Kelvin LeRoy Bryant (born September 26, 1960) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) and the United States Football League (USFL).

High school

Bryant played two years of varsity football at Tarboro High School in Tarboro, N.C.. In the 10th grade as a player on the Junior Varsity team he was invited to move up to varsity but endeared himself to his team by choosing to remain with the Junior Varsity squad. His 10th grade team was 8–1, his 11th grade (varsity team) was 6–4 and as a senior the Tarboro Vikings were 10–0 in the regular season claiming the conference championship and ranked number 1 in the state in the 3A classification. A first round playoff defeat ended dreams of a state championship.

College career

Bryant played college football at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a three-time first-team All-ACC tailback. When he left UNC in 1982 he had 3,267 rushing yards in his career. This was, at the time, the third highest career rushing yard total ever for the Tar Heels (fifth most ever as of March 2021). He had three consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons from 1980–82. Despite injuries in 1981, he still rushed for 1,015 yards in just seven games. He rushed for more than 100 yards in a game on 19 occasions. In one of the most memorable games in UNC football history, Bryant scored six touchdowns against East Carolina University in 1981. He holds the NCAA record for most touchdowns scored in two and three consecutive games (11 and 15, respectively). He was named one of the ACC's Top 50 players of all-time in 2002.

• 1980: 177 carries for 1,039 yards with 11 TD. 12 catches for 194 yards with 1 TD.^[1]
• 1981: 152 carries for 1,077 yards with 17 TD. 8 catches for 60 yards with 1 TD.^[2]
• 1982: 228 carries for 1,064 yards with 3 TD. 24 catches for 249 yards with 4 TD.^[3]

Professional career

Bryant was drafted in the first round by the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League in 1983. He rushed for 1,440 yards on 317 carries with 16 touchdowns in his rookie season and was named league MVP and an USFL All-Star. He played in the Championship Game that year but the Stars lost to the Michigan Panthers, 24–22.

In 1984, Bryant rushed for 1,406 yards on 301 carries and ran for 13 touchdowns and was again named to the USFL All-Star team. That season, the Stars won the Championship Game with Bryant as the starting running back.

In 1985, Bryant rushed for 1,207 yards on 238 carries with 12 touchdowns. The Stars had become the Baltimore Stars that season and they again won the Championship Game. He left the USFL the second leading running back in their history.

Bryant was then signed by the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He was a reserve for the Redskins in 1986 and 1987, but he showed flashes of his USFL greatness and became the starting running back in 1988. He had rushed for 498 yards on 108 carries when he suffered an injury which ended his season. He was out in 1989 due to the injury and came back briefly in 1990 before retiring. Bryant scored 14 touchdowns on 154 catches in his NFL career. He was a part of the Redskins' Super Bowl XXII winning team.

Honors

• High School All American
• Named one of the ACC's Top 50 players of all-time in 2002
• North Carolina Sports Hall Of Fame Inductee - class of 2013 ^[4]

Career stats

• College
  • Carries - 881
  • Yards - 4,391
  • Touchdowns - 28
  • Yards Per Carry - 5.0
• USFL
  • Carries - 855
  • Yards - 4,053
  • Touchdowns - 41
  • Yards Per Carry - 4.7
• NFL
  • Carries - 251
  • Yards - 1,186
  • Touchdowns - 6
  • Yards Per Carry - 4.7

References