Jeff Byers

Jeff Byers (born September 7, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans.

Early life Byers attended Loveland High School, where he participated in basketball, track and played competitive football. In 2003, he played both offense and defense: That season, on defense as a defensive lineman, he had 203 tackles, 56 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 14 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries (with a touchdown). On offense, as a center he recorded 34 pancake blocks in one game and never allowed a sack in his career. Loveland won the Class 4A state championship in 2003. He was named the 2004 Gatorade Player of the Year, as the nation's top high school football player.

College career

Although Byers arrived at USC as a center, the Trojans already had then-sophomore Ryan Kalil who kept the position for three seasons; as a result, he moved to left guard. As a freshman, Byers started 4 and played in all 13 games during the 2004 season, as the Trojans went on to win the National Championship.

In the spring before the 2005 season, Byers had hip surgery and missed the entire season under a medical redshirt. He started the 2006 season as a reserve in the opening game against Arkansas, but suffered a back sprain in subsequent week that required surgery. He missed the rest of the season. After starting all 12 regular season games, Byers was selected to the 2008 All-Pac-10 Second-team by conference coaches.

Due to the health issues that caused him to miss the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Byers petitioned the NCAA for a "clock-extension waiver". In December 2008, the NCAA granted him an additional season of eligibility. He made the 2007 Pac-10 All-Academic second-team.

In 2009, Byers was listed at No. 1 on Rivals.coms preseason interior lineman power ranking in 2009.

With the injury of starting center Kristofer O'Dowd, Byers was moved to starting center for the Trojans 2009 season opener against San Jose State.

Professional career

Undrafted in the 2010 NFL draft, Byers was signed by his former college coach, Pete Carroll, to the Seattle Seahawks on April 30, 2010, but cut before the start of the season. Byers was then added to the Denver Broncos practice squad on September 6, 2010. Byers was activated by the Broncos in December 2010, but released the following summer. Following his release by the Broncos, Byers was added to the Panthers' practice squad on September 5, 2011. He was promoted to the Panthers' active roster on December 17, 2011. Byers announced his retirement on March 11, 2014.