Big 10 title team. He finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting that year.
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