DT looking at books first

Junior to Watch: Torey Byrd

School: Baton Rouge (La.) Redemptorist

Position: Defensive tackle

Size and speed: Byrd is 6-foot-3, 295 pounds and has been clocked at 5.1-seconds in the 40-yard dash. He also has a 330-pound bench-press and a 2.5 grade-point average.

Honors: Byrd earned all-district, all-metro and all-state honorable mention honors as a junior.

Statistics: Byrd had 59 solo tackles, 51 assists, 29 tackles for a loss, four sacks and four fumble recoveries as a junior.

Favorite Schools: Byrd lists LSU, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Arkansas, West Virginia, Auburn, Tulane, Colorado and Stanford as his top teams. He said he has scholarship offers from Auburn, Tulane, Colorado and Duke.

Skinny: Scouting prospects in the Bayou State is always a lot of fun, and Rivals100 got an early chance to see one of Louisiana’s top juniors for the Class of 2004 last December. Baton Rouge (La.) Redemptorist defensive tackle Torey Byrd looked nothing short of solid and it’s no surprise that the 6-foot-3, 295-pounder is already earning offers.

Byrd was an agile big man that was especially good at stopping the run or putting pressure up the middle in passing situations.

“I think my strength and my quickness are what set me apart,” Byrd said. “I have exceptional strength and with that combined with my exceptional quickness it helps me be better than the guy across from me. I played the whole season facing double-teams, but I worked hard to get 100-plus tackles.”

And he plans on working even harder to produce the same results – and another state championship – as a senior.

Byrd said he’s also going to get recruited in track, but said it’s going to be the school’s academic standards that will lead him toward making a decision.

“My academic requirements must be met,” he said.

“I would like to find the perfect school that meets those standards – plus I would like to play in a setting close enough where my family could see me play. I would prefer a hot climate on natural grass, but in-state or out of state doesn’t matter to me.”