James Bryant (born December 18, 1985) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). He was signed by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2009. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Early life and education

Bryant played for

Reading Senior High School Reading Senior High School, colloquially known as The Castle on The Hill, is a 9–12 public high school in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1927 and is part of the Reading School District. With an enrollment of 5,213 as of the 2022-2 ...

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...

, where he rushed for 984 yards as a running back and had 314 tackles on the defense. He also had 18 sacks, five interceptions, and nin fumble recoveries in his high school career.

College career

Bryant played three seasons at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

and appeared in 32 games primarily on offense as a backup fullback from 2004 to 2007. Bryant later transferred to

, where he sat out one year. During his final year of eligibility in 2008, James appeared in 10 games for the Louisville, recording 100 tackles, two interceptions, one punt return for 26 yards, one blocked punt, and recording 17 tackles for loss.

Professional career

Washington Redskins

Bryant was signed by the

as an

following the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...

. He participated in the mini camp and was released.

Boxing

After he was released by the Redskins, Bryant tried professional boxing for a while. He appeared as a heavyweight in 5 boxing matches and has a 4–1 record with 4 knockouts. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound pure puncher is 2–0, both wins by first-round knockouts in scheduled four-rounders. His next bout is June 15 on the Tuesday Night Fights Live card at the Hard Rock Live. Bryant won his Feb 16 debut over 244-pound Roy Boykins at the 2-minute mark and his second fight on April 13 over Andrew Maxwell at the 2:19 mark.

Orlando Predators

Bryant signed with the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

in 2010 as a defensive end and played three games. In those three games Bryant recorded four sacks, forced 9 interceptions and one kickoff return for a touchdown.

BC Lions

Bryant played for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

during the 2011 season. He was signed in May and was released in October 25. He did not record any offensive or defensive statistics.

Detroit Lions

The

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

signed Bryant as a free agent on March 16, 2012. Bryant was released on August 27, 2012, as a part of Lions' last round of cut prior to the 2012 season.

New Orleans VooDoo

Bryant played the 2013 season with the

New Orleans VooDoo The New Orleans VooDoo were a professional arena football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They were members of the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2015. The VooDoo were the second team to play in the Arena Football League and play in ...

of the

Pittsburgh Power

Bryant was assigned to the

Pittsburgh Power The Pittsburgh Power were a professional arena football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team belonged to the East Division (AFL), East Division of the American Conference in the Arena Football League. Founded in 2010, the Power was t ...

on October 10, 2013.

Cleveland Gladiators

Bryant was assigned to the

Cleveland Gladiators The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the ...

on May 7, 2015.

References

External links

Detroit Lions bio

FB James Bryant simply wants to open up holes for Lions' tailbacks

CFL bioBoxRechurricanesports

jrosports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, James 1985 births Living people American football fullbacks Miami Hurricanes football players Louisville Cardinals football players Orlando Predators players Detroit Lions players New Orleans VooDoo players Pittsburgh Power players Cleveland Gladiators players