Offensive lineman Henry Byrd has tapped into something in Minnesota. After college at Princeton, in 2023 he bounced from the Broncos, to the Vikings, to the 49ers, back to the Vikings. All on the practice squad. Same this season.
“The stability has been great the last few years,” Byrd, 26, said. “Staying in the same system. Growing that way. Through the playbook, the technique. And being around the same guys. Getting to learn from older players like Brian O’Neill.”
Byrd’s calling is football. He’s 6 feet 5 inches, 314 pounds. But in high school, he was also a tap dancer.
“Started off with a ‘dance for athletes’ course. That ended up growing to my senior year doing honors dance classes,” said Byrd. “My senior spring, with the help of my dance teacher Miss White, who I still keep in contact with today, we designed a whole musical routine to ‘Singing in the Rain.'”
Ankle strength, coordination, nimbleness. Maybe all lineman should be learning choreography.
“There’s actually a lot of overlap with football, specifically offensive line. Which is why I think I really took to it,” explained Byrd. “It’s footwork, it’s timing, it’s all that stuff. I do think that training really helped me going into college, helped me with my career.”
Byrd is from Nashville. Music and performance is part of the culture. Genetic, too. Henry’s dad, William, had numerous jobs in the music industry, including a stint as Bruce Springsteen’s tour manager.
“He’ll walk into anything and be like, ‘Oh yeah I remember so and so from this place,’ and, ‘Oh yeah, we were on the road together back in ’93 and we did Madison Square Garden together and then we went down to Atlantic City,'” said Byrd. “He’s one of those guys who has a million different stories.”
If Byrd cracks a gameday roster, the stage is set for another storied career.