Kelly Bryant (born September 25, 1996) is a professional
gridiron football quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
for the
Arlington Renegades
The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...
of the
XFL
XFL may refer to:
Sports
* XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001
* XFL (2020), a professional American football league
Vehicles
* Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
. He played
college football for the
Missouri Tigers
The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...
after previously playing for the
Clemson Tigers
The Clemson Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) s ...
.
Early years
Bryant attended
Wren High School
Wren High School (WHS) is a public high school in Anderson School District One in Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Athletics State championships
* Basketbal ...
in
Piedmont, South Carolina
Piedmont is a census-designated place (CDP) along the Saluda River in Anderson and Greenville counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 5,411 at the 2020 census.
Piedmont is a part of the Greenville-Anderson metropolita ...
. As a senior, he had 3,579 passing yards with 41 passing
touchdowns
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
, 720 rushing yards, and 14 rushing touchdowns. He committed to
Clemson University
Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...
to play college football under head coach
Dabo Swinney
William Christopher "Dabo" Swinney (; born November 20, 1969) is an American football coach, currently serving as the head coach at Clemson University. Swinney took over midway through the 2008 season, following the resignation of Tommy Bowden. S ...
. 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.
College career
Clemson
Bryant spent his first two years at Clemson as a backup to
Deshaun Watson
Derrick Deshaun Watson (born September 14, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson, where he led the team to a national championship in 2 ...
. 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. During this time, Clemson would win both the
2015 and
2016 ACC Championships, as well as the
2017 CFP National Championship.
After Watson left for the
2017 NFL Draft
The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...
, Bryant was named Clemson's starting quarterback to open the
2017 season. Bryant led the Tigers to the
2017 ACC Championship, and a spot in the 2017 College Football Playoff, losing to eventual national champion Alabama in the
Sugar Bowl. The
2017 Clemson Tigers finished the season with a record of 12–2.
On September 25, 2018, after week 4 of the
2018 season, coach
Dabo Swinney
William Christopher "Dabo" Swinney (; born November 20, 1969) is an American football coach, currently serving as the head coach at Clemson University. Swinney took over midway through the 2008 season, following the resignation of Tommy Bowden. S ...
announced that freshman
Trevor Lawrence
William Trevor Lawrence (born October 6, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Considered among the highest-touted college football prospects, he won the 2019 National C ...
would be the new starting quarterback for the Tigers. 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. The Tigers would go on to win the
2019 CFP Championship. Due to Bryant's decision to leave the team early in the season, Swinney chose not to give Bryant a
championship ring
A championship ring or premiership ring is a ring presented to members of winning teams in North American professional sports leagues, and college tournaments.
Championship rings are mostly confined to North American sports. Since only one ...
.
Missouri
On December 5, 2018, Bryant announced that he would transfer to
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
. The following year he became a quarterback for the
2019 Missouri Tigers. In the Tigers' first game of the
2019 season, a 37–31 loss at
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...
, Bryant threw a career-high 423 yards.
Professional career
Toronto Argonauts
After going undrafted in the
2020 NFL Draft, Bryant had a tryout with the
Arizona Cardinals on August 14, 2020. On February 9, 2021, it was announced that Bryant had signed with the
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
, where his cousin,
Martavis Bryant
Martavis Alexander Bryant (born December 20, 1991) is an American gridiron football wide receiver for the Vegas Vipers of the XFL. He played college football at Clemson, and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the ...
, had signed two weeks earlier. Bryant was released on June 18, 2021. Bryant re-signed with Toronto on July 22nd and assigned to practice roster. He was cut again on August 22.
Indoor Football
In the one month interim between Argonauts stints, Bryant played two games for the
Bismarck Bucks
The Bismarck Bucks are an indoor American football team based in Bismarck, North Dakota. The Bucks joined Champions Indoor Football (CIF) as an expansion team in 2016, and began play for the 2017 season. The team moved to the Indoor Football Lea ...
of the
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams am ...
, where he completed four out of five passes for 48 yards and a touchdown, and 11 rushes for 87 yards.
On March 30, 2022, Bryant signed with the Zappers of the Fan Controlled Football league. 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. He would go on to throw for 234 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions for the season with a 55% completion rating. Kelly Bryant went on to win the FCF People's Championship later that season as well as being named the game's MVP.
Arlington Renegades
Bryant signed with the
Arlington Renegades
The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...
of the
XFL
XFL may refer to:
Sports
* XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001
* XFL (2020), a professional American football league
Vehicles
* Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
on April 3, 2023.
Bryant played in one regular season game, recording one rushing attempt for 24 yards, and had 5 more rushes for 20 yards in the Renegades two playoff wins to claim the 2023 XFL championship.
References
External links
Toronto Argonauts profileMissouri profileClemson profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Kelly
1996 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
Clemson Tigers football players
Missouri Tigers football players
People from Calhoun Falls, South Carolina
Players of American football from South Carolina
Toronto Argonauts players
Bismarck Bucks players
Arlington Renegades players