The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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72 ■ THE WOLFPACKER FOOTBALL 2014 out of an expected redshirt year, and the freshman debuted in late October. After two appearances, he started the final three games of the season. In the third quarter of the season finale, Byrd tore his ACL and missed all of the next season. He returned prior to the 2011 campaign and was projected to start in a secondary that included five guys who are now drawing NFL paychecks. During summer workouts, Byrd tore his other ACL and went on the shelf for another year. The player who thought he would've been well on his way to the NFL was instead working his way back from a second major injury with just five collegiate games of experience — yet he viewed it as a blessing in disguise. "God had a plan," he said. "Those ACL injuries really humbled me and made me become a better person overall." He rushed himself back in 2012 and played in the first four contests before various ailments limited him for the rest of the campaign. He saw only nine snaps on defense. "I was thinking about transferring," he admitted. "I was fixing to go back home and be close to my family be- cause I was going through everything by myself. "I'm glad I was raised the way I was. A lot of people wouldn't have been able to get through what I had to go through." A New Opportunity Head coach Tom O'Brien was fired after the season, and Byrd decided to stay — it just wasn't like him to not fin- ish what he started. He wasted no time letting the new coaches know that he had certain goals for 2013. "When the new coaching staff came in, I was reborn," he explained. "Every- body had to start from scratch. Nobody could outwork me; nobody wanted it more than me. I was going to prove my- self because I have had to my whole life." Despite changing from cornerback to safety — a position where he had no experience — Byrd thrived under new head coach Dave Doeren and his staff. He started and became one of the Pack's leaders. Byrd played well before he was injured against Wake Forest on an illegal block. He had seen more playing time in 2013 than his entire career up to that point and has recorded 18 tackles, two forced fumbles and one pass broken up. "When he was back there, things were just a little cleaner," White said. "Jarvis was all over the field doing a good job, as far as technique. Those are the things that don't get noticed on the stats sheet, but they have to be right. Jarvis is a perfection- ist with his techniques, alignments and assignments." The injury against the Deacons turned out to be his third ACL tear, devastating news for Byrd. The fighter quit fighting — he finally reached his breaking point. He rehabbed and even attended film ses- sions with the team on Sundays, but the actual games were too much to stomach in person. "I wasn't thinking about a sixth year because I was so depressed about what happened," he admitted. "It's already hard to get back from one ACL; to get back from two then get injured the way I did, it had me frustrated. I was done with football." One Final Round After returning home in December, Byrd couldn't stop thinking about football. Dur- ing sleepless nights, he pondered what he could have done differently before the sea- son. He was mad because his team did not win a game after his injury and missed a bowl game while he helplessly watched. "I had a lot of things wearing on me that I was thinking about too much," he said. "I thought I was done, but then I had a conver- sation with my uncle. He said: 'You do not want to live with regrets.'" That inspired Byrd to call Doeren and get the ball rolling on a possible sixth year. He was in the first team meet- ing of the second semester. After going through the motions in rehab before he left for home, he attacked it with new vigor. "As soon as I decided I wanted to play football again, my rehab and focus went from a zero to 10 in the blink of an eye," he said. "I started taking it more serious. Then it really opened my eyes — I had a chance to do this again." Byrd stepped it up even more when he was officially granted the additional year in March. He helped his teammates any way possible during the spring. Af- ter being only able to watch film and study the playbook — which he knows inside and out — for so long, he was ready to pass those lessons on by serv- ing as a de facto coach. "I use his film to teach the younger safeties," White said. "I'm teaching it, and he's right beside them. He can put his two cents in, and it makes everyone better." Byrd probably wouldn't have returned if the team didn't finish so poorly with- out him. That made last fall the most dif- ficult out of all of the time he has missed with injuries, and now "Grandpa Byrd" is back to help bring along some of the youngsters. Byrd never would have thought he would still be in Raleigh in 2014. He has seen countless teammates — including some that he once beat out for a starting spot — move on to the NFL, which is where he expected to be by now. That dream is not dead, though. Those former teammates who are in the league, like the Chicago Bears' C.J. Wilson, stay in touch to tell him to keep his head up. "I talked to C.J. the other day," Byrd said. "He told me: 'There are guys on my team that you're better than — you've just got to stay healthy. Just continue to work hard — you can still make it.' "Those guys try to keep me positive and it inspires me. That always helps me think: 'Never give up, just keep fighting.'" There was never another option. ■ Byrd — who missed all of the 2010 and 2011 seasons with separate ACL tears, and then suffered a third torn ACL in the fifth game of the 2013 campaign — was granted a rare sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN 70-72.S Jarvis Byrd.indd 72 6/27/14 10:58 AM