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Former Maplewood, Austin Peay safety Juantarius Bryant finally earns NFL chance





Former Austin Peay safety Juantarius Bryant has been invited to the Atlanta Falcons rookie minicamp.Ken Herndon/Main Street Media/File

Former Austin Peay safety Juantarius Bryant has been invited to the Atlanta Falcons rookie minicamp.Ken Herndon/Main Street Media/File

Nothing has come easy for Juantarius Bryant during his football career.

So when the 2021 NFL Draft came and went last weekend, Bryant wasn’t surprised that his phone remained silent.

He knew he had done everything he could to land a pro opportunity.

Then he received a text from Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees on Sunday night. The Falcons wanted him to attend their May 14-16 rookie minicamp as a tryout player.

Bryant was overjoyed.

“My heart started racing,” he said. “The first thing I did was call my mom, my dad and my fiancé – the three who have supported me the most – to let them know I got an opportunity. Hard work does pay off.”

The 5-foot-8, 195-pound safety has practically written the book on determination.

Bryant, a former Maplewood High standout, had to walk on at Austin Peay. He eventually earned a scholarship and became a two-time all-Ohio Valley Conference performer and one of the team’s leading tacklers.

Austin Peay’s Juantarius Bryant stands on the sidelines at Nissan Stadium during a game against TSU on October 19, 2019.Ken Herndon/Main Street Media/File

Austin Peay’s Juantarius Bryant stands on the sidelines at Nissan Stadium during a game against TSU on October 19, 2019.Ken Herndon/Main Street Media/File

Then COVID-19 canceled Austin Peay’s 2020 Pro Day, which would have been Bryant’s chance to showcase his skills in front of scouts. He was in tears when the 2020 NFL Draft yielded nothing more than false hope that maybe a team had come across his game film and liked it.

But that didn’t cause Bryant to give up.

He stayed focused, kept training and set his sights on 2021.

“I had my moments, but I got my mind right,” Bryant said. “I thought about it and came to the conclusion that I wasn’t going to give up. Everything happens for a reason.

“I looked at things on a positive note and said, ‘OK, I have another year to train for a pro day and get better.’”

And that’s exactly what he did.

Bryant paid out of pocket to join the 25-man class of NFL hopefuls at Boost FitClub in Nashville. He picked up shifts delivering packages for Amazon Flex to come up with the money.

The group worked out six days per week and held a mock pro day in early March that allowed Bryant to finally get verified testing results in the bench press, vertical jump, 40-yard dash and other drills.

Former Maplewood standout Juantarius Bryant was Austin Peay’s top returning tackler for 2019.Courtesy of Austin Peay Athletics

Former Maplewood standout Juantarius Bryant was Austin Peay’s top returning tackler for 2019.Courtesy of Austin Peay Athletics

As most of the other prospects filtered out to their respective college pro days, Bryant continued training at Boost. Austin Peay didn’t hold a pro day this spring, and his attempts to be a guest at Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky were denied due to COVID-19 protocols.

“Even being in that situation where I wasn’t sure if I would get the opportunity or not, I still trained my butt off so if I did get the opportunity, I would be ready,” Bryant said.

While Bryant was never able to participate in a live pro day in front of scouts, he did attend the Futures Pro Football Showcase in St. Louis last month. That gave him another chance to put numbers on paper and hope for the best.

“I went out there and bettered my times,” he said. “They told me they sent (the results) to all 32 teams. I feel like that kind of helped me as well, but me not getting a pro day in front of active NFL scouts was still kind of in my head.”

 

 

Things weren’t looking great for Bryant last Saturday. Four players from the Boost class – Illinois cornerback Nate Hobbs, Ole Miss offensive lineman Royce Newman, Iowa linebacker Nick Niemann and Iowa State running back Kene Nwangwu – were selected on day three.

Several others signed free agent contracts immediately following the draft. Bryant was one of the few in the Boost group chat who didn’t have good news to report.

“I was trying to keep my head up,” Bryant said. “My grandmother recently passed away, and she always told me not to give up. It wasn’t ever in my mind to give up. I was just thinking, ‘Wow, I’ve sacrificed so much, why did this whole COVID thing have to happen during my time?’”

Then the message from Pees arrived, and with it came a sense of relief. He no longer has to wonder what could have been.

Bryant has finally earned a shot at his dream.

The odds are still long. NFL teams are not obligated to keep tryout players for any longer than the weekend rookie minicamp.

But Bryant isn’t worried about that. He just wants to show the Falcons what he can do in person.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity,” he said. “I’m going to continue to work hard because I still have something to prove.”

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