Dez Bryant
 Dez Bryant in Dallas Cowboys training camp 2010. | |||||||||||||
No. 88 Dallas Cowboys | |||||||||||||
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| Wide receiver | |||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth: November 4, 1988 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth: Galveston County, Texas | |||||||||||||
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Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: Lufkin (TX) | |||||||||||||
| College: Oklahoma State | |||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: 2010 / Round: 1 / Pick: 24 | |||||||||||||
| Debuted in 2010 for the Dallas Cowboys | |||||||||||||
Career history
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| Roster status: Active | |||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2013 | |||||||||||||
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Desmond Demond Bryant[1] (born November 4, 1988)[2] is an American football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Oklahoma State University, and earned All-American honors. He was chosen by the Dallas Cowboys number 24 overall in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
Early years
Bryant was born in Galveston County, Texas, but eventually moved to Lufkin, Texas, where he attended Lufkin High School. As a junior, he caught 48 passes for 1,025 yards and 16 touchdowns. Bryant, along with defensive lineman Jamarkus McFarland, led Lufkin to a 14–1 record, including an appearance in the 5A Division II state semi-finals, where they lost 46–28 to Todd Dodge's Southlake Carroll. In his senior year, Bryant had 53 receptions for 1,207 yards with 21 touchdowns, and was an All-State selection. Lufkin finished the season 11–1, after losing 38–25 to Round Rock in the area round of the playoffs. After the season, Bryant participated in the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl. He was also named an All-American by Parade and SuperPrep.
Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Bryant was listed as the No. 9 wide receiver prospect in the class of 2007, and the second from Texas behind only Terrence Toliver.[3] Recruited by numerous major programs, including most Big 12 schools, Bryant took official visits to Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech, before committing to the Cowboys. He was just the fourth Parade All-American to sign with OSU since 1985.
College career
Bryant attended Oklahoma State University from 2007 to 2008 and was a member of the Oklahoma State Cowboys football team coached by Mike Gundy. As a freshman in 2007, he finished second on the team with 43 receptions for 622 yards and 6 touchdowns in 12 games. In a game against the University of Kansas Jayhawks, he set an OSU record for receiving yards in a game by a freshman with 155. In the 2007 Insight Bowl, he recorded 9 receptions for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 49–33 win against the Indiana Hoosiers.
Bryant finished the 2008 season for Oklahoma State with 87 receptions for 1,480 yards and 19 touchdowns, including 2 punt returns for touchdowns. Bryant was ruled ineligible for the rest of the 2009 season on October 7 for violating an NCAA bylaw. He failed to fully disclose his interaction with Deion Sanders, a former NFL player, to the NCAA. He was considered the best receiver in 2009 and a possible Heisman contender before the suspension.[4]
College awards and honors
- 2007 Second-team freshman All-America
- 2008 First team All-America by AFCA-Coaches,[5] Associated Press, Walter Camp,[6] Sporting News,[7] Pro Football Weekly, Sports Illustrated[8]
College Stats
| Season | Receiving | Punt Returns | Kick Returns | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Rec | Yards | Avg | TD | PR | Yds | Avg | TD | KR | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 2007 | OSU | 43 | 622 | 14.5 | 6 | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | OSU | 87 | 1480 | 17.0 | 19 | 17 | 305 | 17.9 | 2 | 4 | 100 | 25.0 | 0 |
| 2009 | OSU | 17 | 323 | 19.0 | 4 | 3 | 111 | 37.0 | 1 | 2 | 43 | 21.5 | 0 |
| Career | Total | 147 | 2425 | 16.5 | 29 | 22 | 431 | 19.6 | 3 | 6 | 143 | 23.8 | 0 |
Professional career
2010 NFL Draft
On November 5, 2009, Bryant announced his intentions to enter the 2010 NFL Draft.[9] He was widely believed to be the best wide receiver available in the draft,[10] and was projected as high as the No. 1 pick overall in some mock drafts.[11] Bryant was believed to be targeted by the Denver Broncos (11th pick overall), who traded their Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall to the Miami Dolphins prior to the draft.[12] If slipping by the Broncos, Bryant was projected to fall no lower than No. 27 to the Dallas Cowboys.[13] Eventually the Cowboys traded their 27th overall pick to the New England Patriots for their 24th overall pick to select Bryant.
| Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2 in | 225 lb | 34 in | 9 ¾ in | 4.52 s | 1.53 s | 2.51 s | 4.46 s | 7.10 s | 38 in | 11 ft 1 in | 14 reps | ||||||||
| All values from OSU Pro Day[14][15] | |||||||||||||||||||
Dallas Cowboys
2010
Bryant was signed by the Cowboys to a contract very similar to that of Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin (five years, $12.05 million, roughly $8.4 million guaranteed) on July 22, 2010.[16] On July 23, 2010, it was announced that Bryant will wear number 88, the same as Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, and Cowboys legend Drew Pearson. On October 17, 2010, Bryant caught his first NFL touchdown catch, on a 31-yard pass from Tony Romo. The Cowboys ended up losing that game 24–21.
