by Aaron Burns

DENVER – North Carolina Football Coaches Association secretary Jim Taylor approached East Lincoln High coach Mike Byus at the annual coaches’ meeting on Feb. 8 in Greensboro with an offer.

Taylor asked Byus if he was interested in coaching at the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, an annual all-star game between the best players in North and South Carolina.

Byus accepted the offer.

“I told him, I’d be happy to do it,” said Byus, who will coach quarterbacks and wide receivers.

“It’s a great opportunity to coach alongside some of the best in the state,” Byus said.

Byus enters his eighth year as head coach at East Lincoln. He led the Mustangs to a 7-5 record and a berth in the Class 2A state playoffs in 2011.

Byus said he’s spent much of his past working with quarterbacks, so the position-specific job at the Shrine Bowl is a good fit. He’s never coached in the game, but was an assistant at the East-West All-Star game in Greensboro in 2005.

He has a successful past with quarterbacks.

Former East Lincoln quarterback Payton Brady set the school record of 2,848 passing yards as a senior in 2006.

Current Mustangs signal-caller Garrett Young passed for a career-high 2,312 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2011 under Byus’ tutelage.

“He’s helped me a lot,” Young said. “Coach Byus looks to (the quarterback) as the leader and you’re expected to set a good example for your teammates.”

Byus has set the same solid example for coaches in the area.

His 68-28 record in his first seven seasons with the Mustangs includes three Southern Piedmont 1A/2A conference championships and three runner-up finishes.

Byus could end up coaching one or more of his East Lincoln players at the Shrine Bowl.

Young, receivers Jesse Earnhardt and Jake Driver, offensive linemen Dallas Smith, Caleb Campbell and Colton Stortz, linebacker Scott McMichael and defensive lineman Max McClure participated in the Shrine Bowl combine on April 28 at Asheville Reynolds High.

The Shrine Bowl selection committee will finalize rosters by the middle of October.

“It’s an honor to be able to take part in it,” Byus said.

The Shrine Bowl takes place on Dec. 15 at Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C.