View source for Keith Byars

{{Short description|American football player (born 1963)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{BLP sources|date=August 2010}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name        = Keith Byars
| image       = KeithByarsTikrit.jpg
| alt         = Byars in Tikrit, Iraq, signing autographs during a February 2006 troop visit.
| caption     = Byars in 2006
| number      = 42, 41
| position    = [[Fullback (gridiron football)|Fullback]] <br> [[Tight end]]
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1963|10|14}}
| birth_place = [[Dayton, Ohio]], U.S.
| height_ft   = 6
| height_in   = 1
| weight_lb   = 245
| high_school = [[Roth High School (Dayton, Ohio)|Roth]] <br> (Dayton, Ohio) <br> [[Trotwood-Madison High School|Trotwood-Madison]] <br> ([[Trotwood, Ohio]])
| college     = [[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Ohio State]] (1982–1985)
| draftyear   = 1986
| draftround  = 1
| draftpick   = 10
| pastteams   = * [[Philadelphia Eagles]] ({{NFL Year|1986|1992}})
* [[Miami Dolphins]] ({{NFL Year|1993|1996}})
* [[New England Patriots]] ({{NFL Year|1996|1997}})
* [[New York Jets]] ({{NFL Year|1998}})
| highlights  = * [[Pro Bowl]] ([[1994 Pro Bowl|1993]])
* [[Philadelphia Eagles 75th Anniversary Team]]
* [[List of unanimous All-Americans in college football|Unanimous All-American]] ([[1984 College Football All-America Team|1984]])
* Second-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1983 College Football All-America Team|1983]])
* [[Big Ten Most Valuable Player]] (1984)
* [[Big Ten Conference football individual awards#Player of the Year|Big Ten Player of the Year]] (1984)
* 2× First-team [[List of All-Big Ten Conference football teams|All-Big Ten]] ([[1983 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1983]], [[1984 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1984]])
| statlabel1  = [[Carry (American football)|Rushing attempts]]
| statvalue1  = 865
| statlabel2  = [[Rushing yards]]
| statvalue2  = 3,109
| statlabel3  = [[Touchdown|Rushing touchdowns]]
| statvalue3  = 23
| statlabel4  = [[Reception (gridiron football)|Receptions]]
| statvalue4  = 610
| statlabel5  = [[Receiving yards]]
| statvalue5  = 5,661
| statlabel6  = [[Touchdown|Receiving touchdowns]]
| statvalue6  = 31
| pfr         = ByarKe00
| CollegeHOF  = 2449
}}

'''Keith Alan Byars''' (born October 14, 1963) is an American sports broadcaster and former professional [[American football|football]] player. He played as a [[Fullback (gridiron football)|fullback]] and [[tight end]] in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) for the [[Philadelphia Eagles]], [[Miami Dolphins]], [[New England Patriots]] and [[New York Jets]]. He was selected in the first round by the Eagles in the [[1986 NFL draft]]. He played [[college football]] for the [[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Ohio State Buckeyes]].

==Early life==
Byars attended high school at the now-defunct [[Roth High School (Dayton, Ohio)|Roth High School]] in Dayton, Ohio and Trotwood Madison High School, in Trotwood, Ohio.

==College career==
Byars was a [[Halfback (American football)|tailback]] with the [[Ohio State University|Ohio State]] [[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Buckeyes]] from 1982 to 1985, under head coach [[Earle Bruce]].

