Feb. 4, 2011

The South Carolina Gamecocks have received the National Letter of Intent (NLI) from New Jersey wide receiver Damiere Byrd, it was announced Friday.

Byrd, a 5-9, 159-pounder, logged more than 1,500 yards from scrimmage as a senior at Timber Creek Regional High School in New Jersey, where he was coached by Robert Hinson. Following his senior campaign, he was selected to participate in the NUC All-World Bowl in Charleston, S.C., where he caught five passes for 52 yards and two touchdowns, earning offensive MVP honors. As a junior for the Chargers, caught 38 passes for 605 yards and four touchdowns, carried the ball 78 times for 685 yards and eight more scores, and added two punt returns for touchdowns, earning first-team all-conference and Group III and second-team All-South Jersey.

A standout on the track, Byrd has run a 10.42 100-meters, a 21.90 200-meters, and a 47.88 400-meter time. He won the state indoor 55-meter title as a sophomore with a time of 6.39 seconds and is considering running track for Coach Curtis Frye’s Gamecocks.

Byrd was rated a four-star prospect, the sixth-best player in the state of New Jersey, the 19th-best wide receiver in the country and ranked as the 186th-best player in the country by Rivals.com. He was regarded as a four-star prospect, the 132nd-best player in the country and the 18th-best wide receiver by Scout.com, and a four-star prospect, the fourth-best player in New Jersey and the 24th-best wide receiver in the nation according to 247Sports. The PrepStar All-American selected South Carolina over Iowa, Ole Miss and Florida.