Pro player says to be best off field
By Matt Bender
Emerald Contribute*
All-pro cornerhack (ill! Hyrd
told thi' Orison football team
Wednesday night that the most
important key to lilt; is for the
players to dedicate themselves
off thi) field us much ns on
Ityrd. who plays for the San
Diego Chargers, appeared mur
tesy of the University Athletes
in Action
Hyrd is the Nl I s intercep
tion leader over the last four
years with 27 thefts, despite his
luck of si/e and speed He is r>
foot 10 and weighs about l'to
pounds and runs the -to yard
dash m ‘1 7 sei onds. slow h\
Ni l. cornerbai k standards
"livery week I am on the (or
ner and every week the other
guy is faster than me," lie said
Dili football is a game of an
gles, and ll I study the other
guy and I know where he is go
mg i can lie waiting there after
lie gets done '.villi .ill Ins iuts
and fakes
Hut football was not always
easy lor Hyrd Hi rn rived no
scholarship offers (aiming out
of high si bool and had to talk
his wav into a tryout at San
lose State He made the team
but played sparingly as a fresh
man
‘' I he on I v r ea son that I
GUI Byrd
played was to hopefully get .1
scholarship so my parents
<litin! hove to pas lor school, "
llyril s.nil I vs,isn t looking to
pltiv pro I1.1I I
In Ins sophomore se.ison,
Hvrtl Irumi' one of the top de
tensive hill ks III tile Million With
seven interi eptions After that
season Hvrri sulri I,' det uleil he
would go pro otter his junior
year
During Ihs junior season
Ilyrtt s plans vs efe ( hanged 1 >s a
1 ari-er threatening knis- injurs
I went from prospet 1 to mis
pet t just like that,' lie said
Byrd battled h.nl (rum Ih.il
injury and another a broken
wrist In salvage his senior
year .md bar ome the 22nd
player taken in the 1‘IH.i draft
by San Diego
At the time Byrd was drafted
tie said tie had a SSO hairdo
and a Virnt head tie started
to believe Itiat tie was as good
as his press i tippings made
him sound, and lie tx-carne a
hard person to tie around
Midway though Ins rookie
season all that c hanged for
Dyrd
"1 allowed Jesus to i ome into
mv life and tilings hove never
been the same, tie said
Byrd impressed upun tin'
plovers that student-athletes
should be more < urn erneil w ith
ttieir lives off the Held
'There are tremendous odds
against you making It in the
\FI lie told tile players, "hut
we put so much emphasis on it
Too imn It emphasis on it
Bvrd said it is more impor
taut for tin- players to gel their
personal lives straightened out
than It is to In’ good in football
He said the only wav to do that
is to Took to jestjs to help you
be your la st
The [JO Microcomputer Support Center presents
<
D
Z
Z
<
0
Z
CM
APPLE ♦ CAERE ♦ CLARIS ♦ DELL ♦ IBM ♦ LOTUS
MACROMEDIA ♦ MICROSOFT ♦ NeXT ♦ SUN ♦ SUPRA
TSI ♦ WORDPERFECT ♦ AND OTHERS
Thursday, April 30,1992
11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Fir Room, EMU
Presentations ♦ Product Exhibits ♦ Prizes ♦Vendor Representatives
COMING
SOON
Tracksters go east
for Penn Relays
Three Oregon women's
track and field alhlcles and
five athletes from the men's
team will compete at the
prestigious Penn Relays In
Philadelphia beginning to
day.
Distance runners Nicole
Woodward and Lucy
Nusrala and javelin star Kim
Hvatl left with Duck head
coach Tom Heinonon
Wednesday for the event.
Woodward will compete in
the 5.000-meter run, and
Nusrala will run in the
t.OOO
Heinorien said it was the
group's goal to see some of
the best athletes the college
ranks have to offer
"The whole goal for Luc \
and Nicole Is to see top
flight competition and to run
after having traveled,”
Heinonen said "They need
an N( A A (Championships)
prep
I or javelin throwers like
Hyati. Hoinonen said it is
simply a matter of time be
fore they throw their Ix-st
"In the javelin, it happens
when it happens." Hninoncn
said
Helnonen also said Hyatt
may compete in Saturday's
Oregon Invitational at Hay
ward Field
The Oregon men's track
team also sent its share of
athletes to the relays
In a distance medley relay
that consists of legs of •}()(),
HOO, 1.2(H) and 1,000 meters.
