
- Nationality
United States
- Position
- TB
- Birthday
- 10/14/1963
- Hometown
- Dayton, OH
- High School
- Roth
- Height
- 6'2"
- Weight
- 236
- Past Teams
- Ohio State
- Seasons
- 1984, 1985
Major: Social Work (1985)
Weight: 236 (1985), 233 (1984)
1984: Consensus All-American who finished second in the Heisman Voting (runner-up to Doug Flutie) … Big Ten Player of the Year … All-Big Ten in 1984 after leading the conference in rushing (1,764 yards), scoring (24 touchdowns) and all-purpose yards (2,441) … led OSU in pass receiving with 42 catches for 479 yards … Had his best performance in Ohio State’s thrilling come-from-behind victory against Illinois (overcoming a school-record 24-0 deficit), scoring five touchdowns and rushing for 274 yards on 39 carries … his fourth touchdown of the game was a spectacular 67-yard run in which he completely reversed his field and lost a shoe at the Illinois 35, but still outran the Illini secondary.
1984 Media Guide: Byars and Archie Griffin are the only two sophomores in Ohio State history to run for more than 1,000 yards … will be one of the top running backs in the nation this season.
1983: Byars moved back to tailback after playing fullback as a freshman … ran for 1,199 yards, caught 23 passes for 359 yards and scored 132 points … Had a dramatic 99-yard kickoff return against Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl to cap off an outstanding season.
1982: With two established tailbacks ahead of him, Tim Spencer and Jimmy Gayle, plus a veteran fullback, Vaughn Broadnax, Coach Bruce moved Keith to fullback, where he would get more playing time as a second stringer, rather than a third-team tailback … saw limited action in nine games … carried just six times for 24 yards and caught a 20-yard pass.
High School: Byars attended Roth High School in Dayton and immediately stamped himself as a gifted athlete … in football, he played tight end as a sophomore, but was moved to tailback his junior year to take advantage of his speed and power … averaged an incredible 11.5 yards per carry as a senior, running for 1,701 yards and scoring 14 touchdowns … was a starting forward on two straight state championship basketball teams … played centerfield and hit .520 as a junior and .480 his senior year playing baseball … sprinter on the track team who ran on a state championship 440-yard relay team.
Personal: Archie Griffin was a boyhood idol and he played a major role in Byars’ decision to attend Ohio State … has two brothers and two sisters … father is a reverend … enjoys gospel music … hobbies are bowling and watching movies.
Offense
Season | Team | G | GS | Comp | Pass Att | Pass Yds | Pass TD | Rush Att | Rush Yds | Rush Avg | Rush TD | Rec | Rec Yds | Rec Avg | Rec TD | Lng | Fum | Lost | FR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | Ohio State | 12 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 336 | 1764 | 5.3 | 22 | 42 | 479 | 11.4 | 2 | 67 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
1985 | Ohio State | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 213 | 3.9 | 4 | 7 | 44 | 6.3 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | - | 16 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 391 | 1977 | 0 | 26 | 49 | 523 | 0 | 2 | 67 | 3 | 2 | 2 |