Defensive end transfer finds Tech is ‘best situation’

Solomon Byrd will arrive in Atlanta in the next few weeks with wife, Taysia, and toddler son, Messiah, accompanying him. It’s because he has a family that Byrd was willing to transfer to a school across the country to play college football.

That perspective proved beneficial for Georgia Tech, which received the commitment from the former Wyoming defensive end (who is from Palmdale, Calif., in southern California) that he announced Friday. Among the schools Byrd said he chose Tech over was a school far closer, not to mention more competitive — USC.

Proximity to home did not factor into what was ideal for him.

“I didn’t want that to weigh in because I could be close to home but still not be in the best situation,” Byrd said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-constitution. “I’d rather be in the best situation.”

He deemed Tech the best situation for him, based on the defense’s playing style, coaching, opportunity for playing time and off-field opportunities, among other factors.

Besides USC, Byrd visited Duke and Colorado State. Tech, he believes, can be a breakout team after its 3-9 record in 2021.

“I’ve seen it in the Mountain West with a couple teams that had a really good quarterback, that they have really good coaches,” said Byrd, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining. “They just need a couple pieces to put it together, and then it goes. I feel like that’s going to be Georgia Tech next year.”

Byrd’s statistics from the 2021 season don’t jump off the page — in eight games, he had 37 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss, all sacks. As a redshirt freshman in 2019, though, he earned freshman All-american status with 6.5 sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. (He sat out the 2020 season as a COVID-19 precaution.)

The drop-off he experienced in 2021 was part of the reason for his departure, according to Byrd. A change in defensive coordinators before the 2020 season, Byrd said, led to a style that was less aggressive, calling for defensive linemen to hold gaps and enable linebackers to make plays.

“I first played really aggressive, kind of shooting gaps, playing forward,” Byrd said.

In Tech defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker’s scheme, Byrd said he saw opportunities to revert to that style. And in getting to know defensive line coach Larry Knight, Byrd said he found a coach whom he wanted to work with.

Byrd’s highlight collection is impressive, showing off a player who can get upfield with speed and quickness, keep offensive tackles from latching onto him and close down on the quarterback. One clip shows remarkable flexibility. Taking off from a three-point stance from the right defensive end spot, he charged upfield against the Ball State left tackle, trying to get around the outside edge. Byrd dipped low, bending his body below the tackle’s waist as he turned the corner. The move quickly enabled him to get past the tackle and pressure the quarterback. In other clips, he also showed a deft spin move.

“Throughout my time at Wyoming, I would work on a lot of (the pass-rush moves),” Byrd said. “I would actually do a lot of them as well, instead of just working on them at practice. And so being with coach Knight, who coaches all of the same stuff that I do, he showed me film of myself and he told me like, ‘This is what we do. This is where you can get better, this is what I can help you fix.’ ”

Tech needs help from the defensive end spots. With the transfers of Jordan Domineck (Arkansas) and Jared Ivey (Mississippi), Tech lost both of its starting defensive ends. In terms of playing time, the leading returner is Kyle Kennard, who logged 260 defensive snaps last season (compared with Domineck and Ivey, who both played more than 400 snaps), according to Pro Football Focus. Byrd said Knight assured him that both end spots were open.

“That doesn’t mean I’m just going to come in and start, of course, but honestly, that’s obviously another point of why I chose Georgia Tech,” Byrd said.