In a Monday Night Football game vs. the New York Giants, at Cowboys stadium on October 25, 2010, Bryant caught four passes for 54 yards, two of them for TDs, and also returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown, making the longest Cowboys' punt return since Dennis Morgan's 98-yard return during the 1974 NFL season.[17] On November 15, 2010, Bryant caught 3 passes for 104 yards and 1 touchdown, to become the first Cowboys rookie with a 100+ yard game since Antonio Bryant.[18]
During the fourth quarter of the Cowboys' 38–35 victory over the Colts, Bryant went down with a fractured ankle. Indianapolis' Kavell Conner held onto Bryant's leg while tackling him on a kickoff return, and the Cowboys immediately took Bryant to the locker room. He was placed on the injured reserve list and had surgery on the fractured ankle.[19] He left the game with one catch for 14 yards and a 35.7-yard average on three kickoff returns.
Bryant finished his rookie season with 45 receptions for 561 yards and 6 receiving touchdowns.[20]
2011
With the departure of Roy Williams, Bryant won the starting job opposite of Miles Austin.
Bryant started the first game of the 2011 season against the New York Jets where he had 3 receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown. Dallas lost the game.[21]
Bryant missed the second game of the 2011 season against the San Francisco 49ers due to injury as the Cowboys won their game in overtime.
Bryant started his second game of the season against the division rivals and previously undefeated Washington Redskins on a Monday Night Football game. Playing injured, Bryant managed 4 receptions for 63 yards in that game helping his team to a win.[21]
In the fourth game of the season against the, at the time, undefeated Detroit Lions, Bryant had 3 receptions for 37 yards, 1 rush for 5 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns in his team's loss. His 2 touchdown game marked just the second time in his career with multiple touchdowns in one game.[21]
Against the New England Patriots Bryant had 4 receptions for 78 yards in a heartbreaking loss on the road.
In Week 7 of the 2011 regular season, the Dallas Cowboys went up against the St. Louis Rams at Cowboys Stadium. In the contest, Bryant had the most productive game of his season this far, hauling in 5 receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown, helping his team to a win. His 5 receptions that game ranked 4th most receptions in a game for his career and his 90 yards were his second most yards in a game of his career. His yardage output of the game also ranked as the most yards in a single game for his 2011 season. Bryant was not officially given the start for the game.[21] Bryant's best game of the season was overshadowed by rookie teammate Demarco Murray's record-breaking day.
The 7th game of the season pinned the 3–3 Dallas Cowboys against the 2–4 Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Field. Bryant had just 3 receptions for 28 yards in a 34–7 loss. The 28 yards gained by Bryant was his lowest total yards in a game for the 2011 season through seven games.
The following week, against the Seattle Seahawks, Bryant recorded 4 receptions for 76 yards on 9 targets. Bryant also fumbled and lost the fumble, both for the first time in his career as he was tackled near the opponent's 1-yard line. The Cowboys got the win against the Seahawks 23–13.[22] At the midway point of the season, Bryant had 26 receptions for 443 yards and 4 touchdowns on 6 starts. Similarly, in 2010 at the midway point of the season, Bryant had 38 receptions for 435 and 3 touchdowns on 2 starts.
Bryant finished the season with 63 receptions for 928 yards and 9 touchdowns.
2012
The offseason started with Bryant being charged with misdemeanor family violence because of an incident with his mother. Although with class A misdemeanor domestic violence charges, Bryant was not suspended by the NFL (National Football League) for such actions against his biological mother. He received no penalties nor a fine and was able to continue in football actions. In September and October he was being criticized for dropping balls, fumbles or running poor routes, but he started to live up to his potential in a week 8 game against the New York Giants, almost coming up with a last minute hail mary touchdown (it was reversed because his hand was ruled out of bounds). That performance was the start of a break out season, that was worthy of Pro Bowl consideration.
