Taven Bryan

When prestigious college football programs claim that they can recruit all over the country, few are referring to Wyoming, a beautiful state, to be sure, but a relatively rare producer of future NFL talent. Rare, however, might be the operative word when discussing Bryan, who infrequently produced the kind of statistics at Florida that normally would generate much interest from scouts but flashed undeniable potential when doing so. As one might expect, Bryan dominated at the prep level. He spent most of his time on the offensive line and that is where the majority of the recruiters who spent the time and money to actually visit him in Wyoming wanted him to stay for their college teams. Bryan, however, wanted to play defensive line. Then-Florida head coach Will Muschamp - who traveled to Casper, himself, to recruit Bryan - recognized immediately that the then-260 pound son of a Navy SEAL was athletic and tough enough to handle the switch. The switch to defensive tackle did not come as easily as some unfamiliar with the sport might anticipate, especially after Muschamp - a defensive wiz - was replaced by Jim McElwain, a former quarterback whose specialty lies on offense. Bryan redshirted his first season on campus and recorded a total of 10 tackles in 12 games (including a start against Mississippi) in 2015. Though he appeared in all 13 games the next season - starting two contests - the results weren't significantly better in 2016, when he registered 17 total tackles, including three tackles for a loss and the first sack of his career, which, ironically enough, came against a South Carolina squad coached by Muschamp. While Bryan was struggling to put up the kind of statistics to earn media attention, he quietly was drawing rave reviews from scouts attending Florida's practices. They spoke of a player who, while still undeniably raw, possessed as impressive a combination of size, strength and speed as anyone on the roster. As McElwain said prior to the 2017 season when asked about Bryan, "This guy is arguably the best athlete on our football team. I'm sure many of the players would tell you the same thing." Unfortunately for McElwain - who was fired following Florida's disappointing 4-7 season and fifth place finish in the SEC East - he was right. Finally turning some of his incredible potential into production, Bryan emerged as one of Florida's few bright spots in 2017, recording more tackles in his redshirt junior season (40) than his entire career (27) up to that point. Among those 40 stops were six tackles for loss and four sacks. Bryan's breakout season finally provided some numerical evidence to the hype that had been building about the young defensive lineman, one whom former Florida defensive coordinator and current Temple head coach Geoff Collins compared prior to the season to a young J.J. Watt. "I always thought he had J.J. Watt-ish ability," Collins said. "He's a physical freak, and he's gotten better every single day. He's an NFL player now with room to get better. It's a scary thought." It goes without saying that Bryan has a long way to go before warranting a comparison to Watt, a three-time NFL Defensive MVP. Bryan does show remarkable explosiveness off the snap, however, combining raw power with exceptional initial burst to embarrass would-be blockers. Even after four years at the position, Bryan is as raw as they come, entering the draft with less production over his career than some of the other highly regarded defensive tackles recorded this season, alone. His upside is so enticing, however, that Bryan could hear his name called as early as the first round. BACKGROUND Unanimously selected as the 2013 Conference Defensive Player of the Year... Named to the All-State First Team on both the defensive line and the offensive line and to the All-Conference First Team on the offensive line as a high school senior... Honored with the 2013 Natrona County Iron Man award... Helped lead Natrona County to a 41-6 record in his final three seasons, including back-to-back state titles in 2012 and 2013... Chose Florida over Colorado, Colorado State, Nebraska, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, Washington State and Wyoming.