Clemson QB Kelly Bryant ‘feeling good’ after concussion, ankle injury
Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant met with the media on Monday for the first time since injuring his ankle Oct. 7 against Wake Forest and said his ankle is feeling “80-85 percent” healthy.
Bryant played most of the first half of Clemson’s Oct. 13 loss to Syracuse -- despite his ankle bothering him -- before leaving with a concussion late in the second quarter.
He did not practice last week during the bye but was scheduled to practice Monday.
“I’m feeling really good. It was good to rest a little bit last weekend, just sit back and watch some other people, and get my body up under me,” Bryant said. “Head wise I feel back to normal… My ankle’s feeling good. It’s feeling better than how it was feeling last week. But I’m still going through treatment to get it back right for this Saturday.”
Bryant was in concussion protocol following the loss to Syracuse but has been cleared following tests.
Bryant called the hit probably the biggest he has taken during his football career and said it was scary to watch on film.
“I hit my head really bad. It was unfortunate, just pretty much got my head hit on the turf. I was knocked out for a second and then regained consciousness right afterwards,” he said. “I was watching clips of it, just me laying there like, ‘Dang, I was getting some good sleep.’ … It was scary, but just something to be aware of going forward.”
The junior said he felt close to 100 percent going into the Syracuse game, but he tweaked his ankle in the first quarter on a play-action pass. Bryant remained in the game before being slammed to the turf just before halftime.
Bryant said he is in a good spot from a mental standpoint as the Tigers prepare to face Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets have two losses by a combined two points and are a game back of Miami in the ACC Coastal.
“The coacheshad me right there with the offense, going through the game plan, making sure that I know what’s going on and what to prepare for and all the adjustments we’re going to be making,” Bryant said.
Backup quarterback Zerrick Cooper replaced Bryant against Syracuse, while Hunter Johnson has been competing with Cooper for the No. 2 job as well.
The two split snaps last week as Bryant was recovering.
“Kelly was with the strength staff most of the week working on just getting himself back into playing shape, but was over there for some of the periods just to make sure he’s up on the game plan,” co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said.
This story was originally published October 23, 2017 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Clemson QB Kelly Bryant ‘feeling good’ after concussion, ankle injury."