Big Kat

[Snaggletiger]

Nice piece from Auburn Undercover on Mr. Bryant.  Solid dude, bro. 

When defensive end Big Kat Bryant committed to Auburn on Feb. 1, 2017, and signed the same day, a long and arduous process finally ended. But it didn’t end exactly like his mother wanted it to end.
Marcia Glover wanted the oldest of her four children to stay close to Cordele, Ga., where he grew up and became a star at Crisp County High School. Coaches from all over the country had come to the town of fewer 12,000.
Big Kat Bryant looks for a big senior season (Photo: Greg McWilliams, 247Sports)
Kirby Smart came to visit. So did Nick Saban and Ed Orgeron. Name a big-name coach in the South and he probably spent some time in Cordele. All came with scholarship offers.
“Oh, my goodness. Hectic wasn’t the word for it,” Bryant’s mother, Marcia Glover, told AuburnUndercover. “I was working an hour away, then coming home and having to deal with recruiting. I have three kids younger than him. Dealing with four teen-agers by yourself, oh my goodness. It’s something else.”
Glover wanted the kid who had loved football since he was 4 years old and has grown to be big, tall and swift to stay close to home. When he chose Auburn, she did not celebrate.
“I let him choose where he wanted to go, but I really wanted him to stay in-state, even if it was a Division II school,” Glover said. “I thought he would go over there and come home the same year he went.”
But Bryant didn’t come home. He didn’t call and complain. He thrived as an Auburn student, being named an academic “Top Tiger” as a freshman. He learned and he grew as a football player and as a person.
“Now, I see Auburn was the place for him,” Glover said. “He really is a true Auburn man. He even got baptized over there. I couldn’t even get him to go to church.”
As Bryant heads toward his senior season, it hasn’t all been perfect. He had to learn about the college game, learn to deal with the intensity of defensive line coach Rodney Garner. But Bryant agrees with his mother. Auburn was the place for him.
“Oh, definitely,” Bryant said. “As far as production, it could’ve been a little bit more, but I’m blessed to be in the situation I am, and I’m blessed to be here in this facility and being in a place like Auburn. I came here with a goal, and I accomplished a lot of things in a couple of years. It definitely has been a great experience for me and everything I probably thought college was in the beginning.”
At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, Bryant is a preseason All-SEC selection. He has an opportunity to be a high draft pick. Or he could return for another season due to the NCAA’s ruling allowing another year of eligibility for all football players.
“It’s so exciting,” Glover said. “I’m excited for him, and I’m nervous. It’s such a big decision. It’s like recruiting all over again.”
***
Bryant’s given first name is Markaviest, but no one calls him that anymore. He’s Big Kat. He’s even listed as Big Kat on the Auburn roster. It’s a moniker former Crisp County coach Shelton Felton, now an assistant coach at Tennessee, gave him. Before Bryant became Big Kat, his family called him “Chunky.”
Bryant’s mother believes he was 4 years old when he played football for the first time. He embraced it and never let go.
“He was always taller than the other kids,” Glover said. “I think he was 4 when they saw his size and let him play tackle instead of flag. He’s been playing ever since.”
Glover wanted Bryant to give basketball a try, too. After all, he was tall and athletic.
“I said, ‘Chunk, why won’t you play basketball?’” she said. “He said ‘No. I’m going to make it in football.’ All of a sudden it just happened his 11th-grade year.”
What happened was that Bryant blossomed. He became a star and a hot college prospect. The idea of playing basketball was long forgotten.
“Coach Felton was the main key to helping Big Kat,” Glover said. “He really didn’t have a father figure in his life. His dad was in and out of prison and really didn’t have anything to do with him until his 11th-grade year.”
Big Kat Bryant talks to reporters. (Photo: 247Sports)
Meanwhile, Glover was busy trying to make ends meet and raise her four children. Her youngest son, Sirad, is a freshman safety at Georgia Tech. Her youngest daughter is a student at Georgia Southern. Her other daughter is making plans to start pursuing her college education.
“My kids are all going to be something,” Glover said.
***
Back at Auburn, Bryant and his teammates are trying to travel the treacherous path to a season dramatically altered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bryant has not put up gaudy numbers in his three previous Auburn seasons. He aims for that to change when the 2020 season starts on Sept. 26 against Kentucky at Jordan-Hare Stadium. On any given play, he might be an end, might be a Buck or might even be a tackle.
“I’m all over the place,” Bryant said. “I like it. I can show my versatility.”
Like all Auburn players, Bryant went home in March when the campus closed. During that time, he said, he reflected on his time at Auburn.
"I hate that it happened, but for me it was a blessing in disguise," Bryant told AuburnTigers.com. "It makes you think about things like ‘what would you do if you didn't have this?’
 "And if I didn't have Auburn? I would be without my family. Every time I hear ‘War Eagle,’ I hear family. I think about Auburn and I think about how much I want to represent as an Auburn man, a hard-nosed, blue collar, hard-working man who loves his family. And we are one big family at Auburn."

[Buzz Killington]

Awesome story

[Snaggletiger]

Awesome story

No doubt.  Now I'm really pulling for this guy to have a break out year and get his shot in the show.

[WiregrassTiger]

Awesome story

Who read it to you?

[Vladimir]

Who read it to you?

Your wife.

[WiregrassTiger]

Your wife.

Fuck you.