In 1984, Byars finished second in the [[Heisman Trophy]] voting (behind [[Doug Flutie]]) after a season where he gained an OSU record 2,441 all-purpose yards, including a then-school record 1,764 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=945377&SPID=10408&SPSID=87751 |title=The Ohio State Buckeyes Official Athletics Site:Keith Byars |publisher=Ohio State Buckeyes |access-date=August 22, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819202703/http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml |archive-date=August 19, 2010 }}</ref>  That season featured a game against [[Illinois Fighting Illini|Illinois]] (Ohio State won this game 45–38 on October 13, 1984) in which Byars led a comeback from a 24–0 deficit, rushing for 274 yards and five touchdowns, the last with 36 seconds remaining in the game. On his fourth touchdown run, going for 67 yards, he famously lost his left shoe at the Illini 40 but never broke stride.  Byars was a [[unanimous All-American]] selection, and voted the [[Big Ten Conference]] [[Chicago Tribune Silver Football|Most Valuable Player]].  His running backs coach that year was a young [[Jim Tressel]], who would later become the Buckeyes' head coach.

Byars was a preseason favorite for the 1985 Heisman, but fractured the bone in his right foot near the little toe in preseason practice.  He missed the first five games of the 1985 season, and returned too early.  He reinjured the broken bone in his second game back and missed the remainder of the regular season.  He attempted to return for the [[1985 Citrus Bowl|Citrus Bowl]] game on December 28, but injured his foot again in the second Ohio State offensive series of the game.  Many observers note that throughout the remainder of his football career Byars was never as dominant a player as he had been in 1984. {{Citation needed|date=March 2017}}

Despite losing almost his entire senior year, Byars finished his [[college football|college career]] at Ohio State with 4,369 total yards, 3,200 rushing yards, and 50 touchdowns.  His 50 touchdowns remain the second most in school history.

{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|+ Byars'  stats with the Ohio State Buckeyes 
|-
!|
! colspan="4" style="background:#e7e3e7;"| Rushing
! colspan="4" style="background:#e7e3e7;"| Receiving
|-
!|YEAR
!|ATT
!|YDS
!|AVG
!|TD
!|NO.
!|YDS
!|AVG
!|TD
|-
|1982||6||24||4.0||0||1||20||20.0||0
|-
|1983||222||1,199||5.4||20||23||359||15.6||1
|-
|1984||336||1,764||5.3||22||42||479||11.4||2
|-
|1985||55||213||3.9||4||7||44||6.3||0
|-
!Totals!!619!!3,200!!5.2!!46!!72!!882!!12.3!!3
|}

==Professional career==
Byars was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the tenth overall pick in the first round of the 1986 NFL Draft.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1986 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1986/draft.htm |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> As a professional, he played running back, [[Fullback (American football)|fullback]] and [[tight end]] for the [[Philadelphia Eagles]] (1986–1992), [[Miami Dolphins]] (1993–1996), [[New England Patriots]] (1996–1997), and the [[New York Jets]] (1998). Byars was selected to the [[Pro Bowl]] in 1993.

A superb rusher, blocker, and pass receiver, Byars was a vital contributor for every team he played on. In 1988, he rushed for 517 yards, recorded 71 receptions (ranking him 9th in the NFL), and scored 10 touchdowns. In the Eagles' [[Fog Bowl (American football)|20–12 loss]] to the [[Chicago Bears]] in the postseason, he rushed for 34 yards and caught 9 passes for 103 yards. In 1990, he recorded 81 receptions for 819 yards, the third most receptions in the NFL, rushed for 141 yards, and even completed 4 of 4 passes for 53 yards and 4 touchdowns. In the 1996 season, Byars made his first and only championship appearance, playing with the Patriots in [[Super Bowl XXXI]]. 33-year-old Byars had a good performance in the game, catching 4 passes for 42 yards and a touchdown.

Byars played one year as a member of the [[New York Jets]] in 1998. He helped the Jets reach the [[AFC Championship Game]], before losing to the [[Denver Broncos]] in his last game played in the NFL.

In his 13 seasons, Byars rushed for 3,109 yards, caught 610 passes for 5,661 yards, returned five kickoffs for 94 yards, and completed 6 of 13 passes for 119 yards and six touchdowns, with one interception.  He also scored 54 touchdowns (23 rushing and 31 receiving). His six passing touchdowns are the third highest total by a running back in NFL history. Byars 610 receptions are the 2nd most catches by a fullback and 4th most by a halfback/fullback/running back in NFL history as of 2018.

