Diary of CJ Byrd

by TigerNet Staff - Thu Nov 11 03:36:11 GMT-04:00 2004

C.J. Byrd - Wide Receiver
Height: 6-3 Weight: 185 Hometown: North Augusta, SC (North Augusta HS) Class: 2005

ESPN: NR

CJ Byrd battle through nagging injuries and tough losses through his senior season. The folks at North Augusta were kind enough to pass along, a journal entry that Byrd wrote himself for the Augusta Chronicle. After reading this, you will know why so many people are behind this kid. In the past, we have tried to say he was humble, but yet again he has amazed us.

Here is what Byrd had to say:

Our season is over at North Augusta, and obviously we are all disappointed about not making the playoffs.

It is hard to figure out why things went the way they did this year. Our coaches and players gave the same great effort as in the past two years when we did make the playoffs. However, for whatever reason, things did not go our way.

Maybe it was simply that many of the teams we played were better than us. I don't know. I just know one thing: Our results weren't from a lack of effort on our part.

I have no regrets about my senior year. I left everything I had on the field, as did our team. I wish I wouldn't have had all of those nagging injuries, but injuries are part of the game.

The good news for North Augusta is that many of the starters are coming back for next year, and they will have an excellent chance of returning to the playoffs. I know a lot of those rising seniors are excited about next year and ready to go to work in the offseason.

A reporter asked me whether I felt as if I deserved to be ranked one of the top 50 prospects in the nation after my senior-year season. That is a question with an easy answer: No. And I didn't feel like I deserved to be one of the top 50 prospects before my senior year.

That's one thing that I want known: I never said I was one of the top prospects in the nation, one of the top in the state, or one of the top in the Augusta area. You never heard any of that come out of my mouth, and you never will. I never said I was the best player on my team. We had a lot of good players such as Marcus Jackson, Maurice Simmons, Myles Potter and Justin Wheeler.

I think every senior wants to win the state championship his senior year, and you can include me in that group. I am disappointed that we didn't make the playoffs, but I will eventually get over it. I am proud of Aiken and South Aiken for making the playoffs. I know they will represent our area well, and I will be rooting them on. I thought Aiken was the best team we played all season, and I hope they win it all.

I heard someone talking about what to do when you are discouraged about something. They said you have to know two things: God knows you are discouraged and is there with you. No. 2, you ask yourself, "What good is God bringing out of this situation?"

When I look back at this season from that perspective, God brought a lot of good things out of it all. When things don't go as expected, you usually find out the true character of people. Things didn't go as well for us, but I am proud to say that we never quit on the season.

I want to thank all the coaches, teachers and people in the community for all the support during the past four years. It was a great experience playing football and going to school at North Augusta, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I don't know what God has planned for me in the future, but I do know that I will never forget where I came from.