URBANA– As Illinois Football prepares for their final game of 2024, just one senior has opted out of playing.
Star receiver Pat Bryant won’t be available for the Citrus Bowl New Year’s Eve, as he is playing it safe having declared for the NFL draft. However, Bryant has already left his mark on the Illini program.
In a NCAA landscape where it’s rare to see an athlete stay at one program their entire collegiate career, Bryant isn’t the norm. The Recreation Sport and Tourism major played 46 games over four seasons in Orange and Blue and always made it a point to be the first one in the gym and last one out.
The Jacksonville, Florida native committed to Illinois in 2021 to play under previous head coach Lovie Smith, who was soon replaced by Bret Bielema. Bryant faced many ups and downs under the coach he didn’t originally have in mind, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“A guy that didn’t recruit me but still had faith in me, it really means a lot,” Bryant said. “We had a lot of really tough conversations, but in all those conversations, I took a lot of positive things, developing into the person I am today.”
Bryant caught an Illini record-tying 10 touchdowns this season, as well as the attention of NFL scouts. Bielema talks to those scouts everyday and gives each one the same message.
“Wherever you have Pat Bryant rated, I would double down and bet it one round higher.”
Bielema also emphasized how Bryant’s selfless attitude has reflected on the program, recalling his recent interaction with the young child of a donor.
“Their son walks through with a 13 Pat Bryant jersey on, and they said he – Ky – was a big fan of Pat Bryant, so Pat Bryant literally stopped, gave him his gloves, signed his jersey, and for me, for Josh as athletic director, we know the value of that for donors,” he said.
“It’s not just kids that represent us. It’s the way they represent us, and Pat Bryant is a shooting star.”
However, as the shooting star’s time as an Illini comes to a close, it’s not the game Bryant is cherishing most.
“It takes a lot to grow into a mature young man at this college level and at a university like this,” he explained. “Just me maturing into a better person not only on the field, but off-the-field, is what I’ll be mainly reminiscent on.”
Perhaps bigger than his football accolades, Bryant leaves Urbana- Champaign having made a lasting impact on the community along the way and getting the same treatment in return.