Over four seasons at Virginia Union University, Jada Byers has established himself as one of the best running backs in historically Black college football, breaking numerous program records and being named a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, the Division II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. However, Byers isn’t chasing records – he just wants to find ways to become a better player and help his team win.
“I would never praise the good things. I don’t talk about, “ ‘Oh, I did this, I did that.’ I let everybody else around me do that,” Byers said. “I go back and look at what I did wrong.”
Last season the 5-foot-7 senior was instrumental in helping the Panthers end a 22-year Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association title drought. This season he’s hoping to help Virginia Union defend its conference championship against in-state rival Virginia State University on Saturday at Salem Stadium in Salem, Virginia.
This season Byers leads the CIAA in total rushing yards (1,497). He also leads the conference in rushing touchdowns with 23, more than double the amount of touchdowns scored by Virginia State running back Jimmyll Williams, who is in second place with 11.
David Dermer/AP Photo
Byers cites the guidance of coach Alvin Parker and running backs coach Diego Ryland in contributing to his success.
“Parker and Ryland, they always preach, ‘Don’t count your reps, make your reps count,’ ” Byers said. “When you’re out there in the field, whatever chance you get to score, get a big play, make it count right then and there. That’s what I’ve been through these last four years of my career.”
As a youth, Byers alternated between playing as a wildcat quarterback and a running back before settling on the latter. When coaches doubted he would be effective at any other position because of his small stature, Byers decided to watch game film and study the position, a practice that he has continued throughout his collegiate career.
He believes his passion for the game is what separates him from many players.
“When you love something so much, you’re going to give it your all, and you’re going to try to find a way to love it even more every day,” Byers said. “So I feel like there’s some people that just play the game to play the game. I feel like they don’t take what they really got and what God gave them. That’s one thing I always told people, like, God gave me a gift, and I’m not going to play with it.”
Byers started his college football career in 2020 at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, redshirting his first season before transferring to Virginia Union after one year. Parker’s former Virginia Union teammate Quan Johnson, who coached Byers’ high school all-star team, advocated for Byers to come to their alma mater.
Once at the historically Black university, Byers bonded with Ryland over their love of the game and the challenges of becoming a father at a young age: Byers is the father of two children — Azerlyn, 3, and Jayden, 2 — whom he calls his biggest motivators.
Ryland describes Byers as a running back with catlike instincts who can make a one-step cut and earn a lot of tough yards on the ground. He believes Byers’ greatest asset is that he’s effective in pass protection and can block players twice his size.
“He’s one of those guys that was so humble. I think he was so blessed to get the second chance and the second opportunity that he allowed his play to do all of his talking,” Ryland said. “Last year is when he became a vocal leader, and when you’re the best player on the team and everybody knows you’re the best player on the team, the guys pay attention to what you say.”
During his freshman season in 2021 with the Panthers, Byers rushed for 811 yards and nine touchdowns on his way to winning CIAA Offensive Rookie of the Year. As a sophomore in 2022, he ran for 1,920 rushing yards, scored 19 touchdowns and won CIAA Offensive Player of the Year. He finished the season in fourth place for the Harlon Hill Trophy, becoming the first Harlon Hill finalist in Virginia Union history.
“It was just a blessing in my eyes to come in the top four here [at Virginia Union] as a sophomore,” Byers said of being a Harlon Hill finalist. “Seeing that Tyson Bagent [is] in the NFL right now was just like, ‘Oh, wow!’ For the Division II Heisman, I was in a race with that kid. So it shows you that wherever you’re at, they’re going to find you.”
Byers has attracted attention from NFL scouts since he was a sophomore. Ryland tells NFL scouts not to discount Byers’ achievements because he’s at a Division II institution. He said Byers would still dominate at a Power Four level, citing how Shedeur Sanders, who was an HBCU product, is now at Colorado helping turn the program around.
Byers followed his Harlon Hill campaign with a 1,186-yard season in 2023 after missing a few games due to a leg injury. Parker believes Byers’ play this season is more impressive than his campaign in his sophomore year.
“If things continue to go well like they are, this year he’ll be right up there again,” Parker said. “I think he’s come here and met all the goals that he needed to meet without even leaving here or trying to go somewhere else like other people probably advised him to do.
“I think his freshman year he just kind of did stuff because of athletic ability. Down to his senior year, he still has that same athletic ability, but he’s [playing] a little smarter because he understands defenses. He understands the entire offense.”
Earlier this season, Byers rushed for six touchdowns and 324 rushing yards against Bowie State University, breaking Virginia Union’s single-game rushing record and breaking a 93-year-old program record for most touchdowns in a single game.
He owns several other program records. Byers’ career total of 5,414 rushing yards broke Virginia Union’s previous record of 5,008, set by Andre Braxton in 2000. Byers’ career total of 67 rushing touchdowns also beat Braxton’s record of 63.
In September, Byers was one of the first players selected for the 2025 HBCU Legacy Bowl, which allows HBCU prospects to compete in front of NFL scouts in advance of the NFL draft.
If Byers had his way, all of the rushing records he has earned at Virginia Union would include the names of the offensive linemen who have helped him over the last four years. He doesn’t want to be congratulated for working hard and making good plays – he believes that’s what he’s supposed to do.
“I sit on the phone with my dad for hours and say, ‘Hey, I could have did this, or I could have did that. I could have made a cut here. We could have gotten an extra two yards by running this way.’ So I’ll go look at the missing yards that are in that game that I could have made.”
Parker believes Byers’ leadership has been invaluable to the roster, with the running back helping teach his teammates the Panthers’ offensive and defensive playbooks.
“I’ll hear him talking, and it’s almost like I hear myself talking,” Parker said. “He’s been around for four years, so a lot of the things I’ve said, I hear him saying. … All that stuff I said over these last four years, he’s a senior, and he’s saying it to the team.”
Virginia Union clinched a berth in the CIAA title game after defeating Bluefield State University in Week 9 of conference play. Despite the Panthers’ loss in their season finale against Virginia State last week, Byers is confident Virginia Union will earn another conference title when the two teams have a rematch in the conference championship.
“I tell people they won the battle, but we going to win a war, simple as that,” Byers said.