Running back Shadrick Byrd looks to build on second successful season at UNC Charlotte

It was the week of his very first game at UNC Charlotte, and redshirt freshman Shadrick Byrd didn’t know what to expect. His last two seasons at Iowa had consisted of minimal playing time, and he transferred to the Queen City for a fresh start.

One thing he wasn’t expecting was to be told by then-special teams coach Tyler Hancock he would be the primary kickoff returner. The last time Byrd received a kickoff in a game was in eighth grade, seven years prior.

“The kickoff return role was actually thrown at me right before that Duke game,” Byrd said. “It wasn’t like we didn’t work on it, but it was like that game week (Hancock) kind of solidified it. So the kickoff return role was new. Everything else, catching out the backfield, running the ball, that was just second nature from youth football to now.”

In the two years since that first game of the 2021 season to now, Byrd has made a name for himself as one of the nation’s most versatile players. Now, he’s a two-time member on Paul Hornung Award Watch List — an award given annually to the most versatile player in college football — and a well-known threat out of the backfield and on kickoff returns.

“Shad to me is kind of what football can do for young men,” said running backs coach and special teams coordinator Greg Froelich. “He’s smart, he’s disciplined, he takes everything in the best approach. He learns really well, and outside of that, he helps to teach other people. I think that’s why he’s so versatile.”

Last season, despite the 49ers disappointing 3-9 campaign, Byrd amassed 1,494 all-purpose yards and ranked fourth in the FBS in total kickoff return yards (652). He played in all 12 games, making nine starts, and rushed for 620 yards and four touchdowns, pulling in a receiving touchdown as well.

Expanding his game with well-known QB

Known as “Shad” to his coaches and teammates, Byrd’s football journey begins with his mother, Shanneko Byrd. She had Shad in high school, and for the first seven years of his life, he was cared for by his grandparents.

Then, he was given a choice: stay with his grandparents or move in with his mother. He chose Shanneko, and moved to Birmingham, Alabama, to live with her. There, he met Jackson Kimbrell, now a pitcher at Ole Miss, who was actively recruiting his fellow second graders to join a youth football team.

Kimbrell passed his dad’s number along to Shad, who gave it to his mom. At first, she didn’t seem up for the idea, but the next day she surprised Shad by taking him to the park where Kimbrell and his future youth football team were practicing.

“She just wanted me to have fun, going to play something instead of just going to school and coming home at a young age like that,” Shad said.

Later on, he moved to Alabaster, Alabama, where he attended Thompson High School. At the time, Shad said Thompson’s football program wasn’t at its peak. But with the help of a quarterback by the name of Taulia Tagovailoa — current quarterback for the Maryland Terrapins and brother of the Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa—Shad was able to participate in the program’s rebuild.

“He helped me expand my game, I helped him expand his game. That’s my guy,” Shad said of Taulia. “That was really cool to experience too, taking a small program colleges were overlooking at one point, now today it’s a factory.”

At Thompson, Shad managed to reach the 2018 AHSAA Class 7A State Championship game as a senior while rushing for 1,340 yards, receiving for 500 yards and scoring 17 touchdowns during the season. He was first-team all-state that year and committed to Iowa in December 2018 before enrolling in the spring semester.

He entered the transfer portal in October 2020 and committed to UNC Charlotte in January 2021, prepared for a bigger role than the one he had with the Hawkeyes.

“When you first commit to a school out of high school you don’t ever see yourself really leaving, but of course, things happen. It wasn’t a bad thing, really just a football decision that played out on both ends,” Shad said.

A fresh start with a team-first attitude

Coming to Charlotte also meant he would be closer to home, closer to Alabama. Plus, he didn’t mind the city having pro sports teams and a downtown called Uptown. Most of all, the Queen City represented a fresh start, where he could rediscover his role both on and off the field.

He was thrown into the mix on returns in addition to his running back duties and that was that. The 49ers had discovered their secret weapon on kickoff.

“It’s rare because it’s something you can’t really teach,” Froelich said. “There might be a defender in front of him, and that’s what most of the fans see. And the funny thing is, he’s actually already dealt with that guy in front of him. His eyes are on the next guy.”

