Sunny delight

When Sultan McCullough went out due to injury, a blond surfer kid named Sunny Byrd took over at Tailback U

By MIKE CERVANTES
Assistant Sports Editor
When the football season started most people would never figure a blond-haired surfer named Sunny Byrd to be a major contributor to the Trojans. That was the case until tailback Sultan McCullough suffered a strained abdominal muscle four games ago against Arizona State.

In that game Byrd, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound fullback, stepped in at the tailback spot and was USC's workhorse for the day. His first carry as a Trojan was a touchdown. He had a game-best 63 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns, helping the Trojans eat the clock in the second half en route to their 48-17 win against the Sun Devils.

Byrd has been the Trojans' starting tailback since. Byrd is a slower, punishing runner who gets the bulk of his yards after knocking a defender back a few yards. As a former fullback Byrd has the hit-hard mentality that is evident on all his carries.

Playing such a high-profile position has turned a lot of attention on Byrd; the media wants to talk to him after practice and his name is in print a whole lot more. His parents, Pat and Lisa, are surprised with their son's favorable turn of events, yet they know his ego won't get inflated.

"He's always a laid back guy," his father said. "I don't think it (the attention) affects him at all. He'll take it all as it comes."

Despite being laid back and somewhat soft-spoken, Byrd has to deal with a lot more exposure. He takes this newfound fascination in stride.

"People on campus and other people who I've never seen before come up to me and say I had a good game," Byrd said about his increased popularity.

When reporters come nosing around Byrd deals with them in a simple way: "I just try to answer their questions and try not let them get in my head too much."

Byrd transferred to USC from El Camino Junior College (Torrance, Calif.) last fall and redshirted as a junior fullback. He was the Warriors' MVP in 1999, leading the team in rushing with 715 yards and eight touchdowns. Byrd was named to the Junior College Athletic Bureau All-State Region IV first team and was an All-Mission Conference first teamer as well.

After his two years of eligibility at El Camino were up, Byrd had to move on. That's when he made his way to USC.

"It's really an honor," Byrd's mother said of her son's transition to USC. "He was elated when he got accepted to play there. Getting to play was something he worked so hard for."

Lisa never figured her son to be making such an impact while playing on Division I football team. It was all about enjoying the moments he had on the field.

"No, I never gave it a thought," she said. "It was so much fun just to watch him."

Although Byrd has been the starting tailback the last four games, he hasn't had a 100-yard game yet.

In Byrd's three starts he has 138 yards on 64 carries (2.2 yard per run). He knows he doesn't have to break out for an 80-yard run or beat defenders outside. His position may be tailback, but he still runs like a fullback.

"Yeah, there's a lot of pressure," Byrd said about playing such an esteemed position for USC. "But they know they brought me from the fullback position so I don't really think they expect me to make those huge plays."

Coach Pete Carroll thinks Byrd has done a fine job.

"It's been very consistent," Carroll said of Byrd's play. "He runs real tough, he's a physical football player and he brings attitude to our team."

The offense hasn't changed much with Byrd getting the carries. USC still pounds the ball away to keep defenses honest, trying to open up the passing game.

"Every once in a while Sunny does have enough speed to where he can get outside and turn the corner," quarterback Carson Palmer said. "So if they (the defense) try to load up on one side we can kind of exploit that because Sunny does have the ability to do that, not as good as Sultan, but it'll be tough to be a defensive coordinator and stop the inside running game.

"I don't think he expects to do that much, he's not the type of guy that's going to blow right by people because he's such a bruiser. He kind of reminds me of Petros (Papadakis) the way he runs. Petros was never trying to shake people or go by them; he was always trying to hit someone. Sunny sees a defensive back and runs right at them. We like that. Being a safety you don't like a guy who's 220 pounds coming at you full speed."

Off the field Byrd loves to hit the beach and ride the waves. It's something he got from his father when he was very young. His father has been surfing more than 35 years, so it was natural to get his son in the water at an early age.

Byrd was a 7-year-old with a little boogie board when his dad got him started. Eventually Byrd moved on to surf boards and to this day still surfs, even getting some of his teammates interested.

During the summer Byrd got fullback Charlie Landrigan, Palmer and some of the offensive lineman to grab some surf boards and head for the ocean.

"Sunny's been surfing a long time and one day over the summer he took us out there," Palmer said. "I did it a couple of times when I was growing up, but he kind of got us hooked over the summer."

Copyright 2001 by the Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.
This article was published in Vol. 144, No. 53 (Friday, November 9, 2001), beginning on page 12 and ending on page 11.