To say that Darien Bryant would be going back to his roots by playing football at WVU would be an understatement. How many players, after all, can say they drew their first breath a short walk from where they play college football?
Like most kids in the area of Columbus, Ohio, Bryant has been a fan of one college football program since birth, and ever since has hoped that he could one day play for his dream school. Only, unlike his peers, it’s not the revered Ohio State Buckeyes who Bryant wants to play for -- it’s the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Bryant lived in Morgantown for just the first two years of his life, but he’s got strong ties to the state and to WVU, ties the Reynoldsburg, Ohio, junior tight end hopes to strengthen by joining the Mountaineers football program.
“I was born at Ruby Memorial and my mother was in the marching band [at WVU]. A lot of my family has gone through there,” said Bryant, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound prospect who runs a 4.5-second 40-yard dash and has interest from WVU, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Maryland, Tennessee and Toledo. Toledo has offered a scholarship, while the others seem to be paying close attention to him.
“I have been a fan probably since birth,” he said. “My favorite player is probably Owen Schmidt.”
Bryant’s grandparents live in St. Mary’s, W.V., and his great-grandparents have a house within walking distance of Mountaineer Field.
“If you’ve ever been to Columbus, everyone is kind of crazy about the Buckeyes, but I’ve always loved West Virginia. I always thought it would be cool to come back and play for West Virginia,” said Bryant, who runs a 4.5-second 40-yard dash and could be either a tight end or wide receiver in college.
Bryant first caught the Eers’ staff’s eye last summer by earning MVP honors at a WVU camp. He was invited to visit for the UConn game a couple of weeks ago and he happily obliged.
“It was a really good visit. I could tell that they were interested and trying to make sure I was having a good time. They told me I was a preferred visitor,” said Bryant, who plans to attend WVU’s game at Cincinnati Nov. 13. “I had been there before so I kind of knew what it was like.”
Bryant, also a college prospect in hockey, has been disappointed by the way his junior year has gone after putting in a lot of work last offseason. His team has struggled, and Bryant has been hampered by a hamstring injury. That hasn’t stopped recruiters from showing interest.
“I think I’m a tight end who can play like a wide receiver and I can block like a tight end, Some people may say I’m not big enough to block but I think you can see on my film that I can block. When I get to college and do weight training, I can put on weight. I think it’s a lot easier to put on weight than skills,” he said.
Bryant hopes to graduate from high school early and enroll in college next December, “like Logan Heastie,” he said.
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