Byrd Ready to Join Big Boys : Ex-Rancho Alamitos Standout Leaves Columbia for Stanford

It became a pregame ritual on Saturdays, former high school football teammates Jeff Byrd and Leon Vickers calling across the country to wish each other luck before kickoff.

Sometimes it was Byrd, a freshman running back at Columbia, calling from New York City, preparing for an Ivy League game.

Other times it was Vickers calling from Palo Alto, where he started part-time as a freshman at Stanford.

Topics ranged from which team they were playing, how practice went, school, friends, the weather or how their alma mater, Rancho Alamitos, had fared on Friday nights.

But the discussion always turned to one subject--why was Byrd, the state’s leading high school running back two years ago, playing at the Division I-AA level?

And it was Vickers who was the voice of reason.

Jeff, it’s all hype. You can play Division I ball. You can play here at Stanford. You should be playing here.

“He couldn’t get over the fact that everyone in Division I wasn’t running a 4.2-second 40 or bench pressing 500 pounds,” Byrd said. “It got me to thinking . . .”

Overlooked by recruiters because of his size, Byrd is convinced he can play Division I ball and will try to prove it this fall as a walk-on at Stanford.

From the Ivy League to the Pac 10? Not an easy transition.

“I wasn’t impressed with the level of play in the Ivy League,” Byrd said. “I always wondered if I could play at Stanford, and I have to find out.

“I had heard how well Leon was doing there, making the travel squad and starting a couple of games, and I thought, ‘Yeah, I can play at that level, too.’ ”

He had proved himself a worthy recruit as a high school senior, leading the state in rushing with 2,596 yards and breaking the Orange County single-season record set by former Servite standout Derek Brown, now a starter with the New Orleans Saints.

Despite Byrd’s incredible senior season, most top Division I schools passed on him because of his size (155 pounds) and speed (4.68 in the 40).

While Vickers was wined and dined by Stanford and Rancho Alamitos quarterback Marshall Brown was wooed by Fresno State, Byrd waited and waited for a call from a top program. It never came.

“I was small and nobody wanted to give me a shot, even though I did the job in high school,” Byrd said.

Nevada liked him and Hawaii showed some interest late in the recruiting season, but Byrd, a straight-A student, wanted to go the Ivy League route for academics. Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton and Columbia were more than interested.

Ivy League schools play a Division I-AA schedule and don’t offer athletic scholarships. Byrd landed a few academic scholarships, but it was only a small dent in Columbia’s $26,000 annual tuition.

“The risk I am taking (by transferring to Stanford) wasn’t with the money,” he said. “Columbia and Stanford cost the same. But I was walking away from a three-year starting position at Columbia, and that’s not easy to do.”

As a freshman, he had starred on special teams, becoming the first freshman to score a touchdown in an Ivy League game when he returned a blocked punt for a touchdown in a 27-24 loss to Colgate. It was the first year Ivy League freshmen were eligible to play varsity football.

His playing time on offense was somewhat limited, but the offensive backfield was hit hard by graduation, and, barring injury, Byrd was the team’s star of the future.

“I liked Columbia a lot,” he said. “I really enjoyed it. I played some last year and coming into the spring I was going to be the starter.

“I don’t have anything bad to say about New York City, Columbia, or the football program. I loved it there. But I’ve always wanted to play Division I ball.”

With Vickers’ support, Byrd put his plan in motion. He applied to Stanford in December, was accepted in March, met with coaches in early June, then visited the campus.

The coaches saw a different Jeff Byrd than the one they had seen in high school. During his freshman year, he had added 20 pounds to his high school playing weight of 155 pounds and decreased his 40-yard dash time by thirteen-hundreths of a second.

Byrd sent Cardinal running backs coach Bill Singler a highlight tape from his senior year. No recruiter had seen the tape because Byrd and former Rancho Alamitos Coach Mark Miller made the film after recruiting season had ended.

After watching the film, Singler agreed to meet with Byrd, who “asked for a fair evaluation.”

“I’ve been B.S.-ed by recruiters before,” Byrd said. “They would come by and tell me, ‘You’re great,’ then I would never hear from them again.

“But this was a different feeling I was getting from Stanford. They gave me a fair evaluation of everything. Plus, I came to them with the idea of walking on.”

The feedback was encouraging, so Byrd and father, Caryl, visited the campus in June.

“They took me in to meet with (Coach) Bill Walsh and it was like, ‘Uh, what do I say?’ ” Byrd said. “Coach asked me how many yards I ran for in high school. When I told him, he said: ‘Why aren’t you already here?’ ”

Stanford offensive coordinator Terry Shea and Singler refused to comment on Byrd, saying the school still hadn’t received a release form from Columbia, a formality for a football transfer.

“All I can say is that Jeff’s on our list and he has been invited here for fall camp,” Shea said.

Byrd understands there’s a certain risk in transferring to a top Division I program, where walk-ons are often fighting for more than a spot on the depth chart.

“Yes, I had heard horror stories about walk-ons,” Byrd said. “Sean Cheatham (former Rancho Alamitos standout) walked on at USC and remembered always being late to practice because he was taped last, after the scholarship players, and was the last one to get a uniforms.

“I talked to Leon about that, and he said it’s not that way at all at Stanford. You’re treated like you’re part of the team.”

Byrd has a modest goal this season--play special teams and make the travel squad.

But the coaching staff has warned him--be ready to play. Injuries at the tailback position could push him into some playing time in an offense that includes All-Americans Steve Stenstrom at quarterback and Justin Armour at wideout.

“It’s a pro-style offense and it won’t beat you up like an I-formation,” Byrd said. “The way they use their running backs, you can expect to see five or six runs and eight or nine passes a game.”

The Cardinal return starting tailback Mike Mitchell (124 yards rushing, 154 receiving) and fullback Ethan Allen (260 yards rushing, 313 receiving). The incoming recruiting calls include Valencia High’s Chris Draft and prep standouts Corey Hill and Anthony Bookman.

“The coaches said going into spring they had six running backs but they came out with only two (because of injuries),” Byrd said. “They told me that the position is wide open, and everything is up in the air.”

Byrd will report to Stanford in mid-August, along with the incoming freshmen. As a transfer, he’s starting over, with a whole new offense to learn.

“I don’t know Play A from Play B right now,” he said. “The coaches have told me I can make an impact as a walk-on, and next year, they have 25 scholarships open.

“I know I’m leaving a lot behind at Columbia, but until I prove myself at Stanford, I won’t give up. I know that until I get there, I will always be second-guessing myself.”