Larenz Bryant

Outside Linebacker

6’0″ / 216

Charlotte, NC

Recruitment

Bryant was rated as the number seven outside-linebacker in his class, and was a four-star prospect. He received many offers from notable schools, but eventually narrowed his top five to South Carolina, Clemson, Florida, Wake Forest, and Virginia.

College Career

Despite his status as a top recruit, Bryant hasn’t quite lived up to the lofty expectations that accompany that. He played sparingly as a freshman, seeing the majority of his snaps on special teams. As a sophomore, he saw time in 12 games at the Spur position, but only registered 3 tackles. As a junior, he saw less playing time and registered only one tackle.

2016 Outlook

With stud linebacker Skai Moore unfortunately injured for the season, Bryant has a chance to make a major impact at the hybrid position Moore was expected to play this season. With TJ Holloman will likely start at Middle Linebacker, that leaves Larenz Bryant, Bryson Allen-Williams, and Jonathan Walton competing for the two outside spots. Of the three, Bryant is arguably the best athlete, and his speed and athleticism will be utilized especially well in pass coverage. I could see him potentially winning the starting job at weakside ‘backer, where his sideline-to-sideline style of play will show out best. Bryant has talent, and with a spot open in the lineup, this could be his year to show what he has.

Folks –

After a very dry recruiting trail during the month of July, it is nice to receive some positive news when it comes to UCLA Football Recruiting.

Today we received our fourth commit of the 2017 Class when 3* Chris Wilson out of Hitchcock, Texas committed to the Bruins:

With much thought and counsel, I will be committing to tht UCLA Bruins to further my education and talentpic.twitter.com/v8whTyWQcp

— Chris Wilson (@chriswilson28) August 2, 2016

There is a very good chance you have not heard of Chris prior to his announcement as he is a bit under the radar, but whose’s profile has been rising on the Summer Camp circuit leading to a few offers (Texas A&M, Iowa, St., etc.) and additional programs (Arkansas, Baylor, Boise State, Oklahoma and TCU) watching him.

Demetrice Martin just offered Chris on the 23rd of July so the commitment came rather quick after the offer:

I am truely blessed to receive my 4th offer from UCLA. pic.twitter.com/TjVcC9eGma

— Chris Wilson (@chriswilson28) July 23, 2016

Chris has played all three positions in the secondary (cornerback, free and strong safety) during his high school football career and Demetrice Martin values that flexibility in his recruits as we have seen in the past. As has been noted, UCLA is starting to recruit “bigger” in the secondary and Chris fits the mold coming in at 6’1″ and 186lbs.

Gabe Brooks, who is Scout.com’s recruiting expert in Texas profiled Wilson:

Chris Wilson is an aggressive safety prospect who possesses skills that could fit the traditional free or strong positions at the FBS and most likely Power Five conference level. At 6-foot-1, Wilson possesses a good frame and ample length that suggest he will add significant bulk once he’s in college. He’s a willing and able tackler who often looks for the big hit in coverage. Wilson plays with awareness and does a good job locating the ball from the back end of the defense, whether that’s patrolling the deep portion or crashing to the flats. Wilson plays faster than he tests and he flashes good closing speed to help in his ability to break on balls and deliver those aforementioned hits. Wilson can improve his overall fluidity and lateral mobility. If his change-of-direction skills and ability to flip his hips improve, he’ll be a well-rounded safety at the next level. Overall, Wilson is a promising safety prospect with an above average frame and a fairly high ceiling.

UCLA continues to recruit Texas aggressively where High School Football is King and talent is produced in droves. As Bruin Fans know, UCLA has been able to consistently pull talent out of the Lone Star State in comparison to other states.

Chris will be visiting the campus in two weeks time and let’s hope it goes better than Will Farrar’s visit did. As with any commitment in this new era of recruiting, it is a long way to Signing Day and his LOI being signed, sealed and delivered, but this is a step in the right direction.

Now, let’s see some commitments when it comes to offensive and defensive line along with our 2017 QB prospect and Bruin fans can start to enjoy a little recruitment momentum…

**On a separate note, another UCLA target is supposed to be announcing tonight. Let’s hope we can top this day off with two Bruin commitments!**

Here’s Chris Wilson’s 2015 highlights from Hudl.com:

“First team: Center – Pat Elflein, Linebacker – Raekwon McMillan”

– Sports Illustrated

The preseason accolades keeping on coming for the leaders of the 2016 Ohio State Buckeyes. Center Pat Elflein and middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan have been mentioned on most of the award lists possible at their position and have now been named to Sports Illustrated’s preseason All-America team. The duo were the only Buckeyes to make the list. Elflein was an All-American last season at guard but shifting over to center doesn’t seem to have hurt his prospects in that regard. Should he lead Ohio State’s offensive line again this season, Elflein could be looking at a very respectable draft pick and another appearance on the finalized version of the All-America team.

