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GamecockCentral.com
Recruit to Watch BY CHRIS CLARK
Wide Receiver Damiere Byrd
Photo courtesy Rivals.com
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n today’s offensive systems, speed is as important as ever. That’s something that Timber Creek (N.J.) High School wide receiver Damiere Byrd has a lot of, and one of the main reasons that he holds double-digit scholarship offers from programs like Florida, Iowa, Mississippi, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and others.The 5-foot-9, 160pounder turned heads in March when he blazed a 4.26-second 40yard dash time at a Nike Combine testing event in Philadelphia, the fastest time ever recorded at such an event. Byrd, who is unsurprisingly also a track and field standout, has recorded a 10.41second 100-meter dash, a 21.52-second in the 200 and a 47.88 in the 400.Although he had a standout junior season highlighted by more than 1,200 yards of total offense, Byrd headed into Timber Creek’s season opener on Friday against Cumberland with bigger goals in mind. “I want to win the championship,” he said. “Last year we lost it by five, so winning the championship is my biggest goal. If that happens, the stats and postseason awards fall into place.” The speedy pass-catcher, who has already visited USC, Rutgers, Florida and Michigan, says that he plans on taking three official visits at some point in the process. “Right now I’m taking official [visits] to South Carolina, Iowa and Ole Miss,” he said. Those three programs are penciled in to receive officials, but they are not his final
Ht: 5’9” Wt: 156 lbs 40: 4.55 secs Bench Max: 225 Shuttle: 4.24 Squat Max: 315 Vertical: 31 inches Class: 2011 (High School) hometown: Sicklerville, New Jersey school: Timber Creek grouping. “No, everyone is still in it,” he said. “I just wanted to take a closer look at those schools.” One of the programs on that list that is very familiar to Byrd is USC. The New Jersey native has already been to Columbia on more than one occasion. “At South Carolina, I like the campus a lot,” he said. The Gamecocks’ signature win last season came against archrival Clemson, and Byrd was there to see the game. “That game was the loudest I’ve been to,” he told GamecockCentral.com a day after the game. “They played well. Passingwise, they did good, and they dominated up front. Their weight room is big and has all brand-new stuff.” Perhaps the biggest factor in Byrd’s high interest level in USC is the job that quarterbacks coach and Northeast recruiter G.A. Mangus has done in recruiting him to Columbia. “Coach Mangus was the first coach to come see me play last year and was pretty much involved with me from the start,” he said. “We talk every so often. My mom and dad really like him.” Byrd says that he hopes to make a final decision sometime after his official visits. When asked what factors will ultimately shape his choice, he kept it simple. “Right now, I’m really looking at, if football wasn’t a factor at all, whether or not I would go to the school solely for academics.” Byrd is ranked by Rivals.com as a fourstar recruit and comes in as the nation’s 203rd best prospect in the latest Rivals250 rankings.
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