Desmond Bryant facts for kids
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Bryant with the Oakland Raiders in October 2010
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| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | December 15, 1985 Shorewood, Illinois, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 310 lb (141 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Elizabethtown (NC) East Bladen | ||||||||||
| College: | Harvard | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2009 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||
Desmond J. Bryant (born December 15, 1985) is a former American professional football player. He played as a defensive tackle, a position where players try to stop the other team's offense. Desmond played college football at Harvard University. After college, he joined the Oakland Raiders in 2009.
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Early Life and College Football Journey
Desmond Bryant was born in Shorewood, Illinois. He went to East Bladen High School in Elizabethtown, North Carolina. In his final year of high school, his football team had a great record of 13 wins and only 1 loss. This was his only year playing high school football in North Carolina. His high school jersey number was even retired!
Before that, he played football and basketball for three years in high school in Middletown, Delaware. He also played basketball for East Bladen for two seasons. Desmond was a very good student. He had a high grade point average (GPA) and a strong score on the SAT test.
He chose to go to Harvard University, even though other schools like Duke wanted him. Ivy League schools, like Harvard, do not give sports scholarships. Instead, Desmond received a special scholarship to help with his school costs. His Harvard coach thought Desmond could be a professional player. At Harvard, Desmond studied psychology. He played in 32 football games over four years. In his last year, he was named one of the best players in the Ivy League. He led his team in "quarterback hurries," which means he often pressured the opposing team's quarterback.
Desmond later shared that while he enjoyed playing football with his teammates at Harvard, the overall college environment was different from what he was used to.
Professional Football Career
Desmond Bryant was one of the few players from Harvard to play in the NFL. In April 2009, he signed with the Oakland Raiders. He played in all 16 games during his first year. He made 32 tackles, which means he stopped the opposing team's players 32 times. In his second season, he made 2.5 sacks, which is when a defensive player tackles the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage.
Playing for the Cleveland Browns
On March 12, 2013, Desmond joined the Cleveland Browns. He signed a five-year contract with the team. In 2013, he started 12 games for the Browns. He made 31 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Later that year, he had to stop playing for the season because of an irregular heartbeat.
Desmond returned to play in the 2014 season. He played in seven of the first nine games. On November 6, 2014, he had a great game against the Cincinnati Bengals. He sacked their quarterback, Andy Dalton, twice. This helped the Browns win the game 24-3.
In 2016, Desmond was unable to play for the entire season. He tore a pectoral muscle, which is a muscle in the chest, while he was lifting weights. On August 22, 2017, the Browns released him from the team.
NFL Career Statistics Overview
Desmond Bryant played in 104 NFL games during his career. He started 59 of those games. He made a total of 238 tackles, which shows how often he helped stop the other team. He also had 25 sacks, meaning he tackled the opposing quarterback 25 times. He forced 4 fumbles and recovered 2 fumbles. These statistics show he was a strong defensive player throughout his time in the NFL.
