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2021 Football Roster

0 Akial Byers

  • Position Defensive Line
  • Ht./Wt. 6-3 / 288
  • Class Graduate Student
  • Hometown Fayetteville, Ark.
  • High School Fayetteville

Biography

  • 2019 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll

2021 (Graduate): 2022 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl invitee … played in all 12 regular season games and was in the starting lineup for 10 of those … racked up 23 tackles, 3.5 TFL, and 1.5 sacks … recorded a season high five tackles at Boston College (9/25) … picked up four tackles against Tennessee (10/2) and three in a bowl-clinching victory over Florida (11/20) … drug down South Carolina quarterback Jason Brown for an 18-yard sack in addition to two tackles and a TFL in a victory against the Gamecocks (11/13) … picked up a half sack in the season opener against Central Michigan (9/4) accompanied by a tackle and 0.5 TFL … recorded a tackle for loss in games against North Texas (10/9) and Vanderbilt (10/30).

2020 (Senior): Played in nine games with four starts … had 15 tackles, 2.5 TFL, one PBU and one QBH … made a career-high 1.5 TFL with five tackles at South Carolina (11/21) … made the start vs. Kentucky (10/24) and had two tackles and 0.5 TFL … had three tackles and a PBU against Arkansas (12/5) … recorded tackles against Alabama (9/26), No. 8 Florida (10/31), Vanderbilt (11/28), No. 10/12 Georgia (12/12) and Mississippi State (12/19).

2019 (Junior): Played in all 12 games in the defensive line rotation … made 18 tackles on the season (nine solo) with 3.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack … added three QB pressures, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble … made a season-high four tackles at Georgia (11/9) and made at least one tackle in 10 of 12 games on the year … first tackle for loss on the year came in the season-opener at Wyoming (8/31) … had a tackle for loss against West Virginia (9/7) and his sack came at Vanderbilt (10/19).

2018 (Sophomore): Saw action in all 13 games, starting the final six contests ... finished with 20 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, a team-high two fumble recoveries and two quarterback pressures ... Fayetteville, Ark., native who scored his first career touchdown by recovering a fumble in the end zone against Arkansas (11/23), keying Mizzou's 38-0 rout of his hometown school ... had 19 of his 20 tackles on the season in the final eight games of the year, including when he posted a career-best six tackles in Mizzou's impressive 38-17 win at No. 11 Florida (11/3).

2017 (Freshman): Played in seven games altogether and made three tackles, including one each in games against Purdue, at UConn and vs. Tennessee.

High School: Led Fayetteville High School to state championships in both 2015 and 2016 ... selected to play in the prestigious Under Armour All-American Game following his prep career ... 24/7 Sports ranked him as a four-star prospect, and among the top-300 prep players in the nation at any position, and as the nation’s 17th-ranked prep defensive tackle ... Rivals ranked him as the No. 2 overall prospect coming out of the state of Arkansas at any position.


Personal: Earned his degree in general studies in December, 2021.

Statistics

Season Statistics

Season Statistics

No statistics available for this season.

Career Statistics

There are no statistics available for this player.

Historical Player Information

  • 97

    2017-18Freshman

    Defensive Lineman
    6'4" 295 lbs
    97
  • 97

    2018Sophomore

    Defensive Lineman
    6'4" 280 lbs
    97
  • 97

    2019Junior

    Defensive Lineman
    6'4" 280 lbs
    97
  • 97

    2020Senior

    Defensive Lineman
    6'4" 305 lbs
    97
  • 0

    2021Graduate Student

    Defensive Line
    6'3" 288 lbs
    0