For former Clemson QB Kelly Bryant, life after football begins to take shape
On a sunny, warm day in late September, a “Yeeeaaaahhhhh boy!” rings out across Wren High School’s grassy practice football field. While not apparent at first glance, Kelly Bryant walks among the blue, yellow and white Hurricanes practice jerseys. Aside from a matching blue tank and shorts and some facial hair, the former Clemson quarterback’s baby face makes him nearly indistinguishable from the current Wren players.
Bryant is back at his alma mater, serving as a volunteer coach this season.
“I’m more of a hype man,” he said before returning to the field and doing just that.
No doubt, Bryant brings an undeniable energy to the field as the youngest coach on the staff. It’s a surreal moment considering his new co-workers were once his coaches in the same place he developed into a four-star recruit and Rivals’ No. 11 quarterback in the Class of 2015. Spending time sewing his knowledge into the next generation is a welcomed distraction from Bryant’s current reality: In the two years since completing his collegiate career at Missouri, he’s yet to sign with an NFL team.
April will bring a third draft class in which Bryant will have to contend, and he’s not getting younger. The 25-year-old is hoping for a chance but understands not to put all of his eggs in one basket. After dedicating his whole life to the sport, learning that lesson has been a process years in the making.
Kelly Bryant, on his own
As a born-and-raised South Carolinian, Kelly Bryant chose Clemson University because he wanted to play in front of his family and friends. His hometown of Calhoun Falls is about 50 miles from Clemson, which allowed him freedom but also comfort in being able to go home whenever he wanted.
After Deshaun Watson’s departure to the NFL, Bryant was the heir to Clemson’s offense. He won an ACC championship and helped the Tigers to a College Football Playoff appearance in 2017.
Then came five-star signee Trevor Lawrence, who was named the Tigers’ starting quarterback four games into the 2018 season. Bryant helped the team to a 4-0 start before head coach Dabo Swinney benched him for Lawrence, then a true freshman, on Sept. 24 of that season. Two days later, Bryant revealed he would transfer.
Some thought he’d go to Arkansas because of his relationship with then-Razorbacks coach Chad Morris, who recruited Bryant at Clemson. Instead, the former Tiger chose Missouri for his final year of eligibility because he felt it would set him up well to get to the pros.
“(Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Derek) Dooley, he was in his first season with Drew Lock,” Bryant explained. “So I was looking at the progression from coach Dooley, who literally just came from the Dallas Cowboys implementing his NFL-style offense there at Missouri and with Drew Lock. I was looking at, OK, Drew Lock was in his system for a year and did really well, put himself in a position to get drafted very high. So I was like, it’d be a perfect opportunity for me to come in.”
As good as he felt the move would be for his future career, he didn’t anticipate having to manage the personal independence. Home was no longer a quick car ride away. Bryant, a self-proclaimed mama’s boy, had to grow up and fend for himself.
“Just not always leaning on that access whether it’s a family member, a friend, just being able to do it on my own,” he said. “It didn’t really matter what it was, but just not being afraid to ask somebody for help. So that was one of the biggest things you know, just having that balance in between those two.”
Between mastering independence and Missouri’s playbook, Bryant came out on top. He earned his master’s degree and threw for 2,215 yards with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions, playing through a sprained ACL and bad hamstring in his final season with the Columbia-based Tigers.
If that wasn’t enough of a challenge, Bryant was about to go through the NFL draft process in a pandemic.
Looking to the NFL
Kelly Bryant did everything necessary to make himself a strong draft prospect.
He participated in the 95th annual Shrine Bowl, which earned him an invitation to the NFL Combine. It was a reunion of sorts with with former Clemson teammates Tee Higgins, John Simpson, Isaiah Simmons and K’Von Wallace, as well as Missouri’s Jordan Elliott and Albert Okwuegbunam, all of whom eventually got drafted.
Bryant was ready to carry that momentum into his NFL pro day at Missouri. As COVID-19 spread and was declared a pandemic, the pro day was rescheduled and then canceled. Still, Bryant felt good about what he had shown teams and scouts.
In a draft class with quarterbacks like Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa, the former Missouri signal caller figured the fifth round would be the earliest he’d be selected. Bryant said one NFL team, which he declined to name, told him that if they had a later pick, they’d draft him. The team drafted someone else instead.
Surrounded by family, friends and quarterbacks coach Ramon Robinson, Bryant never heard his name called.
“I don’t know exactly what happened but they went with another guy, but I guess that’s just the business side of it,” Bryant said. “At the time, it was really tough because I literally just had a conversation with them. They told me I’m the guy, this and that. Obviously, I wasn’t the guy.”
