NFL Draft Diamonds Prospect Interview: Kevin Byard, S, Middle Tennessee State

NFL Draft Diamonds and our staff have been bringing our readers Prospect Interviews over the past 2 years and this year we mixed up the questions and added some fun questions for our readers.  We have tons of NFL staff that read our interviews, and we actually received several of the questions from NFL scouts we speak too.  This gives them a little bit more information regarding your character.  We hope to bring you more than 300 interviews of NFL Draft Prospects this season.  You will be able to track them all on the front page of our website in the banner.

What is your name?

• Kevin Leon Byard III

What is your Height/Weight?

• 5’11 210

What is your position?

• Safety

Where do you play college football?

• Middle Tennessee State University

Football is about giving back, what is the coolest thing you have done off the field?

• Participated/coached in our annual special Olympics here at our school.

What was the hardest college class you ever had to take?

• Hardest class I’ve took was statistics.

Where are you from?

• I was born and raised in West Philadelphia before moving to Atlanta in 9th grade.

Who is your role model, and why?

• My role model is my mother, she is the hardest working person I’ve ever met.

Did you play any other sports growing up?

• I played basketball, baseball, and I ran track and field.

Did you play any other positions in football?

• I’ve played QB, WR, LB, CB, and S in high school.

At your position, what separates you from others?

• What separates me from the competition is my ball hawking skills and good fundamentals at my position.

When you are breaking down film, what do you look for?

• When breaking down film, I study formations, tendencies, 3rd down play calling, red zone, and I try to pick up things the QB may do such as staring down receivers.

Who was the toughest player you ever faced?

• The toughest player I’ve faced in college was Rakeem Cato from Marshall University great QB.

If you could compare your play to one player in the NFL who would it be and why?

• I would compare myself to Ed Reed because of our ball hawking skills and relentless effort to get better every day.

What was the biggest obstacle in your life you had to overcome, and how did you overcome it?

• The biggest obstacle I’ve have to overcome was the big move my family had to Atlanta. My mom and dad divorced and my mother took all 7 of her kids to Georgia by herself with hardly any money. We stayed in one of her friends downstairs basement for the first year until we were able to get our own home. It was a hard time for us but football helped a lot by giving me a place to release my stress and be a sanctuary for me.

Do you have any pre-game ritual?

• No real special rituals other than a prayer when I first touch the field, I sometimes have a good conversation with the football telling it to come my way this game haha

How hard is it to come from a small school?

• Just respect overall most of us players don’t get the media attention like the P5 schools during the season unless we upset a team or a top 10 play on sports center so we have to dominate our leagues 2x more than them

What is your biggest strength?

• My biggest strength is my work ethic, very dependable, and the fact that I pay close attention to detail

What is your biggest weakness?

• I could be a better tackler in space, I’ve improved a ton this season but I was definitely bad early in my career.

If I were a GM and gave you a second to sell yourself, what would you say?

• I am a hard working player that is never comfortable with the player I am because I know I can always improve, I know I can become one of the better safeties in the NFL because of my work ethic and never settling for average

Who was your favorite player and/or NFL team growing up?

• My favorite player was Troy Polamalu, I just loved the way he played the game without a care for his own body. One of the best safeties to ever play

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would you choose?

• I would have dinner with Malcolm X, Tupac, and my oldest brother Kevin who died before I was born

With your first NFL paycheck what would you buy?

• My first NFL paycheck I would finally buy my mom a house so she doesn’t ever have to move again

Rapid Answers:

• Spongebob or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
• Spongebob
• Backstreet Boys or One Direction?
• Backstreet Boys
• Lifetime Channel or HGTV?
• Lifetime
• Waffles or Pancakes?
• Pancakes
• Snakes or Spiders?
• Snakes
• Madden or Mario?
• Madden