Perry Eliano: Coby Bryant Took Unseen Work 'to a Whole Other Level'

The fourth-round pick in this year's draft is hoping to become the latest UC star to make it in the NFL.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Jun 28, 2022 3:50 PM EDT

CINCINNATI — NFL rookies are eagerly awaiting their chance to debut in the league this fall, and Coby Bryant is no different. The former star cornerback at UC is trying to do similar things in Seattle and his former position coaches aren't doubting him. The Athletic's Michael Sahwn-Dugar chatted with former Bearcats cornerbacks coaches Mike Mickens and Perry Eliano about Bryant.

Mickens got to coach Bryant during his first two years at UC and recognized an NFL work ethic early on.

“Doing the little things to make himself the best he can be,” said Mickens, who was never surprised to see Bryant featured in a one-on-one at the end of practice. “That’s something Coby is accustomed to. That’s something that he feeds off of. He’s going to be the first one to jump out there and be like, ‘Pick me. Let me do it.’ Even though he was at a status where everybody knew he could do it already — he don’t care. He wants to always prove something.”

Eliano recognized a similar relentless attitude the longer Bryant was in Clifton.

“One of the things we talked about always was unseen hours, unrequired work,” said Eliano. “What that meant was, ‘OK, if I put 15 to 20 minutes in after practice every day, guess what? That’s a whole other practice I’ve gained on my opponents and outworked my peers.’ He took that to a whole other level.”

It really came to the surface during the summer, when the players held unofficial tune up workouts for each other. Eliano noted Bryant was a coach in disguise and each incremental improvement helped him handle a tough role in 2021 as the yin to Ahmad Gardner's yang.

“He embraced that, he relished it,” Eliano said about Bryant getting targeted plenty throughout last season. “He never frowned upon it like, ‘Man, they shouldn’t be throwing at me anyway.’ It was more, ‘OK, (I’ll) show them why I’m the best, too.’”

Bryant figures to be a strong starting candidate for Seattle who is ready to make QBs pay for pickng on him, like he did for so many weekends in Clifton. Check out the full article here.

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