==NFL career statistics==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|-
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| '''Bold'''
| Career high
|}

===Regular season===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="2"| Games
! colspan="5"| Rushing
! colspan="5"| Receiving
|-
! GP !! GS !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD
|-
! [[1986 NFL season|1986]] !! [[1986 Philadelphia Eagles season|PHI]]
| '''16''' || 8 || '''177''' || '''577''' || 3.3 || 32 || 1 || 11 || 44 || 4.0 || 17 || 0
|-
! [[1987 NFL season|1987]] !! [[1987 Philadelphia Eagles season|PHI]]
| 10 || 8 || 116 || 426 || 3.7 || 30 || 3 || 21 || 177 || 8.4 || 30 || 1
|-
! [[1988 NFL season|1988]] !! [[1988 Philadelphia Eagles season|PHI]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || 152 || 517 || 3.4 || 52 || '''6''' || 72 || 705 || 9.8 || 37 || 4
|-
! [[1989 NFL season|1989]] !! [[1989 Philadelphia Eagles season|PHI]]
| '''16''' || 15 || 133 || 452 || 3.4 || 16 || 5 || 68 || 721 || '''10.6''' || '''60''' || 0
|-
! [[1990 NFL season|1990]] !! [[1990 Philadelphia Eagles season|PHI]]
| '''16''' || 15 || 37 || 141 || 3.8 || 23 || 0 || '''81''' || '''819''' || 10.1 || 54 || 3
|-
! [[1991 NFL season|1991]] !! [[1991 Philadelphia Eagles season|PHI]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || 94 || 383 || 4.1 || 28 || 1 || 62 || 564 || 9.1 || 37 || 3
|-
! [[1992 NFL season|1992]] !! [[1992 Philadelphia Eagles season|PHI]]
| 15 || 15 || 41 || 176 || 4.3 || 23 || 1 || 56 || 502 || 9.0 || 46 || 2
|-
! [[1993 NFL season|1993]] !! [[1993 Miami Dolphins season|MIA]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || 64 || 269 || 4.2 || '''77''' || 3 || 61 || 613 || 10.0 || 27 || 3
|-
! [[1994 NFL season|1994]] !! [[1994 Miami Dolphins season|MIA]]
| 9 || 9 || 19 || 64 || 3.4 || 12 || 2 || 49 || 418 || 8.5 || 34 || '''5'''
|-
! [[1995 NFL season|1995]] !! [[1995 Miami Dolphins season|MIA]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || 15 || 44 || 2.9 || 15 || 1 || 51 || 362 || 7.1 || 26 || 2
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[1996 NFL season|1996]] !! [[1996 Miami Dolphins season|MIA]]
| 4 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 40 || 8.0 || 16 || 0
|-
! [[1996 New England Patriots season|NWE]]
| 10 || 6 || 2 || 2 || 1.0 || 3 || 0 || 27 || 249 || 9.2 || 27 || 2
|-
! [[1997 NFL season|1997]] !! [[1997 New England Patriots season|NWE]]
| '''16''' || 8 || 11 || 24 || 2.2 || 5 || 0 || 20 || 189 || 9.5 || 51 || 3
|-
! [[1998 NFL season|1998]] !! [[1998 New York Jets season|NYJ]]
| 13 || 8 || 4 || 34 || '''8.5''' || 13 || 0 || 26 || 258 || 9.9 || 29 || 3
|-
! colspan="2"| !! 189 !! 160 !! 865 !! 3,109 !! 3.6 !! 77 !! 23 !! 610 !! 5,661 !! 9.3 !! 60 !! 31
|}

