Dion Byrum
Encyclopedia
Dion Byrum is an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...

 in the Arena Football League for the Orlando Predators
Orlando Predators
The Orlando Predators are an Arena Football League team based in Orlando, Florida that was founded in 1991. Their playoff streak is currently 19 seasons in a row, as of the season, becoming the ArenaBowl champions in 1998 and 2000...

.

Byrum was first signed by the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 as an undrafted free agent after four years as a collegiate player at Ohio University
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...

, but was released by the Bears on September 1, 2006. He went on to sign with the Bucs practice squad, but was later released. Byrum was signed to the Panthers' roster on November 16, 2006. He was waived from the Panthers roster on August 3, 2007 to make room for safety Chris Harris. Byrum then continued on to the Arena Football League where he signed with the Orlando Predators
Orlando Predators
The Orlando Predators are an Arena Football League team based in Orlando, Florida that was founded in 1991. Their playoff streak is currently 19 seasons in a row, as of the season, becoming the ArenaBowl champions in 1998 and 2000...

. He was signed by the Colorado Crush
Colorado Crush
Colorado Crush were an Arena Football League team that began play as a 2003 expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspended operations in 2009...

 off of the Orlando Practice squad on April 22, 2008. In his first game with the Crush, he led the team with 5 tackles.

Ohio University career

As a player for the Ohio Bobcats
Ohio Bobcats
Ohio University features 16 varsity sports teams called the Bobcats. The Bobcats compete in the Mid-American Conference in all sports. The Bobcats were a charter member of the Mid-American Conference in 1946 and are the only team still in the conference from the original 5 team league that...

, Dion Byrum earned All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...

n honors from the American Football Coaches Association following his senior year. He also was named second-team All-American by Sports Illustrated, second-team All-American by the Associated Press, and first-team All-Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...

. He finished his senior campaign tied for first in MAC and second nationally with six interceptions and ran back two of those for touchdowns. His 153 total interception return yardage was second in the nation, while his three defensive touchdowns
ranked first.

Including an interception, his 2nd of the game, off Tyler Palko
Tyler Palko
Tyler Palko is an American football player and starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football for the University of Pittsburgh.Palko was the starting quarterback...

 that was returned 60 yards for the game winning touchdown in overtime against the #24 Pittsburgh Panthers in front of a nationally televised game on ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...

. The game still remains as one of the most ever viewed games on the ESPN network.

High school career

A two-time all-conference and all-county performer playing both ways, Byrum rushed for 1,972 yards and 25 TDs on 244 carries as a senior at Monroe High School. He was voted team's Most Improved Player as a junior, then MVP his final season. He earned three letters each in football, basketball and track while being a member of the Varsity Club and Key Club.

External links

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