Bryant emerging at receiver for Temple
Saturday was a bittersweet homecoming for Temple's Ventell Bryant. Playing in his own backyard, the redshirt freshman receiver enjoyed a strong individual effort while his team experienced the opposite in a 44-23 loss to South Florida at Raymond James Stadium.
Saturday was a bittersweet homecoming for Temple's Ventell Bryant. Playing in his own backyard, the redshirt freshman receiver enjoyed a strong individual effort while his team experienced the opposite in a 44-23 loss to South Florida at Raymond James Stadium.
The 6-foot-3, 181-pound Bryant was Temple's leading receiver with five receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown. A product of Jefferson High in Tampa, Bryant said there were around 50 friends and family member in attendance.
"Of course it was special, because I grew up five minutes from there, and there were a lot of family and friends and I got to show them what they have been missing," Bryant said.
Yet Bryant had true mixed emotions.
"I didn't think I played that well, and while our team didn't play horrible, we didn't get the job done," he said. "So that was very disappointing."
The Owls (8-2, 5-1 American Athletic Conference) will look to rebound against Memphis (8-2, 4-2) at noon on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field. If the Owls win their final two games, they would clinch the East Division and earn a berth in the conference championship game.
When Bryant came to Temple, he didn't know what to expect. He quickly discovered how difficult it was to play on the Division I level. Many high school players, Bryant included, believe they can contribute right away, but he soon saw the benefits of the redshirt season.
"It was tough redshirting, but I realized I wasn't physically or mentally ready to play," he said. "I was down on myself because I wanted to play, but I decided to go hard every day and improve."
That certainly happened.
Bryant was one of Temple's best players in spring practice on a receiving unit that needed an infusion of talent.
Then, just before training camp began in August, top receiver Robby Anderson, who was academically ineligible last season, was declared eligible. The Owls also added Adonis Jennings, a transfer from Pitt, who earned a waiver from the NCAA and didn't have to sit out for a season.
Suddenly, receiver went from being a perceived weakness to a position of depth.
This season Temple has employed many wide receivers, with eight having caught at least one pass. Bryant has 33 receptions for 457 yards (13.8 avg.) and three touchdowns. He is second in all those categories to Anderson.
"Ventell is sort of the next playmaker [after Anderson]," Temple coach Matt Rhule said. "He is long, makes plays down the field."
Rhule said that Bryant has learned much from Anderson and is applying it on the field. Bryant has become an especially dangerous target over the middle.
He entered preseason practice with confidence after his stellar work in the spring.
"That helped me so much, and I just tried to build on what I did in the spring when we started camp this year," he said.
Over the last few weeks, Bryant has enjoyed his best production of the season. In the 24-20 loss to Notre Dame, he had six receptions for 91 yards, followed by two receptions for 84 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown, in a 60-40 win at Southern Methodist.
In the last three weeks he has 13 receptions for 261 yards and two scores. With many players banged up this time of the season, Bryant appears to be getting stronger and is becoming a more prominent factor in the offense each week.
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