===Playoffs===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="2"| Games
! colspan="5"| Rushing
! colspan="5"| Receiving
|-
! GP !! GS !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD
|-
! [[1988 NFL season|1988]] !! [[1988 Philadelphia Eagles season|PHI]]
| 1 || 1 || '''7''' || '''34''' || 4.9 || '''13''' || 0 || 9 || 103 || '''11.4''' || 24 || 0
|-
! [[1989 NFL season|1989]] !! [[1989 Philadelphia Eagles season|PHI]]
| 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 9 || 68 || 7.6 || 17 || 0
|-
! [[1990 NFL season|1990]] !! [[1990 Philadelphia Eagles season|PHI]]
| 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 18 || 9.0 || 10 || 0
|-
! [[1992 NFL season|1992]] !! [[1992 Philadelphia Eagles season|PHI]]
| 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 9 || 68 || 7.6 || 15 || 0
|-
! [[1995 NFL season|1995]] !! [[1995 Miami Dolphins season|MIA]]
| 1 || 1 || 4 || 22 || '''5.5''' || 10 || 0 || 4 || 30 || 7.5 || 12 || 0
|-
! [[1996 NFL season|1996]] !! [[1996 New England Patriots season|NWE]]
| '''3''' || '''3''' || 3 || 9 || 3.0 || 7 || 0 || '''12''' || '''111''' || 9.3 || '''34''' || '''2'''
|-
! [[1997 NFL season|1997]] !! [[1997 New England Patriots season|NWE]]
| 2 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 1 || 0.5 || 2 || 0
|-
! [[1998 NFL season|1998]] !! [[1998 New York Jets season|NYJ]]
| 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 44 || 8.8 || 19 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"| !! 13 !! 11 !! 14 !! 65 !! 4.6 !! 13 !! 0 !! 52 !! 443 !! 8.5 !! 34 !! 2
|}

==After retirement==
Keith Byars is currently co-hosting a sports radio show with ESPN 1410 WING-AM in Dayton, Ohio where he is from—Byars hosts the show with Justin Kinner on Sunday mornings (Sunday Morning Sports) from 9-11am and he also broadcasts High School football on 101.5 HANK-FM for the Greater Western Ohio Conference (GWOC). http://www.wingam.com/shows/sunday-morning-sports-justin-kinner/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025073602/http://www.wingam.com/shows/sunday-morning-sports-justin-kinner/ |date=October 25, 2017 }}

He is currently a television analyst for "New York Football Weekly" and ''[[This Week in Football]]'' on the [[YES Network]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yesnetwork.com/announcers/bio.jsp?id=kbyars|title=Biographies: Keith Byars|publisher=Yes Network|access-date=August 22, 2010|archive-date=July 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719131943/http://www.yesnetwork.com/announcers/bio.jsp?id=kbyars|url-status=dead}}</ref>

He also coached the [[Boca Raton High School]] varsity football team in Boca Raton, Florida from 2009 to September 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/highschool/football/palm/fl-byars-out-at-boca-0923-20110922,0,4161633.story|title=Ex-Dolphin Keith Byars out as Boca Raton football coach|work=[[South Florida Sun-Sentinel]]|date=September 22, 2011|access-date=January 1, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of NCAA major college football yearly rushing leaders]]
* [[List of NCAA major college football yearly scoring leaders]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{College Football HoF|2449}}
* {{Footballstats |nfl=keith-byars |espn= |cbs= |yahoo= |fox= |pfr=B/ByarKe00 |rotoworld= }}

{{Big Ten Conference football Player of the Year navbox}}
{{Chicago Tribune Silver Football navbox}}
{{1984 NCAA Division I-A College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1986 NFL Draft}}
{{EaglesFirstPick}}
{{Eagles1986DraftPicks}}
{{Eagles75}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byars, Keith}}
[[Category:1963 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:American football running backs]]
[[Category:Miami Dolphins players]]
[[Category:New England Patriots players]]
[[Category:New York Jets players]]
[[Category:Ohio State Buckeyes football players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Eagles players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Dayton, Ohio]]
[[Category:American sports commentators]]
[[Category:YES Network]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]