Lone Star State battle shaping up for DT Aaron Bryant?
For most of his recruitment, the focus for defensive lineman Aaron Bryant has been focused on SEC schools, with programs like Georgia and Ole Miss receiving the most buzz. Coming out of his June official visits, there is one SEC school that still sits high on Bryant’s list, but it’s a Big 12 school that has made its way into the Southaven (MS) standout’s top two.
In the last two weekends of the month of June, Bryant took official visits to Texas A&M and Texas, and those two schools currently sit atop his list.
“Texas is right at the top. Honestly, the two schools I’m considering the most are Texas and Texas A&M. It’s going to be a Texas battle at the end of the day. That’s what I feel,” Bryant said. “It’s the scheme fit, the people there. It’s the need they have, the way I feel like I fit in the room with the guys and the way I fit into the schemes.”
Following his Texas official visit, Bryant told Orangebloods.com that a number of factors piqued his interest, including the city of Austin and getting to know defensive line coach Bo Davis.
“Something that really stood out for me, we talked a lot of football. That was really important for me. Getting to know coach Davis was really cool, getting to know him better,” Bryant said. “And just getting to see everything, see how beautiful Austin is, that really stood out to me.”
At 6-4 and 295 pounds, Bryant is considered a pure defensive tackle prospect, but under new Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, the Longhorns’ expect versatility out of their d-linemen and the coaches told Bryant he fits that bill perfectly.
“They feel like I can play a lot of positions on their defensive line and that’s important to what they’re trying to do. I really like the fit as far as the scheme goes,” Bryant said. “They run a 4-man front and it’s an attacking style. I feel like I’m a penetrating type of defensive tackle, so that’s very important to me. I really liked that part of it.”
In getting to know Davis better, Bryant said their talks weren’t really about Xs and Os. The conversations more centered on Davis’ experience in coaching players, both in college and in the NFL. Davis’ resume certainly caught Bryant’s attention.
“Coach Davis, we didn’t talk about the scheme a whole lot. He said what’s really going to be important is development. He said the scheme is always going to be the scheme. We didn’t talk about Texas a whole lot,” Bryant said. “It was more him talking about me and how he was going to develop me. That really stood out to me.
“I feel like coach Davis is definitely one of the best guys in the sport. It would be an honor to play for him. He’s put a lot of guys into the NFL. He seems like my type of guy as a coach. I’d love to play for a coach like him.”
Bryant holds close to 25 scholarship offers. He doesn’t have a firm date for a commitment, but said he’d like to come to a decision in the near future if things feel right.
“It’s going to be a really hard decision. It’s time for me to take a step back, pray about it, think about it and hopefully come to a decision soon,” Bryant said. “I don’t really have a timeline, it’s just whenever I know. When I know, I’ll make a decision.”