Byers reacts to OBrien hire

Cornerback Justin Byers opened things back up a bit once Chuck Amato was fired as head coach of North Carolina State. Now that the Wolfpack have hired Tom O'Brien, has that reaffirmed the Charlotte (N.C.) Vance star's commitment?

"From what I hear coach O'Brien is a good coach," he said. "I'm at the Shrine Bowl this week and have been talking to a couple State commits about that and what's going on there. For me, coach O'Brien taking the job doesn't really change anything yet.

"They haven't said anything about who the position coaches will be. Once they do that, I'll probably know what I want to do for sure."

Since O'Brien's hiring last week, the two-star prospect has been in touch with Dick Portee.

"He told me to just stay with the Pack," he said. "He told me they are getting the right people in there for the job and said Tom O'Brien is a good ball coach."

While he claims he's considering looking around, it may be tough for other teams to pull Byers away from NC State.

"I'll probably look elsewhere," he said. "My coaches and parents though have really preached to me about what the word commitment means and it would be very hard for me to go away from NC State since they've been there for me the whole time. They've been there through my injuries and others schools haven't done that."

As for other schools, a few are already staying in contact.

"Ole Miss and Marshall have been contacting me," he said. "I'm looking to perform down here at the Shrine Bowl and if something else comes up I'll go from there."