Top 10 highest-rated Colorado HS football players since 2000
2. Jeff Byers, OL, Loveland – 0.9962
As good as Ryan Miller was, it鈥檚 Byers who is the highest-rated offensive lineman to ever play in Colorado, and is No. 154 when it comes to all-time recruits across the country. Rated as a five-star and the No. 9 player in the Class of 2004, Byers had a terrific career at Loveland on both sides of the ball, winning two state titles while being named Gatorade National Player of the Year as a senior. He never allowed a sack in his career, and Byers was perhaps even better on defense, stacking up 203 tackles, 56 tackles for loss, 10 sacks and 14 forced fumbles in his senior season.
Byers鈥� tremendous prep career led him to USC where he played in 13 games as a freshman and won a national championship with the Trojans. After injuries the following two years, the 6-foot-3, 310-pound lineman returned to the field to become a team captain and second-team All-Pac 10 performer. Although he went undrafted in 2010, Byers was brought in by his college coach, Pete Carroll, to be part of the Seattle Seahawks鈥� organization, and had an opportunity to play for his home-state Broncos before a stint with the Carolina Panthers.
