25 Players in 25 Days: #17 Tawfiq Byard

Position: Safety
Classification: Redshirt Junior
Hometown: Hyattsville, Md.
Listed Height: 6-1
Listed Weight: 198 lbs.

Key notes from Zane’s thoughts on Byard

• The safety Tawfiq Byard is part of that secondary that Mike Elko has described as the best he has coached during his time at Texas A&M, dating back to his time as the defensive coordinator here under Jimbo Fisher.
   
• What I love about Byard is the bloodlines. I don't want to make this about his brother, but anytime you have an older brother, Kevin Byard III, who is a three-time first-team All-Pro, you have to imagine the lessons passed down from his big bro. Tawfiq is a guy who is taking a natural progression. He was a three-star recruit who went to USF. He had a standout season as a redshirt freshman. He then transferred to Colorado, learned under Deion Sanders, and led them in tackles. Now he is testing himself and taking another jump to the SEC.
   
• He brings a nice brand of physicality to the secondary room, and the safety position in particular. This is a guy who will factor in on a rotational basis, because you have two captains at safety in Dalton Brooks and Marcus Ratcliffe. His addition brings much-needed depth and physicality and is another reason why Mike Elko is very confident in his secondary, as he has said time and time again.
   
• It is one of the things that Elko spoke about on Tuesday. You can't truly name starters on the offensive line, defensive line, corner, and the same thing at safety. There is competition across the board, and Tawfiq is a huge part of that. The cliché is that iron sharpens iron, and the fact that he is pushing to start will only make Brooks and Ratcliffe better.
   
• Hopefully, he doesn't lead A&M in tackles this year, because you know what it means when a safety leads your team in tackles. Hopefully, Tawfiq being moved around like a chess piece will help the secondary bring in more turnovers. That is the area that they were deficient in last year.
   
• I trust Elko's portal evaluations at any position, especially at the position that he played at Penn.