In week 11 against the Cleveland Browns, Bryant had 12 catches for a then career-high 145 yards, breaking his previous personal best of 110 yards during week 8 against the New York Giants.[23] His 12 receptions fell short of his career-high 13 catches during week 6 against the Baltimore Ravens.
Despite a week 12 loss against the Washington Redskins, Bryant matched his yardage total from the previous week, and recorded 2 touchdowns.
In weeks 13 and 14 against the Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals, Bryant compiled a total of 148 receiving yards and 3 touchdown receptions. This brought his 5-week scoring total to 7 touchdowns, which helped the team win 4 out of their last 5 games.
Against the New Orleans Saints in a week 16 loss, he had the best game of his career up to that point, with nine receptions for a career-high 224 yards (fourth most in team history), two touchdowns and also tying the franchise record for most consecutive games (7) with at least a touchdown reception, which is shared with Franklin Clarke (1961–1962), Bob Hayes (1965–1966) and Terrell Owens (2007).
Bryant finished the 2012 season with 92 receptions for 1,382 yards (15 yards-per-catch average) and 12 touchdowns; these ranked 10th, 6th and 3rd respectively among all receivers.
He suffered from several injuries throughout the second half of the season. He injured his finger in early December, opting to play through the injury for the duration of the season, saying that opponents would "have to break my leg to keep me out."[24] He left in the fourth quarter of the final game of the season against the Washington Redskins with a back injury. Head Coach Jason Garrett stated after the game that Dez "could barely walk," with the injury.[25]
2013
Dez Bryant's 2013 season started slow with just 4 receptions for 22 receiving yards in a week 1 victory over the New York Giants.
Bryant rebounded with 9 receptions for 141 receiving yards and a touchdown in a Week 2 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Though Dez had such an impact in the 17–16 loss to the Chiefs, he dropped a deep pass from Tony Romo that surely would have been a game changing touchdown.
Over the course of the next two weeks, Bryant had 10 receptions for 119 yards with three touchdowns, in a 31–7 win versus the St. Louis Rams and a 30–21 loss to the San Diego Chargers.
In a Week 5 51–48 record-breaking shootout with the Denver Broncos, Bryant had 6 receptions for 141 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Tony Romo would break the Dallas Cowboys single game passing yards record with 506 yards, and throw for 5 touchdowns against Peyton Manning and his record-breaking Denver Broncos.
Dez could not get things going in the next week, finishing with 5 catches for 36 yards in a week 6 victory over rivals, the Washington Redskins.
In a week 7 blowout win against Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles, Bryant had 110 yards on 8 catches with no touchdowns.
After a heartbreaking 31–30 loss to the Detroit Lions in week 8, Bryant would finish with 3 catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns, his 3rd multi-touchdown game of the season. Prior to the game, Dez said in an interview about Lions' receiver Calvin Johnson, "I believe I can do whatever he can do. I think it's just a pride thing. When it comes to football, just being on the field, it's a mindset and having a mentality. I honestly believe when I'm there, I'll be feeling like there's nothing I can't do. Whatever the coaches ask me to do, I'm going to do it." Many people around the league took this out of context as Dez was saying he was "better" than "Megatron" is. He then replied with this statement: “I think a lot of people took it the wrong way,” Bryant said. “I don’t compare myself with anybody. I think when you get to comparing yourself with others, that’s when you start to have a downfall. “What I was saying was, I can make catches and all of that. Things he can do, I can do. I wasn’t saying it as it was just me who was able to do it. I’m pretty sure the next guy would say the same exact thing.” Johnson would go on to have a career day, breaking the single game receiving yards record with 329 yards on 14 catches and one touchdown.
Over the next 5 games against the Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Oakland Raiders, and Chicago Bears, Dez compiled a total of 267 yards on 25 catches and only two touchdowns; averaging a mere 5 catches with 53.4 yards and 0.4 touchdowns per game.
In yet another heartbreaking week 15 loss to the Green Bay Packers without Aaron Rodgers, Dez finished with a season high 11 catches for 153 yards with one touchdown. Dallas would go on to lose the game by one point, 37–36, making it the third time this was done in the 2013 Season.
Bryant would finish the final two games of the season with 12 catches for 172 yards and two touchdowns against division rivals Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles.
Dez finished the season with 93 catches and 13 touchdowns; both career highs, and 1,233 yards. These ranked 8th in catches, 13th in yards, and 3rd in touchdowns respectively among all receivers. Bryant would go on to his first Pro Bowl in 4 seasons.
