National Signing Day 2017: TE Zech Byrd will not sign with the Gators today

Three-star tight end, and Florida commit, Zech Byrd will reportedly not sign with the University of Florida today, or any other school for that matter, according to Duane Rankin of the Montgomery Advertiser.

Byrd, who is from Millbrook, Alabama, committed to the Gators in August. Byrd reportedly told Rankin that he would not sign a National Letter of Intent today, on National Signing Day, but noted that he did plan on eventually signing with Florida. Byrd declined to elaborate on why he would not be signing, stating that he “(didn’t) want to talk about it.” He gave the same answer when asked if the reason for the delay had to do with academics.

As Andy noted in today’s National Signing Day post, there had been a report from Rivals’ Inside the Gators that Byrd would not be permitted to sign and that he might not even have a Letter of Intent from Florida.

Byrd’s coach told AL.com that it was a “strange situation” and noted that junior college could potentially be an option for Byrd, while also expressing that he did not know exactly what was going on.

The 6’6” tight end is the No. 34 tight end prospect in the nation. He also held offers from Alabama, Michigan, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Southern Miss, Toledo, and Troy.