Xavier Joe still chuckles when he rewatches the first play of Savion Byrd’s sophomore year highlight reel.
The clip could be mistaken for a scene in the movie “The Blind Side,” when Quinton Aaron, who plays Michael Oher, drives his defender through the back of the end zone on a block. Byrd, like Oher in the movie, hustled 30 yards on a run play, beginning his block at the opposing 48-yard line until he gave his defender one final shove just inside the 20.
Though it was his first season as an offensive lineman and second year playing football, Byrd’s “seek and destroy” demeanor he showcased during the clip landed him a brief stint as the nation’s No. 1-ranked offensive lineman in the class of 2021.
“That’s been him since day one,” Joe, Duncanville High School offensive line coach, told the OU Daily. “He wants to see, ‘Can I drive this dude onto the track?’ And he was gonna try to do it.
“He has bad intentions for the people lined up in front of him.”
Joe played the part of Jae Head, cast as S.J. Tuohy in the movie, parading the film around to various college coaches. When he showed the clip to Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, he gave Byrd an offer to play for the Aggies.
Plays like that led Byrd to be ranked as a consensus four-star and top five interior offensive lineman in the class of 2021 by ESPN, 247Sports and On3’s industry rankings. It’s also what the Sooners expect to see in 2023 from their starting left guard after an unfulfilling first two seasons.
“If we can get the best version of Savion, man, we got a chance to have a special player,” offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said. “We're doing that right now, he's doing that and … there's been a ton of maturity through the process.”
Byrd started out as a 6-foot-4, lanky defensive end on Duncanville’s freshman team. His length stood out most, as Joe remembers him “grabbing people from across the street” and tackling them.
He used the same length and added weight to transition to offensive line where he saw immediate success as a sophomore. The move to the opposite side of the ball wasn’t only due to his size, but the “nastiness” Joe felt was missing from his unit.
His on-field demeanor, however, was opposite from his personality.
“Savion is all about love,” Joe said. “Usually when you see Savion, he’s smiling. He’s about expressing (love) through the thing he loves the most — playing (football).
“He does what he does to ensure the people that he loves have everything they need and want. His plan for doing that is his passion.”
Byrd has brought that love, coincided with his violent blocking ability, to OU’s offensive line.
“We’re not embarrassed to love one another,” Byrd said. “Nobody is ever going to be alone on the offensive line. Whether it’s now (or) 10 years down the line, that’s just the type of guys that we have in the room, and that’s just the type of love that it is.”
Byrd’s loving intentions weren’t always clear. He struggled to find his footing, both on and off the field, after arriving at OU in 2021 and saw little playing time during his first two seasons in Norman.
Every struggle he endured was met by support, particularly from head coach Brent Venables and offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh. Joe has kept in contact with Bedenbaugh, who assured him that the confidence OU had in Byrd as a recruit never wavered.
“Venables, Bill Bedenbaugh (and strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt) never gave up on me,” Byrd said. “(They) never judged my character, never looked down upon me, it was always just, ‘Next rep, next day, now let’s stack days and let’s be consistent.' They saw where I was at in life and they came to me. They didn’t make me go to them. That’s all the motivation I’ll ever need.”
Byrd was finally given the opportunity to start in OU’s Cheez-It Bowl appearance against Florida State and delivered a dominant performance at left guard. While many were surprised, Joe and OU’s coaches saw it merely as a glimpse at his potential.
When Byrd found out he was the starter, a shift of mentality followed.
“I knew what I had to do (before the) bowl game,” Byrd said. “I knew the 180 I had to do, I knew the lifestyle I had to live and the choices I had to make (before the) bowl game. I’m literally still living inside that bowl game Savion. It’s not a complacent thing, I just know where I want to go and I know what I need to do to take myself there.”
Byrd carried the same mindset into an offseason competition with Miami (OH) transfer Caleb Shaffer, a redshirt senior who’s played 40 games for the Redhawks primarily at left guard, the spot Byrd was vying for.
The demeanor that led him to drag a defender 30 yards downfield as a high school sophomore paired with the focus he used to adapt to football so quickly and outwardly-loving culture he’s helped forge in OU’s offensive line room won him the job.
“With Savion, this is a young man that's got an incredible amount of ability and plays with a toughness and an edge and a demeanor about him that we need,” Lebby said. “He has become accountable. He's become dependable. He's taken care of things outside of this building, which in turn has created consistency for him inside the building.”
Byrd’s next step is consistency, which he touts as his biggest area of growth in the offseason. Starting right guard McKade Mettauer wants to see the same flashes from OU’s bowl game applied to a full season.
“I think what he needs to understand is that he's super talented, but it takes a whole different animal to be able to play that (way) for 13 (or) 14 games,” Mettauer said. “I know he's gonna do it, but I want to make sure that he understands how hard a 14-game season is, (and) it's not just a one game wonder type of thing.
“I believe that’s resonated with him. Him and I talk a lot about that on the side and I make sure that he understands the importance of his hydration and his nutrition. He's gained a lot of weight now and I need to make sure he keeps it on because you can't play guard in the Big 12 at 290 (pounds). He’s back up to 300 pounds, and I need to make sure that he keeps it on.”
Byrd was around 270 pounds prior to summer conditioning before bulking to 305 pounds on Aug. 22, a testament to his “eat anything I can get my hands on” diet. He received assurance about the weight gain from Bedenbaugh, who jokingly called him “fat,” which Byrd took as a compliment.
Whether it correlates to weight gain, demeanor or consistency throughout a full season, Byrd looks to improve and maximize his potential as a starter on the Sooners’ offensive line this season.
“His growth is to be expected because he’s a very intuitive young man,” Joe said. “He knows how to assess himself and understand, ‘OK, I messed up. Let me readjust, keep the main thing and grow from whatever situation I have to grow from.’
“I have full confidence in his maturity and his decision making because he really has a love for the game. This is what he wants to do, and whatever it takes to do that. I know he’s going to mature to get to that point.”