Career Stats
| Season | Receiving | Rushing | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Long | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Long | TD |
| 2010 | DAL | 12 | 2 | 45 | 561 | 12.5 | 46 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | DAL | 15 | 13 | 63 | 928 | 14.7 | 50 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2012 | DAL | 16 | 14 | 92 | 1,382 | 15.0 | 85 | 12 | 2 | −5 | −2.5 | 6 | 0 |
| 2013 | DAL | 16 | 16 | 93 | 1,233 | 13.3 | 79 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | Total | 59 | 45 | 293 | 4,104 | 14.0 | 85 | 40 | 5 | 1 | 0.2 | 6 | 0 |
Personal
Bryant had a troubled upbringing, born to a teenage mother who was arrested for dealing crack cocaine when he was age eight. He went on to live in eight different homes while at Lufkin High School.[26]
Bryant was sued in March 2011 for $861,350 for legal fees and the cost of jewelry he allegedly took without payment.[27]
On July 16, 2012, Bryant was arrested on a class A misdemeanor domestic violence charge for allegedly striking his biological mother, Angela Bryant. She ultimately didn't press charges.[26]
On April 4, 2013 Bryant signed his second major endorsement deal with the Jordan Brand. He made the announcement via his Twitter account.[citation needed]
In March 2013 Bryant spoke at an event for Dallas Men Against Abuse.[citation needed]
On November 14, 2013, Bryant walked into a Dallas Walmart shopping for the all new Play Station 4, and kindly purchased his own as well as 5 other peoples' PS4's for them.[citation needed]
References
- ↑ "ESPN Profile". ESPN.com.
- ↑ Texas birth index
- ↑ "Wide receivers 2007". Rivals.com. January 30, 2007.
- ↑ Schad, Joe (October 8, 2009), "Dez Bryant, wide receiver for Oklahoma State Cowboys, ruled ineligible for NCAA bylaw violation", ESPN.com
- ↑ "Texas Tech's Harrell Headlines 2008 AFCA Coaches' All-America Team".
- ↑ "2008 Walter Camp All-American Team Announced".
- ↑ Sporting News' college football All-American First Team
- ↑ "SI.com's 2008 All-Americans". CNN. December 16, 2008. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ↑ Schad, Joe (November 6, 2009), "Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant will enter NFL draft", ESPN.com
- ↑ Pauline, Tony (October 22, 2009), "2010 NFL Draft: Top 50 prospects", SI.com
- ↑ "Mock draft: Despite suspension, Bryant goes No. 1", The Sporting News, November 4, 2009
- ↑ Williamson, Matt (April 19, 2010), "If he's available, WR Dez Bryant is a no-brainer for the Denver Broncos in the draft", ESPN
- ↑ Mosley, Matt (April 20, 2010), "The Big Question: Will Jerry go after Dez?", ESPN
- ↑ "Dez Bryant Combine Profile", NFL.com, retrieved February 27, 2010
- ↑ "Dez Bryant Draft Profile", NFLDraftScout.com
- ↑ Phillips, Rob (July 22, 2010). "First-Rounder Bryant Agrees To Deal". DallasCowboys.com.
- ↑ Eatman, Nick (October 26, 2010). "Rookie Hat Trick: Dez Scores 3 TDs In Losing Fashion". DallasCowboys.com.
- ↑ Archer, Todd (November 14, 2010). "Dez Bryant continues to put up big numbers with Jon Kitna under center". Dallas Morning News.
- ↑ Sabin, Rainer (December 5, 2010). "Dez Bryant's season is over; Receiver fractures right ankle". Dallas Morning News.
- ↑ "NFL.com Dez Bryant Profile". November 3, 2011.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Dez Bryant NFL.com Profile. "Dez Bryant NFL.com Profile". NFL.com. NFL.com. Retrieved 11–03–11.
- ↑ NFL.com. "NFL Game Summary – Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys". NFL.com. NFL.com. Retrieved 11–07–11.
- ↑ "Bryant has career day Week 11".
- ↑ http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/11/dez-bryant-theyd-have-to-break-my-leg-to-keep-me-out/
- ↑ http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/21474879/cowboys-wr-dez-bryant-could-hardly-walk-after-redskins-game
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Dez Bryant's Dirty Timeline « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth". Dfw.cbslocal.com. July 17, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
- ↑ "Bejeweled Cowboys WR Bryant Sued for $200,850,000-Plus". March 29, 2011.
External links
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