 Bryant playing for Clemson in 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | (1996-09-25)September 25, 1996 (age 28) Lowndesville, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Wren (Piedmont, South Carolina) |
| College: | Clemson (2015–2018) Missouri (2019) |
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Undrafted: | 2020 |
| Career history | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at CFL.ca | |
Kelly Bryant (born September 25, 1996) is an American professionalfootballquarterback. He playedcollege football for theMissouri Tigers after previously playing for theClemson Tigers.
Bryant attendedWren High School inPiedmont, South Carolina. As a senior, he had 3,579 passing yards with 41 passingtouchdowns, 720 rushing yards, and 14 rushing touchdowns. He committed toClemson University to play college football under head coachDabo 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly Bryant QB | Piedmont, SC | Wren HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 204 lb (93 kg) | Apr 17, 2014 | |
Star ratings:Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals:11 (Dual-threat QB) ESPN:10 (Dual-threat QB) | ||||||
Sources:
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Bryant spent his first two years at Clemson as a backup toDeshaun 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 the2015 and2016 ACC Championships, as well as the2017 CFP National Championship.
After Watson left for the2017 NFL draft, Bryant was named Clemson's starting quarterback to open the2017 season.[5][6] Bryant led the Tigers to the2017 ACC Championship, and a spot in the 2017 College Football Playoff, losing to eventual national champion Alabama in theSugar Bowl. The2017 Clemson Tigers finished the season with a record of 12–2.
On September 25, 2018, after week 4 of the2018 season, coachDabo Swinney announced that freshmanTrevor 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 the2019 CFP Championship. Due to Bryant's decision to leave the team early in the season, Swinney chose not to give Bryant achampionship ring.[9][10]
On December 5, 2018, Bryant announced that he would transfer toMissouri.[11] The following year he became a quarterback for the2019 Missouri Tigers.[12] In the Tigers' first game of the2019 season, a 37–31 loss atWyoming, Bryant threw a career-high 423 yards.[13]
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | INT | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |
| Clemson Tigers | |||||||||||||||
| 2015 | 8 | 0 | — | 7 | 9 | 77.8 | 27 | 3.0 | 0 | 1 | 80.8 | 23 | 156 | 6.8 | 2 |
| 2016 | 4 | 0 | — | 6 | 9 | 66.7 | 48 | 5.3 | 1 | 0 | 148.1 | 12 | 22 | 1.8 | 1 |
| 2017 | 14 | 14 | 12–2 | 262 | 398 | 65.8 | 2,802 | 7.0 | 13 | 8 | 131.7 | 192 | 665 | 3.5 | 11 |
| 2018 | 4 | 4 | 4–0 | 36 | 54 | 66.7 | 461 | 8.5 | 2 | 1 | 146.9 | 33 | 130 | 4.3 | 2 |
| Missouri Tigers | |||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 10 | 10 | 5–5 | 181 | 292 | 62.0 | 2,215 | 7.6 | 15 | 6 | 138.5 | 106 | 242 | 2.3 | 1 |
| Career | 40 | 28 | 21–7 | 492 | 762 | 62.0 | 5,553 | 7.3 | 31 | 16 | 135.0 | 363 | 1,215 | 3.3 | 17 |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft3+1⁄8 in (1.91 m) | 229 lb (104 kg) | 32+1⁄4 in (0.82 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 4.69 s | 1.59 s | 2.73 s | 4.51 s | 7.33 s | 35.0 in (0.89 m) | 10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) | ||
| All values fromNFL Combine[14][15] | ||||||||||||
After going undrafted in the2020 NFL draft, Bryant had a tryout with theArizona Cardinals on August 14, 2020.[16] On February 9, 2021, it was announced that Bryant had signed with theToronto Argonauts, where his cousin,Martavis Bryant, had signed two weeks earlier.[17] Bryant was released on June 18, 2021.[18] Bryant re-signed with Toronto on July 22 and assigned to practice roster. He was cut again on August 22.[19]
In the one month interim between Argonauts stints, Bryant played two games for theBismarck Bucks of theIndoor Football League (IFL), where he completed four out of five passes for 48 yards and a touchdown, and 11 rushes for 87 yards.[20][21]
On March 30, 2022, Bryant signed with the Zappers ofFan Controlled Football. On his debut the following day on April 1, Bryant threw for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions, whilst also rushing for an extra two touchdowns on 47 yards. Overall, he threw for 234 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions for the season with a 55% completion rating. Bryant won the FCF People's Championship later that season and was named the game's MVP.[22]
Bryant signed with theArlington Renegades of theXFL on April 3, 2023.[23] Bryant played in one regular season game, recording one rushing attempt for 24 yards, and had five more rushes for 20 yards in the Renegades two playoff wins to claim the 2023 XFL championship. He was not part of the roster after the2024 UFL dispersal draft on January 15, 2024.[24]