“It’s understanding, ‘Where am I on the field, what’s the situation?’ Shad has an elite understanding of that, probably better than most kids I’ve ever been around, and I’ve been around really good running backs.”

Froelich, a former Michigan offensive lineman and fullback, worked for four years as an analyst at his alma mater with the likes of Donovan Peoples-Jones (Browns), Chris Evans (Bengals), and Hassan Haskins (Titans). He also spent one year at Illinois before he was hired by Charlotte head coach Biff Poggi in December 2022.

Not only is Shad’s football IQ comparable to some of the most elite backs Froelich has coached in the past, his team-first attitude is also worth mentioning. He’s a leader who Charlotte’s young running backs look up to because of the example he sets on the field, in the film room and in the locker room.

“It’s not just in football but in everything, he understands ‘it’s not about me it’s about the team,’” Froelich said. “When you join a team you lose a piece of that individuality but you gain this brotherhood, and Shad gets that in the best way.”

Shad’s brotherhood at Charlotte has shifted tremendously since the hiring of Poggi in November 2022. The head coach has kept 52 players and brought in 52 players from the portal, giving the program a new look personnel-wise.

Though there may have been some growing pains in the spring, Shad said, where the team is now is in a good place. There’s a shared desire and motivation among the players that have overcome any initial glaring differences.

“Everybody’s here for the same thing at the end of the day. All the wins, all our names are on it, every loss, all our names are on it,” Shad said. “A lot of the guys on the team, they’re joyful and they just want to play football and win. I appreciate them coming in because I feel like we lacked that at times last year, guys who really wanted to play football and loved the game. With this team now that’s never a question.”

He’s focused on this season, but has an eye on the NFL

Shad said this is the best he’s ever felt in a camp, and it’s mostly because of the amount of rest he and his teammates have been receiving. In contrast to camps past, he feels there is far more time for recovery in between training, lifts and treatment.

The players are being treated like professionals. Poggi is bringing a level of organization to the team where players are given schedules weeks in advance and there are hardly any miscommunications. Shad is only taking one class during the fall semester before graduating in December, and he’s been able to create a routine that works for him because of Poggi’s efforts.

To his delight, Poggi also wants to give the team a new look on offense: he wants to run the ball —something Shad and his fellow running backs immediately bought into.

“He wants to run the ball, whenever, however we can get to it,” Shad said. “The mentality, the scheme that’s getting drawn up, this is one of the best coaching staffs football-wise I’ve ever been around. When it comes to X’s and O’s I don’t see them losing to too many staffs around the country.”

This season, Shad said his priorities are staying confident and taking care of his body, because, as a redshirt junior, his time in college football won’t last forever.

Froelich has full confidence Shad could make it as an NFL running back. His versatility really is unique, and his do-it-all attitude is exactly what some professional coaches are looking for.

“I think Shad will be able to find a niche in the NFL, not just as a running back but as a team player, because he can do a little bit of everything,” Froelich said. “He can play all the special teams you want him to, he can go in and pass protect, he can go in and run the ball, if you want him to be a lead blocker he’ll lead block, he’ll do whatever you want him to do. And again, it’s not about him, it’s about the team, the bigger picture.”

As far as Shad’s personal NFL plans, he told coach Poggi he has two years left. He’s also waiting to see how this season goes.

“If we do what we’re supposed to this season, everything’s lining up, I might take the chance,” Shad said. “It just gets to a point in college where you’ve seen everything. When you feel like your time is coming and you’re praying on it and you’re working toward that, I think you just gotta take that leap of faith, and there’s nothing wrong with it.”

Nevertheless, the concern for Shad is the present, and that present includes a Week One matchup against South Carolina State on Saturday, Sept. 2. He improved steadily as last year’s season drew on, and he’s poised for yet another career campaign.

With a new season on the horizon and a new conference to conquer, Shad is nothing short of ready for the challenge. Not only does he have high ambitions for rushing and returning this year, he also has an American Athletic Conference championship on his mind.

“We’re our biggest enemy at the end of the day,” Shad said. “Even with the (Power Five) teams on our schedule, we have just as good of talent as other teams on paper. But, you can’t play the game on paper. As long as we do what we’re supposed to do and click in all the right spots, it’ll be a good year for Charlotte football.”