Aldo Giovanni Amato

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Path to the Draft is a series tracking MTSU football players as they prepare for the NFL Draft. The Daily News Journal will track Blue Raider standouts as they inch closer to their dream of becoming professional football players.

MURFREESBORO — Although any given team could call Kevin Byard's name during the NFL Draft, the MTSU safety said he wouldn’t mind playing close to where he made a name for himself.

One of the latest mock drafts from Matt Miller, an NFL Draft and lead writer for Bleacher Report, has Byard going in the fifth round to the Tennessee Titans.

The Titans released veteran safety Michael Griffin on Tuesday.

“I think it’d be a great experience and great for me,” Byard said about the possibility of playing for the Titans. “Just being there in Middle Tennessee and knowing that’s where a lot of my fans are, that’d be great.”

Path to the Draft: Byard prepares for Senior Bowl

Path to the Draft: Byard, others prepare for NFL

Although he said he’d like to play for the Titans, Byard said just hearing his name called from any team would be a dream come true.

Fresh off a Senior Bowl appearance, Byard said he was pleased with his performance after recording an interception during the week leading up to the showcase and two tackles during the game.

“I think I did pretty well, no busted coverage or anything like that,” Byard said. “I feel like I had a solid game and killed it during the week.”

Byard said the week leading up to the game was intense having met with representatives from at least two dozen NFL teams.

He added that more than half of the teams watched film of his career at MTSU but that questions also went as far back as high school.

“They were asking everything from what my high school career was like to describing a typical day for Kevin Byard,” he said. “But there were also a couple of secondary coaches who went over coverage schemes.”

Byard didn’t receive an invite to the NFL Combine though that hasn’t stopped him from preparing for NFL scouts. Following the Senior Bowl, Byard returned to Michael Johnson Performance in McKinney, Texas to continue working on cutting down his 40-yard dash time.

Byard said he’ll continue to work out in Texas ahead of MTSU’s pro day in late March.

“I think that’s what teams want to see,” Byard said about one of the most scrutinized drills ahead of the NFL Draft. “I’m just trying to get in the best shape as possible so I can go out there and kill it.”

The NFL Draft takes place April 28 in Chicago, Ill.

Reach Aldo Amato at 615-278-5109 and on Twitter @Aldo_Amato.