The Steve Spurrier era in Columbia ended eight years ago, but almost every week a South Carolina football player who played for the Head Ball Coach makes NFL news.
Just in the last week, cornerback Stephon Gilmore made a game-sealing interception for the Dallas Cowboys, linebacker Ernest Jones continued dominating for the Los Angeles Rams, and cornerback Darius Rush and defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth signed new NFL contracts.
This week, another former Gamecock made headlines by signing a new deal in the League. Damiere Byrd, who started the year with the Carolina Panthers but was released after an injury, is on the move to a new team.
Byrd was signed by the Atlanta Falcons, a reunion between the two parties. In 2022, Byrd was a Falcon and contributed two long touchdowns for an offense that struggled with explosive plays. A starter for four games a season ago, the speedy wideout instantly brings an over-the-top deep threat for the Falcons with his elite top-end sprint speed.
In his NFL career, Byrd has six different touchdowns that have gone for 40 or more yards. Even as a 30 year old now, Byrd is among the fastest straight-line sprinters in the league, so it would not be a surprise if he is able to add to that total at some point this season with the Falcons.
If Byrd hangs on in the NFL through the 2024 season, he will become the longest-tenured South Carolina football alum to play wide receiver in the NFL. That statistic might shock fans as players like Sterling Sharpe, Alshon Jeffery, Robert Brooks, and Sidney Rice all made Pro Bowls in their NFL careers, but Byrd’s speed has kept him on NFL rosters for a long time.
However, there has never been a Gamecock wide receiver who has played a full decade in the League, something that Byrd will accomplish with just one more year of NFL service time.