Bob Gray will lead off. hand
ing off to (ailey Candaele. to
Alan Foster and Finally to
Shannon Femora for the fi
nal laps
Those four athletes, ex
cluding dray, are expected
to participate in a 4X1.000
meter relay, along with
freshman Tracy Hollister.
dray is slated to compete
m an invitational running of
the too hurdles Saturday
SCOUTS
Continued from Page 9
‘‘There wore .1 lot of good
things about him
Thomason uni Woods were
the only Ducks invited to the
prestigious Ni l. combine this
year I In' combine brings in the
top collegiate athletes to shim
oil their talent in front of NFL
scouts
Tret/ said the one thing fa
coring his team on dralt Sun
da\ vs ill In that the Seahitwks
are ic sing lor nevv people at
all positions this season
The -tfters. though, are look
mg at filling some major holes
on defense, including defensive
linemen, linebut kers and tie
lellsive ha; ks. Wilson said
Sal; I rani IS(e: signed former
I ho k (|uar ter hat k lit 11 M u s
grave as a free agent last year
and has i» en known tor having
other Oregon alumni on its ros
ter, mi hiding Tony (Tierrv.
ivulltlt I’ut/ier and Mike V\ alter
•liters head < o.ieh t.eorge Seifert
was .ill assistant coach -it Ore
gon !rom 1 * * t > 7 ■? 1
H it son. who s< mill’ll Mus
grave lot tile 40ers while 1 Ilf
qii.irli rh.ii k was .11 Oregon, h.is
shown some inleri’sl m defen
sive cittl Mali La Bounit
S r h a f I e I d s .11 d 1 11 e Duck
coach, tv ho h.is produced more
professionals than arts other
Oregon assistant, said he was
recent I \ 1 unladed In Wilson
who wa nted to k nOw
I.nBountv s home phone num
ber
Wlifn they do that.''
Si hafleld said, they seem to <11
least have some interest
\V 1 I s o li a g r e e d w t t h
Si hatfeld s assessment
"Matt is another guy that we
kind ol like. Wilson said
He's a tough, hard-nosed kid
DRAFT
Continued 'rom Page 9
slder trying out with a team
the same wav former Dui k stars
Derrick Lovillo and Terry Oboe
did with the Seahawks two
years ■igo Both were signed as
free agents and .ire still playing
Mr was .1 long snapper. ,md
those arc hard to find
Mow r v e r. W I I s o n sal d
l.allounlv s si/c hloot-4, .!(>()
pounds is not "quite .is
ilea\ y as you'd like," hut he
said lie thought that size would
not lie as much of a considera
tion as talent
Ollier Duck players that
Wilson said he looked it while
at Oregon were linebacker
Andv Conner, dclemive hacks
Muhammad Oliver and Daryle
Smith, and offensive linemen
Todd Ovdesen and joe Baguio
Of those players, Wilson liked
what he saw in Conner the
most
(.(inner hr s tug enough
it«> play in thr NFL).' Wilson
said Hr\ .1 prulty gocxl all)
Irtr a very intelligent kid
kn l/ said hr also looked .it a
manlier o! players while hr was
Hi Fugene las! vrar Thf Srultlr
scout said Conner, Oliver and
Smith have potential, and he
also mentioned Oregon ku ker
Oregg McCallum as an NFL
i andulate
krel/ said all of the Oregon
plavers on Ills list mav get
drafted on Sunday
These guys have all got
dru (table talent, kret/ said I
would think they all have a
good i ham e of getting draft
rd "
The next logical question
would he When will the Ore
gon players gel drafted7 But as
S( hatleld said liefore there Is
little rhyme or reason as to (ire
dictions of which round play
ers will be drafted
" They can tell you. but if
someone takes a guy out of
form, then it juggle* the line
up," Schaffuld said "Some
guys they say will go in the
sixth (round) go in the third
in the NFL. and Loville rec ent
ly signed a two-year deal with
the Kums
Brcxiks said he )usl wants to
see his players get credit when*
credit is due.
"I just hope the* players who
have played so well for us have
a chance to show their talents
in the N’l'L." he said