It was a hard pill to swallow, but he moved on to the next phase: free agency. The Arizona Cardinals invited him for a workout, but nothing came of it. He also got a call from Houston about a workout, but no sooner than he landed in the Lone Star State, the Texans canceled it.
Bryant exhausted all of his resources and was encouraged to participate in a camp that November in San Diego. It took a few months, but the Toronto Argonauts from the Canadian Football League signed him Feb. 9, thus beginning a six-month career roller coaster.
In June, just a few months after Bryant got a shot at the pros, albeit in another country, he was released. On July 22, the Argonauts brought him back as a practice squad player but released him again 16 days later.
It’s the last time Bryant was on a professional football team.
A new football plan for ‘Magic’
Being a professional athlete is an unconventional career, but a career nonetheless. Much like any college graduate who’s unable to find a job and has to move back home, Bryant was discouraged and his confidence took a hit. He kept the sulking to a minimum, making sure to get in workouts almost every day by lifting weights and training with Robinson.
When he wasn’t working out, Bryant was in his room playing video games and doing his best to stay sane.
“Being back home, you know, that kind of doesn’t make it any better, because after college I saw myself being at a certain stage in my life,” he said. “I may not be where I thought I was going to be at, but ... maybe it’s a good thing. I’m just having to sit and (am) also kind of like in that growing and growing stage.”
A phone call with former Clemson teammate Hunter Renfrow over the summer was also a nice pick-me-up. Renfrow, now with the Las Vegas Raiders, reached out to Bryant and the two caught up on the latest happenings in their lives.
Bryant remained strong in his faith and realized there were other opportunities to explore. For one, he started a shoe reselling business with former Clemson teammate Shadell Bell.
He had remained in contact with Wren head football coach and athletic director Jeff Tate over the years. So when Tate offered him a position as a volunteer assistant coach on Sept. 7, Bryant was at practice later that day. He was a familiar face for the Hurricanes players because he’d stayed around the program and visited often.
“He’s knowledgeable in the game of football, which obviously he’s played the highest level in college and got a chance to work and learn a few systems, either in the NFL or CFL, so it’s just a great opportunity to use a resource,” Tate said. “Who better than Kelly Bryant? … It’s just another person who knows our system. And (players) hearing it from him instead of hearing it from me all the time, I’m sure it’s a different voice. It probably comes across not as gruff or angry.”
Bryant works with the quarterbacks and all of Wren’s offensive skill positions. His presence had a quick impact, with the Hurricanes (2-4) winning their first two games after his arrival — Tate joked, for that reason, Bryant isn’t allowed to leave. That doesn’t seem to be a worry for the quarterback. For as much as he’s helped the current Wren footballers, the time has helped him cope with whatever the next stage of life holds.
“I would be sitting in my room just laying down, just trying to get out of that little funk, but it’d just be tough,” he said. “Just being able to be around them and get out the house, it really, really makes it that much easier just to wake up and just stay motivated each and every day.”
It’s a different capacity, but Bryant is still the same guy who earned the nickname “Magic” after scoring a 60-yard touchdown on third down during a region game against Seneca High as a junior.
Seneca blitzed, bringing six to Wren’s front five and Bryant eluded the extra defender.
“Somehow or another he spins around to move away from somebody,” Tate recalled. “It looks like, in all honesty, that he kind of levitates around and not even touching the ground. From our viewpoint, that’s the way it looked. He spins all the way around on his hand, and then he comes up running on the other side, and goes down the sideline about 60 yards for a touchdown.”
Tate knew one of the referees and asked him about the play later. The referee told Tate he was about to blow his whistle but never saw enough to warrant it. Wren assistant head coach Ashley Haskins called Bryant “Magic” from then on.
“Every time something looked like bad was gonna happen, he’d say, ‘Don’t worry, Magic’s fixing to happen,’ ” Tate said. “Pretty much it was every time. … We didn’t lose much when Kel was playing.”
Wren beat Seneca 54-49 that night and ended the year with an 11-1 record.
Bryant would love the opportunity to show a professional team he’s still Magic, even if it’s just as a practice squad member. He’s not ready to give up on the dream, but has found a budding passion in the meantime.
“Going into college, I said I wanted to be a teacher, a teaching coach, but it was something like, OK, that’ll be something I want to do like later on in life,” Bryant said. “That wouldn’t be something I want to do in my 20s and maybe possibly early 30s, maybe live and get a little bit established in life. But … you never know how things will go.
“I’m just sitting at home. I said this might be an opportunity to just be around the game. The coaches at my high school are still the same coaches I played for, so they were very welcoming with me being around the young guys, to coach and pour into them to help them out.”
This story was originally published October 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
