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YSU's Christian Bryan closes mouth, opens eyes
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Freshman wide receiver Christian Bryan has drawn raves from the coaching staff for his attitude and work ethic.
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Christian Bryan is a 5-foot-10 slot receiver with a listed weight of 180 pounds, which means someone either lied on the form or he’s sweated off at least 10 of those pounds this summer.
He’s a true freshman who says all the right things about his teammates (“I’m learning so much from the senior leaders on the team”), his position coach, Andre Coleman (“I have a coach that’s had the experience from playing in the NFL, so I’m learning from him every day”) and his development.
“There’s always something I’m doing wrong,” said Bryan, who would rather talk about his shortcomings than his progress. “Every day I’m learning something from my coaches. They’re always getting on me, which is good.”
Bryan’s deference doesn’t extend to the field, though. Since he arrived at YSU this summer, he’s been playing like a man eager to cut in line. And his coaches have noticed, dishing out the type of praise normally reserved for junior running back Jamaine Cook.
“He’s a hard worker, he goes full-speed every play, he competes, he won’t quit, he’s got a great attitude, and that’s more than half the battle,” Coleman said. “I don’t try to make Christian stick out, but sometimes when you’re looking at film, sometimes the best example you can show is when a guy’s on film doing it the way it should be done, at the speed it should be done.”
Wide receiver has been YSU’s biggest question mark for months. Since losing Dominique Barnes to graduation, the Penguins have been in search of a No. 1 receiver, yet exited spring practice with a lot of the same questions they had when it began.
Senior Ely Ducatel (27 catches, 336 yards, 2 TDs), junior Juilian Harrell (12 catches, 114 yards) and sophomore Kevin Watts (11 catches, 141 yards) are the three main returnees, but neither they nor the other two senior wideouts, Pat White and Andre Barboza, has made a clear case for the top spot.
“I just want to see a little more of a sense of urgency [from the upperclassmen],” Coleman said. “The way it’s been here in the past is guys played by default, in a sense, and now we got some guys in here that can challenge and compete.
“We recruited some good guys. I’m pushing for these young guys to come in here and not bow down to any of the older guys.”
YSU brought in five receiver recruits — one, Brandon Thomas, was moved to cornerback, while redshirt freshman Parnell Taylor was moved from cornerback to receiver — and three of them look capable of making the traveling team: Bryan, Kintrell Disher (who should be back within a week after suffering a shoulder injury) and Andre Stubbs.
“We’re going to take the best six or seven guys,” Coleman said. “I don’t care if he’s a senior or a freshman. We’re going to go with the guys who give us the best chance to win.”
YSU coach Eric Wolford said it more succinctly: “Whoever catches the ball and blocks is going to play.”
So far, that describes Bryan, who calls himself “a little kid in the slot going against big boys” at linebacker, and doing so without fear.
“I’m not going to have any knockout blocks,” he said. “But I’m going to throw my body in there no matter what.”
Bryan picked up the offense quickly — Coleman said Bryan knows the assignment of every receiver position — and he’s been compared to former YSU standout Kyle Smith and former Ohio State receivers Antonio Gonzalez and Dane Sanzenbacher.
“Christian Bryan has been a pleasant surprise,” Wolford said. “We knew he’d be a good player and he’s probably exceeded our expectations.
“He’s got a tremendous work ethic, he runs great routes, he’s relentless, he’s passionate, he’s smart, he knows the whole offense and he’s tough.”
Bryan is a little uncomfortable with the praise — he’s still a freshman, after all — but he is willing to embrace the scrappy overachiever label.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I was told hard work beats talent every day,” he said. “I’m not the most talented — I understand that — but I’m going to give it all every single day.”