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| No. 44, 24 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | (1960-09-26)September 26, 1960 (age 64) Tarboro, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Tarboro | ||||||||||||
| College: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1983: 7th round, 196th pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Kelvin Leroy Bryant (born September 26, 1960) is an American former professionalfootball player who was arunning back in theNational Football League (NFL) and theUnited States Football League (USFL). He playedcollege football for theNorth Carolina Tar Heels
Bryant played two years of varsity football at Tarboro High School in Tarboro, North Carolina. In the 10th grade as a player on the Junior Varsity team he was invited to move up to varsity but endeared himself to his team by choosing to remain with the Junior Varsity squad. His 10th grade team was 8–1, his 11th grade (varsity team) was 6–4 and as a senior the Tarboro Vikings were 10–0 in the regular season claiming the conference championship and ranked number 1 in the state in the 3A classification. A first round playoff defeat ended dreams of a state championship.
Bryant playedcollege football at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a three-time first-team All-ACC tailback. When he left UNC in 1982 he had 3,267 rushing yards in his career. This was, at the time, the third highest career rushing yard total ever for the Tar Heels (fifth most ever as of March 2021). He had three consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons from 1980 to 1982. Despite injuries in 1981, he still rushed for 1,015 yards in just seven games. He rushed for more than 100 yards in a game on 19 occasions. In one of the most memorable games in UNC football history, Bryant scored six touchdowns againstEast Carolina University in 1981. He holds theNCAA record for most touchdowns scored in two and three consecutive games (11 and 15, respectively). He was named one of theACC's Top 50 players of all time in 2002.
Bryant was drafted in the first round by thePhiladelphia Stars of theUnited States Football League in 1983. He rushed for 1,440 yards on 317 carries with 16 touchdowns in his rookie season and was named league MVP and an USFL All-Star. He played in the Championship Game that year but the Stars lost to theMichigan Panthers, 24–22.
In 1984, Bryant rushed for 1,406 yards on 301 carries and ran for 13 touchdowns and was again named to the USFL All-Star team. That season, the Stars won the Championship Game with Bryant as the starting running back.
In 1985, Bryant rushed for 1,207 yards on 238 carries with 12 touchdowns. The Stars had become theBaltimore Stars that season and they again won the Championship Game. He left the USFL the second leading running back in their history.
Bryant was then signed by theWashington Redskins of the National Football League. He was a reserve for the Redskins in 1986 and 1987, but he showed flashes of his USFL greatness and became the starting running back in 1988. He had rushed for 498 yards on 108 carries when he suffered an injury which ended his season. He was out in 1989 due to the injury and came back briefly in 1990 before retiring. Bryant scored 14 touchdowns on 154 catches in his NFL career. He was a part of the Redskins'Super Bowl XXII winning team.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1986 | WAS | 10 | 0 | 69 | 258 | 3.7 | 22 | 4 | 43 | 449 | 10.4 | 40 | 3 |
| 1987 | WAS | 11 | 1 | 77 | 406 | 5.3 | 28 | 1 | 43 | 490 | 11.4 | 39 | 5 |
| 1988 | WAS | 10 | 4 | 108 | 498 | 4.6 | 25 | 1 | 42 | 447 | 10.6 | 47 | 5 |
| 1990 | WAS | 15 | 0 | 6 | 24 | 4.0 | 12 | 0 | 26 | 248 | 9.5 | 37 | 1 |
| 46 | 5 | 260 | 1,186 | 4.6 | 28 | 6 | 154 | 1,634 | 10.6 | 47 | 14 | ||
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1986 | WAS | 3 | 0 | 18 | 88 | 4.9 | 12 | 0 | 13 | 124 | 9.5 | 24 | 1 |
| 1987 | WAS | 3 | 0 | 14 | 49 | 3.5 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 67 | 13.4 | 42 | 1 |
| 6 | 0 | 32 | 137 | 4.3 | 15 | 0 | 18 | 191 | 10.6 | 42 | 2 | ||