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Steve Martin interviews Mike Byrne
Interviewed on: Saturday, May 5th, 2007 Steve Martin: Hi Mike. Thanks for calling back. Mike Byrne: No problem. Glad to do it. SM: Let's start by having you give me a good height and weight.
MB: Sure. I'm 6'5 and weigh 295. SM: Have you run a 40 recentlly?
MB: No, not since my senior year in high school. SM: What did you run back then?
MB: 4.95 SM: Do you know how many reps you can do on the bench? MB: 16.
SM: What's your max? MB: 335. SM: What's your power clean?
MB: 335. SM: How about your squat? MB: 525 SM: Do you know what your vertical is?
MB: About 25 inches. SM: Where were you born, Mike?
MB: Well I was born in Lancaster, but when I was 2 months old, we moved to Illinois. Then my parents got divorced when I was seven, so I moved out to San Diego with my mom. SM: I know your mom's name is Sheri Byrne-Long, but what's your dad's name?
MB: Richard Byrne. SM: What do your folks do for work? MB: My mom is a massage therapist and my dad is an air traffic controller out in Illinois. SM: Oh really, does your dad work at O'Hare? MB: No, he works at an airport in Aurora outside of Chicago. SM: Do you have any siblings? MB: Yes, I have two younger twins, Adam and Allison. They are seventeen. SM: When did you first start playing football? How old were you? What type of league was it? MB: I was 6 yrs old out in Illinois and it was a Pop Warner League. SM: What position did you play that very first year? MB: I played right guard. Then we moved out to San Diego for almost two years. SM: So how long have you been back in Pennsylvania? MB: About ten years. SM: Did you keep up with your football there in Pennsylvania? MB: I played in the local league during 4th and 5th grade, but I skipped 6th grade... I joined the middle school team in 7th and 8th grade. SM: What was the name of your middle school? MB: Manheim Central Junior High. SM: What positions did you play in junior high? MB: I played center on offense and defensive end or defensive tackle on defense. I started my 8th grade year. In our district, junior high was 7th through 9th grade. So I was still in junior high in 9th grade and I started at center and defensive end for two years. SM: How big of a high school is Manheim Central High School? MB: We had about 1000 students. The town is only about 5000-6000 people, but we drew from other towns. SM: So what level of high school football was that in Pennsylvania? MB: We were AAA. SM: Did you play varsity or JV your sophomore year? MB: I played JV that year, but i started at center and defensive end again. SM: What about the next two years on varsity? MB: I was a starting center for two straight years. And I also started at DE my junior year until half way through the season when they moved me to DT. SM: Did you play any other sports in school? MB: I played baseball until my freshmen year, but then I quit just to concentrate on football. SM: Did you guys have some good football teams while you were at Manheim? MB: Well back in '02, when I was a sophomore, the varsity went 13-1. Then my junior year we were 8-3 and my senior year we won the state championship in AAA. The championship game was amazing. We played Pine-Richland High School from Pittsburgh for the championship and we blocked an extra point in overtime to beat them 39-38 in six inches of snow. SM: Wow! That must've been an amazing game to watch. MB: It really was and the most amazing thing was that there was no turnovers. SM: Were there lots of fans there? MB: Not as many as there would've been if the weather had been better. SM: Did you win any honors for football while you were in high school? MB: I was first team All-State as an offensive linemen and I was named Outstanding Linemen of the Year. I also got second team All-League for defense. SM: When did you first start hearing from college recruiters? MB: It was during the spring of my junior year. SM: What schools were recruiting you? MB: Purdue, BC, Florida State, Ohio State, and Louisville. SM: So how in the world did a IAA school like Delaware manage to bring you in? MB: Well, the other schools said that if I came out and visited then they would make me an offer. But I had already watched three games at Delaware and I really liked the campus. SM: So you never even visited any of those other schools? MB: Nope. SM: I see that as a true freshmen you got into three games. What did you play during those three games? MB: I was an offensive tackle, but I also played blocking tight end on short yardage. SM: I see you played nine out of eleven games as a sophomore... MB: Yeah, I missed two games with a hamstring. I played the first game at center. Then I missed those two games. Then I came back in at right tackle for a game. Played the next three at center. And the last few games at left tackle. SM: Man, you do get around, don't you? MB: Yep. SM: Now, last year, what did you do? MB: I played the first two at right tackle, went back to left tackle for a game, then played the rest of the season at right tackle. SM: So of all these positions, which did you like the best? MB: I'd say right tackle is definitely my favorite, because my body has just become acclimated to playing on the right side. SM: You do any long snapping? MB: No. SM: What do you see as being some of your unique strengths? MB: I'd say that I know the game pretty well. I'm a good leader and I have good quickness. SM: What are some things you would like to improve on? MB: I'd say my overall strength and flexibility in my hips. SM: How important is football overall to you? MB: Oh it's right up there with family and education. SM: Do you have aspirations of playing in the next level? MB: Oh yes, I do. SM: Are you one of these people that sets personal goals for themselves? MB: Well, yeah, I do. But it's kinda hard for linemen, because we don't have stats. One of my goals is to give up no sacks for next year, though. SM: Who was one of the best DEs you've faced in the A-10? MB: I'd have to say JMU's Kevin Winston. SM: Did you ever play against Matt King? MB: Which school is he from? SM: UMaine. MB: No, we didn't play them last year. SM: Oh, that's right. Ben Patrick told me that. How are you guys going to do this coming season? MB: Well, Ben is definitely a big loss for us. But as a team, I think we are still fairly talented. We should do pretty well. SM: What's your major at Delaware, Mike? MB: I have a double major in Criminal Justice and Psychology. SM: What's your GPA? MB: 3.57. SM: That's amazing! I don't know how you do that with all the time you put into football. Congratulations! MB: Well, I just have to stay really focused. Thanks. SM: Well it was nice getting to know you Mike. Good luck to you guys this fall. MB: Thank you very much. I appreciate it. |