McMillan, meanwhile, enters his junior season in Columbus. The former five-star linebacker has already started to live up to the hype when Ohio State was recruiting him, seeing plenty of action as a true freshman and then last season as a starter in his own right. McMillan led the team in tackles last season and will look to do the same as he prepares for a professional career of his own. With a team so young on both sides of the ball, players like Elflein and McMillan are invaluable, especially in critical moments during games which the Buckeyes are sure to find themselves in this year.

“Not only will Elliott be the Cowboys’ most impactful rookie, he very well could be the NFL’s, too.”

– Cameron DaSilva, FOX Sports

Cameron DaSilva of FOX Sports took the liberty of predicting which rookies would have the most impact in their first years for each team in the NFL. Ohio State’s rookies represented well, as four of the Buckeyes drafted were named to the list. The first (and most obvious) was Ezekiel Elliott, playing for the Dallas Cowboys. With already building excitement by having the top jersey sales at NFL shop, Elliott is expected to be a centerpiece for the Cowboys offense this season and is even being taken high in fantasy football drafts with the potential to be great from day one. And with an offensive line that large and powerful, how could you not be excited for No. 15?

Also making the list were Michael Thomas in New Orleans (over Vonn Bell), Braxton Miller in Houston (over Will Fuller), and Taylor Decker in Detroit. Thomas has been reportedly having a fantastic camp for the Saints and has been one of the top performers during the offseason. Miller figures to touch the ball a fair share this season simply because of his versatility with the ability to carry the ball and also make catches which might give him a slight edge over Will Fuller out of Notre Dame. Decker looks like he’ll be playing some right tackle this season but could eventually move over to left tackle where he’s more comfortable down the line but will still have a huge impact on protecting Matthew Stafford for the Lions.

“You’re not going to win ever rep. … That humbles you. You will be humbled. It’s fun, though. I love it.”

– Darron Lee via Randy Lange, NewYorkJets.com

Another one of the rookie Ohio State players making the transition to the NFL is linebacker Darron Lee. Lee passed on coming back to Columbus for another season after making his mark on the program by helping the Buckeyes get a national championship and Fiesta Bowl win. Now, playing with the New York Jets, Lee is trying his best to get his mind up to speed, where his body has already caught up. As Lee mentions in the article, the practice grind is a marathon and not a sprint. Although Lee has shown to have good instincts and has the physicality to succeed on this level, the mental part is taking some more getting used to.

A freshman All-American in 2014 followed by a second-team All-American honor, Lee is smart enough of a football player to not be slowed down for long. The Jets have been pleased overall with their first-round pick, and have praised Lee’s attitude and general lack of ego. Always a team player, Lee is set up for success in the NFL and should be fun to watch as the years progress.

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We are in a new era. This is the new age, an age in which the relevance of the AP Poll is based almost solely on what it has to say in the preseason, as opposed to any ranking it might produce after the season has ended.

This wasn’t always the case, of course. The AP has been producing top 25 college football polls since 1936, and has crowned a champion each year (or co-champions). Being crowned the “AP National Champion” was the absolute best result for any college program with such aspirations.

A lot of this changed, however, during the BCS era. The AP became disenfranchised by the BCS polls and the formula that it was using to help determine the best two teams in college football, and decided to not allow the BCS to use its rankings in their formula. Instead of helping college football, the AP put greater power into the hands of coaches, sports information directors, and computers.

Now, to help boost their egos a bit, the AP released its Top 25 of All-Time based upon its own rankings over the past 80 years. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish came in at #3.

Whoever was oicking the pictures out for the Notre Dame tweet- OBVIOUSLY has some hatred in their shriveled, and irrelevant heart.

Did the Irish deserve to be higher? At first thought, maybe the answer is “OF COURSE!” But given the criteria and the years used, it isn’t a bad indicator- and #3 is nothing to sneeze at.

Those 5 teams listed ARE college football, and represent (unintentionally) a wide variety of the country (sorry Northwest and Northeast USA). Perhaps most importantly though, is that in the top 5 team of all-time… there is no Michigan- which means that there is a god and that god is just.

