AUBURN | The votes from our subscribers and moderators are in as we continue our Top 20 with a senior defensive lineman who will be looked on to take a big step forward in 2020.
NO. 9 BIG KAT BRYANT
6-5, 247, Senior
Cordele, Ga.
VOTES: Jay G (9), BMatt (13), J Lee (7), Nate (6), Bunker (9)
Big Kat Bryant will enter this season as Auburn’s most experienced defensive lineman with 14 starts in 39 career games, but isn’t guaranteed a starting position. He started the first 12 games of last season at Buck, but totaled just 16 tackles, 2.0 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks and nine quarterback hurries. He did produce a big play in the opener against Oregon with an 83-yard fumble return. Freshman Derick Hall started over Bryant at Buck in the Outback Bowl.
Before last season, Bryant got most of his work as a backup to Marlon Davidson at defensive end. He had 3.5 sacks and a pick-6 as a sophomore in 2018, and had two sacks as a true freshman a year earlier.
This fall, Bryant will have to hold off Hall, T.D. Moultry, Colby Wooden and perhaps even true freshman Romello Height to win the starting Buck position. He could also move back to defensive end where he’ll have to fend off Jaren Handy, Caleb Johnson, JUCO transfer Dre Butler and true freshman Zykeivous Walker. Bryant certainly has the experience and potential to step up and be a playmaker for Auburn’s defense, but will have to seize that opportunity during preseason drills. Auburn defensive line coach Rodney Garner is all about his players earning it every day in practice.
WHY NO. 6 (Nate): The senior defensive end received ample experience and plenty of elite tutelage in his three seasons at Auburn, learning of course from Rodney Garner, but also watching as the likes of Jeff Holland, Marlon Davidson and Derrick Brown set the standard for modern Auburn defensive linemen and pass rushers.
Now it's his turn.
Bryant last season was plagued by many of the same issues Davidson faced leading into his senior year — he always seemed to be one step away from finishing a pass rush. The Crisp County, Ga., product led Auburn with nine QB hurries in 2019, yet came up with just 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss. Bryant needs to make a noticeable improvement and contend for an All-SEC spot in order for Auburn's defensive line to grow and succeed post-Davidson and Brown.
And he has the tools and the system to do so. At 6-foot-5 and 247 pounds, he's lean and athletic, with quick hands to bat down passes and sharp instincts in the run game (see his 85-yard fumble recovery against Oregon). Explosiveness hasn't always been there; however, that's another category that Davidson improved on from junior to senior year, if fans want to look for parallels. Davidson said last year that if Bryant focuses on minute, almost tedious details in the offseason, he could make a similar leap from Year 3 to Year 4.
But no one is asking Bryant to be Davidson or Brown, although he does need to be the most consistent player along the D-line. I ranked his intrinsic value in the top 10 because of what he's flashed through three seasons, blended with his determination to cap his AU career with a big senior campaign — and how much a big season from him would boost Auburn's defense as a whole.
