Clemson’s Bryant honored by Senior Bowl after win over Texas A&M

Head Coach Dabo Swinney has gone with a platoon system at QB these first two weeks and it was Kelly Bryant’s big game experience that got him the nod over true freshman Trevor Lawrence in the fourth quarter when the Tigers needed to hold a lead.  Few venues in all of college football are more difficult to play in than Kyle Field and the poise Bryant showed in some critical moments was impressive.

While his overall numbers were far from eye-popping (12-of-17, 205 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT), Bryant showed good poise down the stretch and finished 7-of-9 for 124 yards in the second half.  Bottom line, he protected the ball and did enough for his team to leave College Station with a victory.

Sources at the school say that Bryant is one of the most popular guys in the Clemson locker room and by seeing how supportive he was with Lawrence on the sidelines you can see why.

As a passer, there was one specific throw in the first quarter that stood out on Saturday night. On third-and-15, Bryant looked left, came back right, and threw a strike on a deep dig to sophomore WR Amari Rodgers, who converted into a 64-yard gain.  Scouts still want to see more consistent accuracy from Bryant but on this particular play he showed improved eyes and feet from ’17 tape.  He also stepped into the throw and got drilled in the sternum upon delivering the ball.  Nobody has issues with his toughness.

From a physical perspective, Bryant no doubt has the size, strength, and mobility that teams are looking for at the next level.  As a runner, he is not overly dynamic but he is expected to test well at the Combine (6.92 three cone, 33.5 VJ, 10’5” BJ at 220 lbs.) and some NFL teams we have spoken with are already considering him as a projection player to another position.

The Reese’s Senior Bowl has been a great platform for successful college QB like former University of Michigan product Denard Robinson and Ohio State’s Braxton Miller to start making the conversion to another spot.  After strong performances in Mobile, Robinson became a fifth-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2013 and Miller wound up a third-rounder with the Houston Texans in 2016 so having Bryant get a jump-start on an eventual position switch might make great sense.

Clemson staffers promote Bryant as a natural athlete and good basketball player, which will lead some NFL teams to project him to another offensive skill position like WR or U/F-type TE.  One coach noted that he also played on the defensive side of the ball in high school so an experiment at safety will be considered by creative scouting staffs that are willing to think more outside-the-box.

The Reese’s Senior Bowl is scheduled to see Bryant and the Tigers play live on Oct. 27 in Tallahassee against Florida State.

Information from a press release was used to write this article.