Ben Bryant (American football)

Last updated

Ben Bryant
Profile
Position Quarterback
Personal information
Born (1999-09-17) September 17, 1999 (age 26)
La Grange, Illinois, U.S.
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school Lyons Township
(La Grange, Illinois)
College Cincinnati (2018–2020, 2022)
Eastern Michigan (2021)
Northwestern (2023)
NFL draft 2024: undrafted
Career history
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only

Ben Bryant (born September 17, 1999) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Cincinnati Bearcats, Eastern Michigan Eagles, and the Northwestern Wildcats.

Contents

Early life

Bryant grew up in La Grange, Illinois and attended high school at Lyons Township High School. He was rated a three-star recruit and initially committed to play college football for the Wisconsin Badgers. [1] His scholarship offer was eventually pulled, reportedly after tweeting about receiving an offer from another school. [2] Bryant ultimately signed a letter of intent to play at Cincinnati. [3]

College career

Cincinnati (First stint)

Bryant played in one game before redshirting his true freshman season at Cincinnati. He spent his redshirt freshman season primarily as the backup to starter Desmond Ridder but started the Bearcats' final regular season game against Memphis after Ridder suffered an injury. [4] Bryant finished the season with 29 completions on 51 pass attempts for 388 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in seven games played. [5] He also spent the 2020 season as Ridder's backup and passed for 90 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 65 yards and one touchdown.

Eastern Michigan

Following the end of the 2020 season, Bryant transferred to Eastern Michigan. [6] He completed 68.4% of his passes for 3,121 yards with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions. At the end of the season Bryant re-entered the NCAA transfer portal. [7]

Cincinnati (Second stint)

Bryant opted to return to Cincinnati and was eligible to play immediately as a graduate transfer. [8] He was named the starter for the Bearcats' season opener against Arkansas. [9] Bryant started 11 games and passed for 2,732 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions before suffering a season-ending foot injury. [10] After the Bearcats' 2023 spring practices, he entered the transfer portal for a third time. [11]

Northwestern

On May 5, 2023, Bryant announced his intention to transfer to Northwestern. [12] With the Wildcats, he started 9 games and won 6 of them. In a 41-13 loss vs Penn State, he suffered a right shoulder injury that sat him out for 4 games. In his first game back from injury, Northwestern upset Wisconsin 24-10.

Statistics

SeasonGamesPassingRushing
GPGSRecordCmpAttPctYdsAvgTDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
Cincinnati Bearcats
2018 100−06875.0759.401128.82-4-2.00
2019 510−1295156.93887.612119.422351.61
2020 500−0111478.6906.410156.166510.81
Eastern Michigan Eagles
2021 13116−527940868.43,1217.6147140.587-43-0.52
Cincinnati Bearcats
2022 11119−221334861.22,7327.9217143.047-118-2.50
Northwestern Wildcats
2023 996-317327762.51,8076.5136128.460-33-0.64
Career [13] 443221−11711110664.38,2127.45023137.4224-98-0.48

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 3+12 in
(1.92 m)
218 lb
(99 kg)
32+14 in
(0.82 m)
10 in
(0.25 m)
5.02 s1.69 s2.88 s4.46 s7.30 s27.0 in
(0.69 m)
9 ft 1 in
(2.77 m)
All values from Pro Day [14]

Bryant went unselected in the 2024 NFL draft. On July 25, 2024, Bryant signed with the New York Jets. [15] He was waived two days later, after the team signed Adrian Martinez. [16]

References

  1. Kocorowski, Jake (December 7, 2016). "Wisconsin football recruiting: QB Ben Bryant commits to the Badgers". Buckys5thQuarter.com. SB Nation . Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  2. "The path former Badgers QB commit Ben Bryant took to Eastern Michigan". Wisconsin State Journal . September 8, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  3. "Lyons QB Ben Bryant, dropped by Wisconsin, commits to Cincinnati". Chicago Tribune . June 27, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  4. "QB Ben Bryant starts for Cincinnati football at Memphis". Cincinnati Enquirer . November 29, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  5. "Ben Bryant: UC Bearcats quarterback enters NCAA transfer portal". Cincinnati Enquirer . December 9, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  6. "College Football: Cincinnati QB Bryant transfers to Eastern Michigan". Cincinnati Enquirer . January 7, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  7. "College notes: EMU loses two starting QBs to portal". The Detroit News . December 28, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  8. Williams, Justin (January 7, 2022). "Quarterback Ben Bryant returns to Cincinnati following season at Eastern Michigan". The Athletic . Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  9. Thamel, Pete (September 3, 2022). "Redshirt senior QB Ben Bryant to start for No. 23 Cincinnati Bearcats against No. 19 Arkansas Razorbacks". ESPN.com . Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  10. Thamel, Pete (November 25, 2022). "Cincinnati QB Ben Bryant out for season with foot injury, source says". ESPN.com . Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  11. Williams, Justin (April 21, 2023). "Cincinnati QB Ben Bryant enters transfer portal, open to possibly returning: Source". The Athletic . Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  12. Cooper, Sam (May 3, 2023). "Ex-Cincinnati QB Ben Bryant commits to Northwestern for final season". Yahoo Sports . Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  13. "Ben Bryant". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  14. "2024 NFL Draft Scout Ben Bryant College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  15. "Jets Sign QB Ben Bryant". newyorkjets.com. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  16. "Ben Bryant: Exits Broadway". cbssports.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024.