According to the Waco Tribune-Herald, former UT transfer Rami Hammad, a junior offensive lineman, was arrested yesterday on a charge of felony stalking related to his ex-girlfriend.  The incident that spawned the charge apparently occurred on July 7 and involved Hammad allegedly waiting outside his ex-girlfriend’s class and then following her to the professor’s office.  The article says the professor is actually the one that called the police:

…A Baylor professor called 911 and reported Hammad had waited for his ex-girlfriend before the professor’s class the woman was starting July 7, then continued to attempt to contact her, according to an affidavit for Hammad’s arrest.

The woman told Hammad, a 21-year-old junior from Irving, to leave before she went into the class, but he waited for her outside, according to the affidavit. Seeing him waiting, the woman was afraid to leave alone and asked for the professor’s help.

She and the professor left together, and Hammad followed them to the professor’s office, where he began knocking on the door for several minutes, according to the affidavit.

After unsuccessful calls to Baylor athletics, the professor and student decided to call police, saying they feared for their safety, according to the affidavit.

The article also describes a relationship between Hammad and his ex-girlfriend that is, at best, troubling.  The ex-girlfriend accuses Hammad of being extremely emotional, as well as manipulative, and describes the measures she took to avoid him after their apparent break-up.

Baylor has yet to release any kind of statement as of this writing about Hammad’s status, so there’s nothing to report about that.  Hammad was listed as the starting right guard following spring practice for the Bears, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see that change in the fallout from this arrest, which is obviously a very serious matter.

We’ll keep you posted on new developments as this situation progresses.

The red light was on Tuesday afternoon as Washington D.C. wide receiver Max Fisher announced his verbal commitment to the Wolfpack. Fisher, who is a three-star recruit, is the third wide receiver to join NC State’s 2017 recruiting class.

And Fisher is another guy who will bring some size to the position, which State desperately needs. He’s listed at 6’3 and about 190 pounds by the various recruiting services. He holds scholarship offers from Indiana, Boston College, Wake Forest, UConn, and Temple, plus like half of the MAC.

In his highlights, he displays good hands and decent footwork, and he made some tough catches in traffic. (Which was a good thing for his quarterback.)

Every year a player seemingly comes out of nowhere to have a bigger year than expected. Last year, Johnny Jackson moved from safety back to WR and was the team’s 2nd-leading receiver. The year before, Nick Wilson broke out on the scene with 1,300 yards and 16 touchdowns as a true freshman.

I’ll take a look at five potential players who could have a breakout year for the Arizona Wildcats on offense.

1. Tony Ellison – The 5-foot-11, 170 pound receiver has been getting positive praise since he came to campus. Ellison has been praised for his smooth route-running and has been pinned as a guy by other receivers to have a bigger role this year. With Cayleb Jones and David Richards gone, there are two spots open on the outside (we’ll expect Trey Griffey to take one) and you should expect Ellison to make a pretty big push to start.
2. Gerhard de Beer – Just three years ago, the staff brought on de Beer as a project and he didn’t even know how to line up correctly on the line. He moved from tight end to defensive end, then found a place on the offensive line. The South African track and field and rugby star has seen his talent translate over to football as he started the last four games of the year at guard. I expect him to start this year and possibly be one of Arizona’s better linemen.
3. Orlando Bradford – The running back out of Louisiana impressed the coaches enough to not be redshirted last year. While he didn’t play a ton, he did show flashes of what he can do. With Jared Baker gone, you should expect Bradford to take over the number two back role. At 5-foot-9, 208 pounds, Bradford is a bruiser. Combine that with Nick Wilson, and that’s quite a powerful one-two punch. Bradford should get a good amount of snaps with Wilson this year, but if Wilson gets injured, Orlando’s workload could increase. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, but Bradford should be ready if it does.
4. Cam Denson – Mr. Tucson, Arizona hasn’t quite lived up to the hype. In his first two years at U of A, he was at corner. While he did play, the former Salpointe star decided that he fits better at wide receiver. He could be battling with Ellison for the last starting job. If you saw him at Salpointe, you saw what he could do at receiver. Even if he doesn’t start, I expect Denson to get a good amount of snaps.
5. Tyrell Johnson – Johnson is the fastest guy on the field whenever he steps on it. The 5-foot-7, 164 pound receiver runs a sub 4.4 forty-yard dash, and was a sprinter for Arizona last year. He was injured for five games of 2015 and was a do-it-all guy for U of A. He lined up in the backfield, took back kicks, and played in the slot. I don’t expect him to start, but anytime you have his speed, you have a chance to make a big play. Whether it’s out of the backfield, on a kick return, or just off a pass, don’t be surprised when Johnson busts open a big play.