Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/109499
Greg Bryant Is Ready To Compete From Day One By Jason Sapp While most kids pull the covers over their heads and whine when their parents wake them up for school, Greg Bryant would jump out of bed to get a workout in before classes began. And it wasn't your typical workout. The sessions were not held in a gym or a weight room. They were outdoors on hard pavement. "I used to play football in the streets all the time before school when I was growing up," the 5-11, 200-pound All-American running back said. "A lot of my friends were just doing it to have fun, but I was always the serious one in the group and I started to stand out. "Some of my friends wanted to be thugs, but I knew that wasn't the life I wanted. I loved the game, and all I wanted to do was play football." The Delray Beach (Fla.) American Heritage High player said 247Sports rates Bryant as a four-star prospect, the No. 19 player in Florida, the No. 10 running back in the country and the No. 128 overall player in the class of 2013. photos courtesy U.S. Army All-American Bowl he grew up in a rough neighborhood, and if he wasn't playing sports outside, he would just stay inside with his parents and grandmother to avoid going down the wrong path. "I didn't want anything to do with that, but it was part of my surroundings and the man I am becoming," Bryant shared. "I've always had the belief that you have to struggle in order to get to where you want to be, so I just kept my head down and worked." Bryant began playing Pop Warner football at the age of 5 and hasn't looked back since. He credits his father, Greg Sr., for staying on him to help guide him towards his goal of playing college football. "My dad was always my coach no matter where I went," the younger Bryant said,