Dion Byrum (born February 18, 1983 in

Matthews, North Carolina Matthews is a town in southeastern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte. The population was 27,198 according to the 2010 Census. History In the early 19th century, the new settlement that would become Ma ...

) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. Byrum was first signed by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

as an undrafted free agent after four years as a collegiate player at

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

, 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 The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

where he signed with the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...

. He was signed by the

Colorado Crush The Colorado Crush were an arena football team based in Denver, Colorado. They began play as a 2003 Arena Football League expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspen ...

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 The Ohio Bobcats are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio University, located in Athens, Ohio, United States. Ohio University is a charter member (1946) of the Mid-Amer ...

, Dion Byrum earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

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 The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

. 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. Byrum secured his place in Bobcat lore during a game against the #24

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...

, in which Byrum had two interception returns for touchdowns off

Tyler Palko Tyler Palko (born August 9, 1983) is a former American football quarterback. Palko was the starting quarterback at the University of Pittsburgh from 2004 to 2006. The left-handed thrower was not selected in the 2007 NFL Draft, but was signed by ...

. The second return of 85 yards came in overtime, immediately ending the game. The game was nationally televised on

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially fo ...

and was the first major victory for new head coach

Frank Solich Frank Thomas Solich (born September 8, 1944) is a former American football coach and former player. He is the former head coach at Ohio University, a position he held from 2005 until 2021. From 1998 to 2003, Solich served as the head coach at th ...

, sparking hopes of improvement for

Ohio Bobcats football The Ohio Bobcats football team is a major intercollegiate varsity sports program of Ohio University. The team represents the university as the senior member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), playing at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdi ...

after several years of poor results. Students began rushing the field even before Byrum crossed the goal line, and the ensuing celebration was so raucous that students were later chastised for setting fires in the streets.

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.

References

External links

Panthers sign Byrum to practice squad, 11/16/06

Orlando Signing of Byrum

Byrum Signed off Orlando practice squad

Byrum's Colorado Crush bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrum, Dion 1983 births Living people Ohio Bobcats football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Carolina Panthers players Colorado Crush players Orlando Predators players Players of American football from North Carolina American football cornerbacks People from Matthews, North Carolina