CHAMPAIGN — Pat Bryant got up in front of the Illinois football team before the season started to talk about his four-year journey. From little-used freshman wide receiver to team captain and top target.
Bryant’s first season in Champaign didn’t feature much in the way of pass catching. The Jacksonville, Fla., native wound up with six receptions for 98 yards in 10 games. It became such a trend that season it was almost a guarantee Illinois would run the ball when he subbed into the game.
The progress from a minimal role in the passing game to top target has been steady.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound receiver had 34 catches for 453 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore. Then 43 catches for 560 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior.
“He’s everything that’s good about college football,” Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. said. “He’s a selfless player. He feels like a block is just as important as a coach, and that is the truth. He just exudes that. We trust in and rely on him a lot. He’s worked his way into who he is.
“He’s got natural gifts and he’s a big, strong guy that catches the ball well, but he works at it. He works at his craft, he studies film and he knows the intricacies of the offense. When he gets a chance to make a play, our whole team knows that he’s going to be able to make it.”
Bryant showed that ability Saturday against then-No. 19 Kansas. He’s now a deep threat Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer clearly trusts. While Bryant didn’t match his two-touchdown performance from the season opener against the Jayhawks, the veteran wide receiver flashed his big-play threat abilities on a crucial scoring drive in the Illini’s 23-17 upset victory.
“There’s not a matchup he goes out there on a daily basis and he thinks he’s the lesser of the two,” Altmyer said of Bryant, who had three catches for 70 yards against the Jayhawks. “He went up against some great corners (Saturday). Pat never flinched. He has a lot of experience. He just continues to make plays. I haven’t seen him really not be dependable or not do the things he should do. He’s always detailed, and he’s a great leader for us.”
Bryant’s message about his Illinois football journey resonated with is teammates. The emphasis was that his career didn’t start off catching passes. That it started off basically as a blocker. Doing what was asked to help the team.
“He stayed humble, stayed with it and waited his turn,” Illinois junior defensive back Xavier Scott said. “This is his opportunity, and he’s taking advantage of every moment he’s getting out there.”
Miles Scott arrived in Champaign at the same time as Bryant. The former walk-on wide receiver turned free safety was there at the beginning of Bryant’s development. Was in the same wide receiver room, in the same drills, at the nascent stage of Bryant’s growth from freshman backup to veteran leader.
“He has truly grown each year that I’ve been watching him, and it’s just awesome to see,” Miles Scott said. “It’s just a testament to growth, the process. Everything will not be like, ‘Immediately, I’ll have success.’ It takes time. You want slow growth. That’s what Pat is having, and he’s getting up to that higher point of that growth, and it’s great to see.”
Bryant had just one catch for five yards in the first half of Saturday’s game against Kansas. Then Illinois started challenging the Jayhawks with some deep balls. Perhaps a necessity given a bogged down run game and a short passing game that was mostly going nowhere.
Bryant delivered. He hauled in 37-yard pass from Altmyer to get the Illini into Kansas territory and then a 28-yarder that set up Kaden Feagin’s 1-yard touchdown run the next play to retake the lead.
“Probably more than anything, they took advantage of the opportunity,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema said about an offense that started to click in the fourth quarter. “There were some big throws, big catches. Overall, I thought the execution of some of those deep routes was really, really good. That’s probably the biggest part of (Altmyer’s) game that’s picked up. We threw a lot of deep balls last year and didn’t connect on them. Our batting percentage on some of the deep balls was pretty good.”
Altmyer said the success of deep completions starts with him. He’s gained some confidence in that part of the offense through repetition, but has to trust it to put his team in the best position possible. Often times by targeting Bryant.
“That’s a big part of our offense, pushing the ball down the field,” Altmyer said. “If we do that successfully and I’m accurate and detailed, then we’ll be successful.”
