Legendary Troy QB Byrd flourished under coach Atkins

Sim Byrd thought his football days were over. Then, he met Troy’s new coach, Billy Atkins.

Byrd spent his freshman season at Georgia, a place he enjoyed and a program he respected, but the offense didn’t suit him, and he ended up in the defensive secondary before leaving the school. He wanted to pass, pass and pass some more.

And Atkins let him do that. In the process, Byrd led Troy to its first ever national championship in 1968 and still owns many passing records.

Today, he’ll be inducted into the Wiregrass Hall of Fame with former teammate and good friend Danny Grant, who was the recipient of many Byrd throws.

Byrd was a three-year starting quarterback and a heck of a punter, too, leading the NAIA in passing yards and punting average his senior year. He threw for 324 yards and five touchdowns in Troy’s 43-35 win over Texas A&I in the national championship game. He still holds many career, season and individual game records while leading Atkins’ air-it-out offensive attack.

“Coach Atkins was so far ahead of the times,” Byrd said. “We spread it out all over the field. It was a lot like the west coast offense with Bill Walsh and Joe Montana with the San Francisco 49ers.”

Byrd left Georgia and came to Troy before the 1966 season, right when Atkins was hired to revive a Troy program that had been struggling. Atkins sought Byrd out, the two talked, and soon Byrd had an athletic scholarship.

“Next thing I know, we were off to the races,” Byrd said.

As a sophomore, Byrd set a single-game record with a 77.4 completion percentage in a 41-7 win over Arkansas-Conway. That, the record for completions and attempts stood for 42 years until current Troy quarterback Levi Brown broke them last season.

Byrd was one of the school’s first modern day All-Americans and took all the snaps in the three seasons it took Atkins to build Troy into a national championship team. From the start, the team had its doubters.

“His desire is what got us the championship,” Byrd said. “He had a vision to come to Troy and take a bunch of guys and mold them together. Some called us misfits, renegades, has-beens, you name it. We came from all different walks of life.”

Byrd was just 6 feet and 187 pounds, small for a skill player on offense today but definitely smaller than most quarterbacks. While he listed the national championship game win over Texas A&I as a big memory, one game from 1966 stood out even more.

Troy was playing Delta State in Ozark, Grant’s home town. Byrd recalled Grant scoring on a 70-yard touchdown pass reception and returning the opening kickoff of the second half for a score. DSU led Troy by three late, but Byrd engineered a drive from Troy’s 20 to the DSU 7, and the Red Wave had one timeout left late in the game.

“I went to the sidelines and Coach Adkins had his kicker so I thought he was going to just settle for a tie,” Byrd said. “I said, ‘No, I came down here to win.’ He said, ‘I hope you’ve got the right play.’ I said, ‘I hope I do, too.’

“Danny and I had a few signals. I called a play and he caught a touchdown pass right in the corner of the end zone and we won. It was special for Danny because it was his home town, but we realized that if we could beat Delta State, we could beat anybody.”

Two years later, Troy won the national championship.

Byrd, who still lives in Montgomery and has worked in the business of spirits and wine distribution since his playing days were over, is still close with the program and knows the Trojans are on the verge of great things.

“Troy means so much to me,” Byrd said. “It gave me an opportunity that I’ll never forget. When you think about the people that played college football and the few that got a championship ring, it’s a very select few in this fraternity. I owe Troy a lot and try to support them the best that I can. I think the world of coach Larry Blakeney and to me, he’s the finest coach in college football.”

Tonight’s induction will be special for Byrd, not only because he considers the Wiregrass a second home, but because he gets to be inducted with Grant, who holds many Troy receiving records.

“I’ve been put in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the NAIA Hall of Fame,” Byrd said. “Now he’s getting the recognition he deserves and I couldn’t be happier for him.”