The touchback on kickoffs was moved from the 20 to the 25-yard line in college football for this season, but something else was recently unveiled between those points on Branch Field at University Stadium.
Numbers usually appear in 10-yard increments on a football field, but in its home opener against South Dakota, the Lobos honored one of its fallen teammates by placing the number 22 at the corresponding yard lines.
Markel Byrd, former Lobos safety, wore number 22 during his tenure at New Mexico. He had just ended his sophomore season, in which he helped the team earn its first bowl appearance since 2007.
Days after the Lobos lost the Gildan New Mexico Bowl 45-37 to Arizona, Byrd died in a single-car accident near Gallup, New Mexico. A release said Byrd was on his way to visit family for the holidays when one of the tires on his car blew out.
During fall practice, several players were seen wearing wrist bands stamped with “Markel Byrd 22.” A stanchion featuring Byrd’s likeness and the mantra “out-hit” was also erected near the practice facility.
It is now one of the first things players see when they head toward the field.
Head coach Bob Davie said that should serve as a constant reminder that, no matter how someone is feeling, there is someone else that would love to be out there on that field practicing.
Davie said Byrd wasn’t perfect, but neither is he, or anyone else on the team for that matter. He said there were three things for him, in particular, that stood about his former safety.
One: “Every day he showed up...he just loved to play football.”
Two: “He had courage; he would question things. And if he didn’t think it was right, he’d state his opinion.”
Three: “No fear of ability to make plays. Markel just cut it loose.”
“He’s sitting somewhere up there right now telling someone how to play coverages — he’s got a better answer,” Davie said. “That’s just Markel, but you’ve got to love him, because every day he challenged you.”
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Byrd had a penchant for making big plays. He logged three interceptions last season and found himself in the right spot to make big plays, often at the biggest moments of the game.
Quarterback Lamar Jordan said he learned a lot from Byrd because the safety also played quarterback in high school before heading to the secondary unit.
Jordan said Byrd was adept at knowing the tendencies of quarterbacks and always seemed to know where to be. He said Byrd helped him go through his progressions and get better with his reads.
The quarterback said Byrd is probably the funniest guy he’s ever met. He said his former teammate could make him mad, too, but he always had the ability to put a smile on his face.
He said he misses Byrd greatly and wishes he was out there with the team. Jordan said the team will probably continue to have tributes for Byrd throughout the season, but the best way to honor him is with their play.
“Honestly, the only thing that would really make him smile up there is if we get that Mountain West Championship,” Jordan said.
Alexus Ortiz, Byrd’s girlfriend and passenger in the car the day of the accident, said that the way Byrd has been remembered by the team has stood out out to her in a big way.
“It means the world to me,” she said. “It’s amazing how he touched so many people in so little time.”
Ortiz, who sustained several injuries in the accident, said she didn’t originally plan on traveling with Byrd, but he convinced her to come along. She said the accident occurred as she was waking up from a nap and she doesn’t remember much after that.
She said it was heartbreaking and things have been difficult, adding that there isn’t a day that goes by in which she doesn’t think about what happened. But she said she knows Byrd would want her to be strong, be happy and feel blessed to be recovering so well after such a traumatic event.
Ortiz said she remembers Byrd as an amazing guy who lived life to the fullest, never worrying about things that were out of his control.
She said she is still in contact with many players on the team, and they show each other support. She said she even sends Bible verses to some of them.
Ortiz said Byrd had some big plans and dreams. She said he was determined to make it to the NFL, but he also joked that he would manage one of his best friends, Darren Carrington, a wide receiver for Oregon who he believed would make it to the NFL one day.
One of the Lobos Ortiz said she stays in touch with cornerback Isaiah “I.B.” Brown. She said Brown and Byrd were best friends and practically inseparable.
Brown said Byrd was a “go big or go home” kind of guy. Byrd used his athleticism to make big plays, but also shared opinions on how to approach life.
The cornerback said the main thing he learned from Byrd was that he was in control of his own emotions. Byrd said being mad about a bad play or moving on from it are both his own options, and the choice is up to him.
Brown said Byrd’s advice was to apply that attitude to his life as well. He said he learned to stop getting mad about things and to be happy and enjoy life instead, because that was also in his control.
“Markel came out here every day like everything was going to be okay,” Brown said. “And that’s because he knew it was going to be.”
Ryan Santos, another cornerback on the team, said Byrd’s lesson to him was to never give up, and the play is never over. Santos said he tries to pass that message along to other players on the team.
New Mexico State organized a moment of silence for Byrd that was held prior to the Rio Grande Rivalry game on Saturday. The next opportunity for the Lobos to honor Byrd at home will be when they return to take on San Jose State on Oct. 1.
Although Byrd is gone, the impact he had on his teammates, friends, and others doesn’t seem to be fading at all.
Robert Maler is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers cross country, football, tennis, and track and field. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.
