Stanford Lands DB Upgrade From Washington After Huge Bowl Game

Stanford lands a versatile defensive back that they're excited to play in a number of spots

Dec 13, 2025; Inglewood, CA, USA; Washington Huskies cornerback Leroy Bryant (0) intercepts a pass in the end zone intended for Boise State Broncos wide receiver Chase Penry (13) in the second half of the LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Stanford is on a recruiting run right now, securing three players in the transfer portal in recent days. They began with the addition of offensive lineman Aidan Kilstrom from Harvard, then added quarterback Davis Warren from Michigan to the mix shortly after.

On Friday night, the Cardinal swooped up cornerback Leroy Bryant out of Washington after a tough battle with UCLA to land his services. Bryant, who hails from Fairfield, had a huge Bucked Up LA Bowl against Boise State, collecting five tackles and two interceptions in Washington's 38-10 win.

I’m home 📍@CoachTTMP @Nicoe_H__ @BrandonHuffman @KodiWhitfield @Albert_GarciaFB @iamjaiviongreen pic.twitter.com/gRUkwmizcP

— Leroy bryant (@Leroy_bryant2) January 10, 2026

On the year overall, Bryant made it into 11 games, including the bowl game victory, and recorded a total of 259 snaps on the field. For the most part he was seeing around 30 per game through Week 8, then didn't make another appearance until Week 11 after being passed over by freshmen on the roster.

In weeks 11-13, Bryant totaled 14 snaps, and in that time he allowed a touchdown to UCLA.

But he came back in a big way when opportunity presented itself in the Bucked Up LA Bowl, getting back to his regular 31 snaps, he picked off two balls, made a pair of stops, and held his receivers to 1-of-3 when he was targeted for 17 total yards. This was also his final game of the season, and it's difficult to script a better launch game into the transfer portal than that.

According to the PFF+ grades, it was far and away his best game of the season, as he earned a coverage grade of 88.6, a tackling grade of 79.8, and a defense grade of 88.8. Those are elite ratings that they gave him, but the big question moving forward will be whether or not that was one big game, or the start of something bigger.

With Stanford, he will get the opportunity to find out, as he should find a starting role, or at the very least a heavy rotational role somewhere on the defense.

IOn the season overall, he held a defense grade of 52.8, while his run defense and tackling came in at 61.6 and 53.2. Finally, his coverage was at 51.2. Those numbers are less than stellar. In coverage, opposing wide receivers caught 24-of-33 targets on the season for 326 total yards, but 117 of those yards came against Washington State.

Washington Huskies on SI believes that some of the up-and-down nature of his game could be mental, mentioning that his body language made it look like he may have lost his confidence. If part of his struggles throughout the season were mental, then landing with Stanford, which is a different set of coach and also much closer to home, could be just what Bryant needs.

He talked to ON3's Greg Biggins, and mentioned why he chose Stanford. "What put Stanford over the top for me was how much they showed how much they wanted me. They want me to come in and make an instant impact and I’m excited about that."

He also said that the plan is to have him roam around all over the field. This past season he played some nickel, as well as corner and safety, and that versatility is part of the reason why the Cardinal were interested in Bryant.