QB Logan Byrd Moves Quickly, Becomes Second Member of Tech's 2016 Recruiting Class

Some high school athletes might enjoy dedicating years to the recruiting process and taking their time before making their big college decision.

Quarterback Logan Byrd of Kathleen, Ga.'s Veterans HS is not one of them.

He became the second member of Virginia Tech's 2016 class this weekend, pulling the trigger as soon as he felt the Hokies were the right fit for him.

I am excited to announce that I have verbally commited to Virginia Tech Hokies! #Gohokies #Sandman16 pic.twitter.com/XQ5kvCom5i— Logan Byrd (@LoganByrd2016QB) September 14, 2014

"Why wait?" Byrd said. "When you get the right feeling about a school, you know they really like you, you have to jump on that opportunity."

Byrd made his decision so quickly, he barely even had time to tell his coach.

"I had no idea he was going to commit this early, I thought he'd wait until the spring," said David Bruce, the head coach and athletic director at Veterans. "He told me right before he did it. He had other schools he liked, but I guess that's just a sign of how much they impressed him."

The junior QB held offers from schools like Duke, North Carolina and Virginia, but he felt that Tech met pretty much all of his criteria, making the decision a simple one.

"The coaches, the gameday atmosphere, it's just so impressive," Byrd said. "Coach Beamer is a legend, I don't see why anyone wouldn't want to play for him. My family loves the school too."

Byrd also has no problem ending the recruiting process a bit early.

"Recruiting can definitely be stressful, so I'm kind of relieved I can just focus on one school now, and making my high school team better," Byrd said.

Before making his pledge, Byrd made plenty of trips to Blacksburg, just to make sure he felt comfortable at Tech.

"I went three times in six weeks," Byrd said. "The first time, I was just feeling it out, I didn't get to meet the players. So I knew had to go back, and when I went back, I met the other QBs and we clicked. All that was left was the gameday experience, which was impressive."

Byrd had the misfortune of being in town for Tech's crushing loss to ECU, but that didn't dampen his enthusiasm for the Hokies, and he committed right after the game.

"When everyone started jumping to 'Sandman,' that was special," Byrd said.

He also had his mind put at ease by some of Tech's players, including one fellow Georgia native.

"(Kicker) Michael Santamaria (of Athens, Ga.) really welcomed me, took me around to the guys," Byrd said. "And (quarterback) Chris Durkin, we had a good connection right away, he really made me feel at home."

Offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler was Byrd's primary recruiter, and he seems to have formed a quick rapport with the young passer.

"Coach Loeffler and I really clicked, we spent lots of time talking ball," Byrd said.

Given Byrd's similarities to Durkin, it's probably not surprising that the two got along, or that Loeffler is so interested in the Georgia product.

Byrd is rated a 3-star recruit by the 247Sports Composite ranking, but his 6'3", 229-pound frame must have the Hokies' staff salivating.

"He's tall, strong, he has a good arm," Bruce said. "If I was going to draw up everything I'd want from a quarterback on a chalkboard, it would look a lot like him. He has the raw talent to do everything."

Bruce has the Warhawks running a spread offense built to take advantage of Byrd's talents.

"It's definitely a spread, but not quite a true read option," Bruce said. "We like the intermediate game, since we don't really have receivers with the speed to go deep. And we want to expand the quarterback run. We want people to respect the run with him, and that will open up things for us in the run game more."

Byrd recognizes that his mobility is a very valuable part of his game.

"I'm a passer, so I'll look to pass first and run second, but I can use my legs to extend plays," Byrd said. "I can make plays out of nothing."

Much like Durkin, it would seem that Byrd uses the run to get more comfortable in the flow of the game.

"Me running the ball gets the offense going and it gets me going," Byrd said. "Getting knocked around settles me down a little, it calms me down."

But with his size, does Byrd have the speed to be effective bearing more of the burden in the run game? Bruce thinks so.

"He most definitely does at this level," Bruce said. "I don't know how that will translate to the college game, but here he can exploit people who don't have size on defense. He can be a threat when he runs."

Beyond getting Byrd to use his legs more, Bruce would still like to see Byrd develop his pocket presence a bit more.

"He's got to work on his poise, every now and then he gets a little rattled," Bruce said. "Everybody takes shots, he's got to learn how to handle that. And he's a good leader, but he can always be a better one."

But while Byrd will have plenty of time to focus on these areas of his game with his commitment behind him, he still plans to spend plenty of time hitting the road for Southwestern Virginia.

"One of these upcoming weekends, I'd love to be up there again, for as many games as possible," Byrd said. "I always have a good time in Blacksburg."