Weaponized

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BOCA RATON – There’s a simple explanation as to why FAU tight end Harrison Bryant assumed a larger offensive role.

The Owls are actively designing plays for him, now.

“This is a potential NFL tight end,” FAU coach Lane Kiffin said of Bryant. “He just wasn’t getting the ball. That’s just kind of a product of the system because the system was receiver dominated. The tight end does a lot more blocking. The problem was our receivers weren’t making plays.”

That’s why Kiffin and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles tweaked the Baylor offense to make it more tight end friendly.

“At the end of the day we sat down and said, Hey, we’ve got to find a way to get this guy the ball because we’ve got other guys out there and this guy is either blocking or standing on the sidelines not doing anything in the passing game,” Kiffin said.

Bryant caught only five passes through the first three games, scoring on a five-yard pass from Daniel Parr against Bethune-Cookman.



The switch at starting quarterback from Parr to Jason Driskel helped incorporate Bryant into the offense. In the four games Driskel started, Bryant caught 18 passes for 208 yards.

With seven catches for 69 yards in Saturday’s 69-31 blowout of North Texas, Bryant surpassed wide receiver DeAndre McNeal for the team lead in catches with 23. He caught his third touchdown of the season in Saturday’s win, which also leads the Owls.

“It just feels good when you know that you’ve been producing and doing whatever you can to help the team win and it starts working out for you,” Bryant said.

Bryant only caught six passes totaling 63 yards last season while playing behind senior tight end Tyler Cameron. With Cameron graduated, Bryant and fellow true sophomore John Raine ascended the depth chart.

Throughout fall camp Bryant and Raine showed they could be offensive weapons. Bryant caught a red zone touchdown pass down the middle of the field from Parr to conclude the Owls’ scrimmage at Hadley Park in Miami. A week later Raine caught a touchdown in the two-minute drill on the exact same play.

Those opportunities withered once the season kicked off.



One month later FAU is actively trying to exploit mismatches created by the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Bryant.

“He’s a big target and tough to bring down,” Kiffin said.

Bryant is doing more than catching passes across the middle. FAU now attempts to get Bryant in the flats on plays where the Owls can get blockers in front of him.

“This year earlier in the season the tight ends as a position group, we were role players, but we were playing really good, making plays when we got the ball, so our role’s been expanding as well this year,” Bryant said.