Texas DL target Aaron Bryant talks finalists, previews upcoming commitment
Aaron Bryant has become one of the hottest defensive line prospects in the South. The Southaven, Mississippi, native holds scholarship offers from most of the SEC in addition to Florida State, Oregon, and Texas.
Bryant, who recently released his top five schools, plans to make his commitment later this month on August 26. The five schools that made the cut for Bryant include Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Texas, and Texas A&M. Although they were not on his initial finalist list, Ole Miss recently hosted the defensive tackle prospect prior to the dead period.
The three-star defender broke down the six schools that he is choosing between and previewed his upcoming commitment with Orangebloods. He made a trip to Austin in late June for one of his official visits.
“It was great. It was my first time to Austin,” Bryant said. “I knew it was a bigger city compared to Southaven. I thought it was going to be pretty weird going down there and that there would be a lot of traffic and things like that. But, from what I saw, I really like it. It’s like a peaceful big city, if that makes sense.”
Texas – and more specifically defensive line coach Bo Davis – has made a strong impression on the Magnolia State native. Davis has experience coaching on a big-time level on both the collegiate level and in the NFL. That is something that has the attention of Bryant.
“The thing that I like most about Texas is Coach Davis. He showed me (on my visit) how he can get me better, and I really appreciated that from him,” Bryant said. “He was talking about the ways that I can get better; he was telling me how he’s going to coach me, how he thinks he can develop me, and what things I need to work on.”
Davis has certainly been a big factor in Bryant’s recruitment. The Texas defensive line coach’s approach to recruiting the Mississippi native has stood out to Bryant. That said, there are other schools that remain in the picture leading up to his commitment date. He officially visited Georgia at the beginning of June.
“What I really like about Georgia is (defensive line) Coach (Tray) Scott. He’s a really, really cool guy. He’s one of those guys, you know, that I really feel like I can talk to him about anything,” Bryant explained.
Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide are another program that is in the race for Aaron Bryant’s commitment. Similar to both Texas and Georgia, Bryant said that he has a good relationship with Alabama’s defensive line coach.
“Everybody always told me that if you want to be the best, you need to go to Alabama and stuff like that,” Bryant said. “What I really like about Alabama is Coach (Freddie) Roach. He’s a really good coach and I think he’s going to do really good at Alabama. And then, of course, there’s Coach Saban.”
LSU and Texas A&M are two other programs that Bryant is high on. Though Bryant did not make it out to Baton Rouge, he points to his relationship with Coach Ed Orgeron as to what he likes about the Tigers. He took an official visit to College Station the week before his visit to Austin, and he hit it off with Jimbo Fisher.
A recent trip to Ole Miss – he visited Oxford last weekend and just before he announced his decision date – has put the Rebels in the mix. Bryant says Ole Miss defensive line coach and former SMU assistant Randall Joyner is recruiting him the hardest from the Rebels’ side of things. The University of Mississippi's campus is just over an hour away from Bryant’s hometown, but he says that he doesn’t mind leaving the state if he feels that there’s a better fit for him elsewhere.
Aaron Bryant is set to make his decision near the end of August. He plans to announce his commitment the day before the Southaven Chargers open up the 2021 season on the road in Arkansas against Valley View High School.