Kelly Bryant
![]() Bryant playing for Clemson in 2017 | |
Free agent | |
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Position: | Quarterback |
Personal information | |
Born: | Calhoun Falls, South Carolina | September 25, 1996
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Wren (Piedmont, South Carolina) |
College: | Clemson (2015–2018) Missouri (2019) |
Undrafted: | 2020 |
Career history | |
| |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Career highlights and awards | |
Player stats at CFL.ca |
Kelly Bryant (born September 25, 1996) is a professional gridiron football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football for the Missouri Tigers after previously playing for the Clemson Tigers.
Early years[]
Bryant attended Wren High School in Piedmont, South Carolina. As a senior, he had 3,579 passing yards with 41 passing touchdowns, 720 rushing yards, and 14 rushing touchdowns. He committed to Clemson University to play college football under head coach Dabo Swinney.[1] During Bryant's junior year of high school, he was unable to play in the first half of a game, as he was vomiting blood in the locker room. Bryant was taken to the hospital and after an MRI, doctors found a large abscess blocking his lower intestine. Had this abscess not been found, it may have burst, leading to a life-threatening infection in his entire body. Doctors were successfully able to remove the abscess through an emergency surgery.[2]
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
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Kelly Bryant QB |
Piedmont, SC | Wren HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 204 lb (93 kg) | Apr 17, 2014 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals:![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 11 (Dual-threat QB) ESPN: 10 (Dual-threat QB) | ||||||
Sources:
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College career[]
Clemson[]
Bryant spent his first two years at Clemson as a backup to Deshaun Watson.[3] During the two years, he completed 13 of 19 passes for 75 yards with a touchdown and interception. He also had 178 rushing yards over 35 carries with three touchdowns.[4] During this time, Clemson would win both the 2015 and 2016 ACC Championships, as well as the 2017 CFP National Championship.
After Watson left for the 2017 NFL Draft, Bryant was named Clemson's starting quarterback to open the 2017 season.[5][6] Bryant led the Tigers to the 2017 ACC Championship, and a spot in the 2017 College Football Playoff, losing to eventual national champion Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The 2017 Clemson Tigers finished the season with a record of 12–2.
On September 25, 2018, after week 4 of the 2018 season, coach Dabo Swinney announced that freshman Trevor Lawrence would be the new starting quarterback for the Tigers.[7] As a result, Bryant decided to transfer. He maintained his final year of eligibility, despite starting 4 games of his senior year, due to a recent change in NCAA redshirt guidelines.[8] The Tigers would go on to win the 2019 CFP Championship. Due to Bryant's decision to leave the team early in the season, Swinney chose not to give Bryant a championship ring.[9][10]
Missouri[]
On December 5, 2018, Bryant announced that he would transfer to Missouri.[11] The following year he became a quarterback for the 2019 Missouri Tigers.[12] In the Tigers' first game of the 2019 season, a 37–31 loss at Wyoming, Bryant threw a career-high 423 yards.[13]
Professional career[]
After going undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft, Bryant had a tryout with the Arizona Cardinals on August 14, 2020.[14] On February 9, 2021, it was announced that Bryant had signed with the Toronto Argonauts, where his cousin, Martavis Bryant, had signed two weeks earlier.[15] Bryant was released on June 18, 2021.[16] Bryant re-signed with Toronto partially through training camp on July 22.[17] In the one month interim between Argonauts stints, Bryant played two games for the Bismarck Bucks of the Indoor Football League, where he completed four out of five passes for 48 yards and a touchdown, and 11 rushes for 87 yards.[18][19]
References[]
- ^ Robinson, Manie (April 17, 2014). "Wren quarterback Bryant commits to Tigers". The Greenville News. Gannett. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ Schlabach, Mark (November 2, 2017). "Replacing Deshaun Watson is nothing compared to what Clemson QB Kelly Bryant endured". ESPN. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
- ^ Keepfer, Scott (October 28, 2015). "Freshman Kelly Bryant moving up Clemson's QB depth chart". The State. McClatchy. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ Connolly, Matt (August 21, 2017). "Kelly Bryant named Clemson's starting QB". The State. McClatchy. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ Adelson, Andrea (August 21, 2017). "Kelly Bryant will start at QB for Clemson to open season". ESPN. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ Connolly, Matt (August 22, 2017). "Bryant won't get complacent after winning starting QB job". The State. McClatchy. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ Cooper, Sam (September 24, 2018). "Clemson makes change, names Trevor Lawrence starting quarterback". Yahoo Sports. Verizon Media. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
- ^ Robinson, Manie (September 26, 2018). "In exclusive interview, Clemson football QB Kelly Bryant says he will transfer". The Greenville News. Gannett. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ Fonrelli, Tom (August 8, 2019). "Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has a simple answer for not giving Kelly Bryant a national championship ring". CBS Sports. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
- ^ Frederickson, Ben (August 9, 2019). "BenFred: Everything you (don't) need to know about the Dabo Swinney-Kelly Bryant ring debate". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Lee Enterprises. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
- ^ Hale, David M. (December 5, 2018). "Ex-Clemson QB Kelly Bryant says he's transferring to Missouri". ESPN. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- ^ Associated Press (August 30, 2019). "Missouri debuts new QB Bryant on road against Wyoming". Detroit Free Press. Gannett. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ Schiffer, Alex (August 31, 2019). "Inside Kelly Bryant's first start for Missouri ... a game that ended with a loss". Kansas City Star. McClatchy. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ @AlbertBreer (August 14, 2020). "Today's tryouts and visits ..." (Tweet). Retrieved August 21, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Argos add Signal-Caller Kelly Bryant". Toronto Argonauts. February 9, 2021.
- ^ Toronto Argonauts Media Relations [@ArgonautsMR] (June 18, 2021). "The Argos also announce today the release of the following players: American WR Jawill Davis, American QB Kelly Bryant and American DB Ermon Lane" (Tweet). Retrieved June 21, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Argos sign ex-Clemson star Bryant". TSN.ca. July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
- ^ https://www.bismarckbucks.com/sports/football/stats/2021/massachusetts-pirates/boxscore/14
- ^ https://www.bismarckbucks.com/sports/football/stats/2021/frisco-fighters/boxscore/7
External links[]
- 1996 births
- Living people
- American football quarterbacks
- Clemson Tigers football players
- Missouri Tigers football players
- People from Calhoun Falls, South Carolina
- Players of American football from South Carolina
- Toronto Argonauts players
- Bismarck Bucks players