JaVaughn Byrd's path towards Division 1 football started this past summer on Northwestern's campus.

It was there that the 6-foot-2, 170-pound defensive back from Milwaukee King ran a 4.42-second 40-yard dash and caught the attention of the Northern Illinois coaching staff.

"My recruitment so far has been a very fun and interesting journey," Byrd told BadgerBlitz.com. "It all began in June of this summer. I attended the Northwestern Showcase and performed pretty well at the corner position throughout the camp, well enough to grab the attention of defensive backs coach Aaron Wilkins of NIU. He invited me personally to the NIU camp later that month and I performed at a high level there as well, and the coaches liked what they saw in my athletic ability, size, length, speed and skill as a whole.