Harrison Bryant (born April 23, 1998) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Florida Atlantic, where he was a

unanimous All-American The College Football All-America Team is an honorific college football all-star team compiled after each NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season to recognize that season's most outstanding performers at their respective positions. ...

and won the

John Mackey Award The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, ac ...

. Bryant was drafted by the Browns in the fourth round of the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

Early life and high school

Bryant grew up in

Gray, Georgia Gray is a city in Jones County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,276 at the 2010 census, up from 1,811 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Jones County. It is part of the Macon Metropolitan Area. History Gray was found ...

and attended John Milledge Academy, where he played baseball, basketball, and was a two-way starter for the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team. He originally played offensive tackle before moving to tight end going into his senior year. As a senior, Harrison had 39 receptions for 608 yards and scored 10 touchdowns on offense and 100 tackles with 11 sacks on defense.

College career

As a true freshman, Bryant caught six passes for 63 yards. The following season, he became the Owls starting tight end and finished the year with 32 receptions for 408 yards and five touchdowns and was named second-team All-

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

. As a junior, Bryant caught 45 passes for 662 yards and four touchdowns and was named first-team All-Conference. As a senior, Bryant led all Division I tight ends with 65 receptions and 1,004 receiving yards and had seven touchdown catches. He was again named first-team All-Conference USA and received the

as the nation's best tight end. Bryant was the first player from a

Group of Five The Group of Five (G5) encompasses five nations which have joined together for an active role in the rapidly evolving international order. Individually and as a group, the G5 nations work to promote dialogue and understanding between developing ...

conference to win the award. He was named a consensus first-team All-American, becoming the first FAU player to do so. Bryant finished his collegiate career with 148 receptions for 2,137 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Professional career

Bryant was drafted by the

in the fourth round with the 115th overall pick of the

. He signed his rookie contract with the Browns on May 20, 2020. Bryant made his professional debut on September 13, 2020, in the season opener against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

, catching one pass for five yards. He scored his first career touchdown, a three-yard reception on a pass from

Baker Mayfield Baker Reagan Mayfield (born April 14, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Texas Tech, Mayfield played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the Hei ...

, on September 27, 2020, in a 34–20 win over the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

in Week 3. In Week 7 against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

, he had four receptions for 56 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the 37–34 victory. He became the Browns' first rookie tight end with a multiple-touchdown performance since Harry Holt in 1983. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

list by the team on December 29, 2020, and activated on January 9, 2021. Bryant finished his rookie season with 24 receptions for 238 yards and three touchdowns in 15 games played and was named to the

PFWA All-Rookie Team Following each National Football League (NFL) season, the Pro Football Writers Association (PFWA) compiles an honorary All-Rookie Team to recognize that season's most outstanding rookies at each position as adjudged by sportswriters of the PFWA. T ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

Florida Atlantic Owls bioCleveland Browns bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Harrison Living people Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Florida Atlantic Owls football players American football tight ends People from Gray, Georgia 1998 births All-American college football players Cleveland Browns players